NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

This Saturday, September 20th, Independent Guåhan will be holding a Teach-In at Senator Angel Santos Memorial Latte Stone Park from 2 - 4 pm titled "From Hurao to Fanohge: 350 Years of Chamoru Resistance." This event is free and open to anyone. The title comes from two key events in understanding Chamoru history and resistance to colonialism in its different forms across time.   In September 1670/1671, Maga’låhi Hurao who had been gathering families who were frustrated with the new Spanish presence in the Marianas and forming a coalition to oppose their interference, was arrested by Spanish soldiers and taken prisoner in the church. Hurao's speech is meant to be an example of the rhetoric that he was using that was inspiring so many families to come forth and offer their spears and slingstones in support of his cause.   An estimated 2,000 warriors surrounded the church, which had been hastily transformed into a fort, to demand his release and the surrender of the ...

Before we say “Adios” to August, let us look back at this month and how important it has been in the past for Guam, Chamoru and Marianas history. When I first started working as curator at the Guam Museum in 2021, I was given some of the late Tony Palomo’s notes on Guam history. In addition to being a Guam war survivor, an author, a journalist, an elected leader and a historian, Siñot Palomo had worked as the administrator for the Guam Museum towards the end of his life. Part of his duties at the museum was to publish a regular series in the Pacific Daily News highlighting “This Month in Guam History.” It is my honor as the curator of the Guam Museum to continue this tradition. Let’s look at some of the events that happened in Guam and the Marianas in the past during the month of August. ************** 343 years ago: In August 1681, Don Antonio de Saravia was appointed governor of the Marianas, and during the following month, he appointed Chamorus to the positions of assi...

  Hagagas i sengsong-ta siha, gof prisisisisu para u ditetmina, para u sinangåni håyi hit. Gi tiempon i manmofo’na na taotao-ta, i sengsong gumo'go'te i hale' i familia yan parientes siha ya mina'gåsi nu i Maga'låhi yan Maga'håga'. Tåya’ rai yan rainai guihi na tiempo. Tåya’ emperådot para todu i taotao-ta. Kada songsong taiguihi un guafak, tinifok todu i familia siha. Guaha na biahi inachaki entre i sengsong siha put asunton tåno' pat yanggen guaha inale' palao'an. Lao ta tungo’ na achokka’ chaddek manmamu, chaddek lokkue’ manasi’i. Gi duranten i Geran CHamoru yan Españot, guaha na songsong siha mandanña' para u ma mumuyi i Españot. Gi 1670s Si Maga'låhi Agualin tumachu para u mumu kontra i Españot, på'go i pumalu taiguihi as Maga'lahi Don Antonio Ayihi tumachuyi i Españot. Gi duranten i mafa'na'an "Reduccion" manafuetsas i taotao-ta gi todu i Isla siha para u fanm...

I get asked questions about Guam History all the time.  Almost every day I give an interview to someone who is doing a paper about Guam or Chamoru history, whether it be for middle school, high school or college.  Or it may be someone doing research for a documentary, a TV show, a newspaper or a book.  It could be just someone wanting to know more about their roots.  Or just someone visiting with questions that are bothering them about the contemporary or historical landscape of their temporary home or tourist visit.  Normally I know the answers, or I know where the answers are. Or I know that we don't know the answers. But there are some questions which I'm not quite sure how to answer. It may be because of how they are phrased, often times because whoever is asking the question may be assuming something that isn't in history or in reality, or isn't connected to what is in the facts or the historical data, and so sometimes I can be at a loss as to how to make a...

Since Maga'låhi Kepuha from Hagåtña is the most famous of all Chamorus from ancient times, I get asked about him more than any other figure from that time.  Here are the questions and some answers I gave to a Guam History student recently, who wanted to know more about his legacy as a leader.  ***********************  What made Chief Kepuha a great leader?   Given the time that he lived, you could argue that Kepuha was a great leader because he could better see into the future in terms of how the Spanish would become the new dominant power on Guam, and so being as close and as helpful to them as possible would ensure that his family would benefit the most despite some massive changes. Nearly all Chamorus wanted to trade with the Spanish, but this did not mean that they wanted them to stay in their houses. Or that they wanted them to stay on the island permanently. Kepuha’s claim to fame was that he, was more open to letting them stay personally, even taking responsib...

Un diha siempre bai hu fannge' lepblo put i historian i taotao-ta. Esta meggai na kadada na tinige'-hu put este, lao i guinife-hu mohon na un diha bai hu puno' i toru yan na'magåhet este gi un kabåles na lepblo. Lao siempre este na lepblo u matuge' gi Fino' Ingles, ya guaha påtte siha matuge' gi Fino' Chamoru lokke'. Esta gof libiånu para Guahu, para bei estoriåyi taotao nu i hestoria-ta gi Fino' Ingles, lao guaha na biahi debi di bei lachandan maisa para bei cho'gue este lokkue' gi Fino' Chamoru.  Put este na motibu-hu guaha na biahi, mañule' yu' påtten hestoria-ta, ya hu ketuge' put guiya gi Fino' Chamoru. Sesso i inayek-hu put este, ti sen interesånte, gi Fino' Ingles "basic" pat gi Fino' i tatan bihu-hu "mata'pang."  Put hemplo, a'atan este guini gi sampapa', ni' tinige'-hu put si San Vitores. Ti hu guaiya si San Vitores, ti ya-hu meggai put i hestoria-ña, lao hu tung...

Every September 11th since September 11, 2001 has a surreal quality to it. As if in a world where history repeats and meaning is always muddled, somehow the events of that day achieved a special, extra level of meaning for those that were alive and of age to experience it. At least this is what they say, and how true this seems depends a lot on your relationship to the US and what type of imaginary tissue connects you to it.  9/11 always means another set of memorial or retrospectives. These commemorative acts help us lock in a particular narrative for conceiving what happened that day, what it means, and whether or not we allow any understanding of events that helped led to that attack. At these memorials people recall where they were when they learned of the attacks and reminders of how scared they were, but how America rose again from those ashes.  Mixed into this naturally is a lot of what you might call blind patriotism or shallow patriotism. September 11 th , as ...

For a few hours on the last day of the UN C24 Regional Seminar, we were given a tour of some historic locations around Kingstown, the capitol of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This image is from a canon in Fort Charlotte, which was built high atop a hill overlooking the capitol by the British in the late 18th century. As we toured the fort, our Vincentian guide shared many colorful, sometimes humorous and sometime tragic stories about his island's colonization. He connected the struggles today, to those of the past. He echoed what so many had told us over the week we and other experts and foreign delegates were in the country, that everywhere you go, you see the legacies of native genocide and African slavery. From the fort's battlements he showed us failing banana plantations, areas where underground economies are surging, the divisions between rich and poor neighborhoods around Kingstown and even incorporated some Caribbean musical lyrics as well. When I took this pi...

When the Solorzano skull was brought to Guam there were several events held to discuss the meaning of the skull and also the legacy of the violent time during which the priest Solorzano was killed in fighting between the Spanish and Chamorros. The event that I helped organize at UOG was pretty well attended, with more than 150 people there on a Saturday morning. The discussion never got too heated, with the biggest conflict being over the statement made by Father Fran Hezel that the Chamorro-Spanish Wars was a result of cultural misunderstandings. Religion wasn't touched on much, despite the fact that religion was at the core of the history involved. The Spanish priests were assaulting the religion of Ancient Chamorros. They were forcing them to give up their religion and take a new one. Solorzano himself, as a priest was driven to go into places where he would put himself at risk in the name of his religion and in hopes of dying in the name of his God. But very few people mad...

"I Ilun Pale'" Michael Lujan Bevacqua Marianas Variety 12/3114 This week, a very intriguing, almost ironic historical twist will be visiting Guam, with the arrival of the skull of Påle’ Manuel Solorzano, a Jesuit priest who was killed by Chamorros in 1684 during the period when some Chamorros were still resisting the Catholic intrusion into their lives. I say ironic for many reasons, but chiefly among them is the fact that the preserving of this skull represents the precise thing that the Spanish priests were so keen on eradicating. The Chamorro religion of this time was centered around ancestral worship, or the revering of the spirits of your relatives who had passed away. By revering them Chamorros believed that these spirits, these aniti or manganiti could help Chamorros by protecting them and help them in their day to day activities such as making it rain for crops, helping catch fish, or being brave in battle. For Chamorros, thei...

Weekly Address by Speaker Judith T. Won Pat Guam Legislature December 31, 2014 "Reconnecting with History to Better Understand Our Lives Today" Buenas yan Hafa Adai! Last night, a special mass was held at the Cathedral Basilica in which parishioners were able to view the skull of 17th century Jesuit missionary Father Manuel de Solorzano. As we close the year, this occasion reminds us of the importance of looking at our history to better understand the complexities we face today. Father Solarzano was killed on Guam in 1684 during a battle waged by Maga’låhi Hura, who was motivated by the desire to protect our ancestors’ way of life and their connection to the land. This was one of the last major battles of the Chamorro-Spanish Wars, and the closest our chiefs got to reclaiming Hagåtña from the Spanish. However, Hula’s forces were defeated by a group of Chamorros, who had converted to Catholicism and were fighting to protect the Church. This return of So...

--> One highlight from the recent play “Pagat” is the dance “Hula yan Hineti” performed by Inetnon Gefpago. In the context of the play, the dance appears at a moment when the question of unity and divisiveness is being discussed and the actors are wondering if it is possible for the Chamorro people to unite, when they seem to determined to divide themselves. The story of Hula and Hineti is a historical tale, meant to be an example of the tragedy when people fail to unite.   The 1670s was a period of turmoil in the Marianas and in particular on Guam. The decade began with Maga’låhi Hurao’s army attacking Hagatna in 1671, Maga’låhi Mata’pang killing Påle’ San Vitores in 1672, and the remaining years were filled with sporadic resistance. The Spanish had their own campaign of terror meant to quell resistance to their rule. Chamorros were tortured, publicly humiliated, executed villages burnt among other atrocities committed in the name of preparing Chamorros for Chris...

This is the of Cetti Bay from the river. Cetti Bay and Sella Bay are both spots in Southern Guam that are favorites for people with boats and hikers to visit. People known them as beautiful secluded places. In truth their history goes much deeper than that. Sella in particular was notorious in the 1970s as a site of protest against US militarization. The US Navy had wanted to build an ammuniation wharf there. Chamorro rights activists, Senators and environmentalists came out to protest this and were able in delaying the process so much the Navy eventually gave up. Before there was Pagat or even Pott's Junction, there was Sella Bay. But even beyond this, if we look at these two villages in ancient times, we can see a tragic lesson they embody. In ancient times these bays were actually villages. Cetti was known as Atte and Sella was known as Sidya. They were on different sides of the Chamorro Spanish Wars. Sidya sided with the Spanish, while Atte sided with rebel Chamorros. A...