Adventures in Chamorro #4

On Facebook I have a regular informal series titled "Adventures in Chamorro." It ranges from stories of speaking Chamorro with my kids, protests, decolonization activism and also teaching Chamorro at UOG. I have not been on a hike in quite a while and so here are two stories dealing with hiking and my students at UOG.

*********************

Adventures in Chamorro #234: For my Chamorro language classes I often have them write up some simple love poetry. I normally begin those assignments by talking about most elderly Chamorros refer to as traditional Chamorro courtship rituals. As Spanish Catholic influence made it very difficult for young unmarried men and women to interact with each other romantically, so much of the courtship happened in secret or through intermediaries known as "chule'guagua'" or "basket carriers." It was a time of early-morning meetings down by the riverbank, sneaking away to the blindspots behind churches or nights filled with young men, prowling around homes hoping to get the attention of their beloveds sleeping within. Sometimes these stories ended with the families approving the union, sometimes they did not. Students usually remark how different things are today, although one or two makes a connection with the "drama" in relationships today, joking that we still find Chamorro men lurking around homes, although usually for ekgo' related reasons. Here is one of my favorite poems by a student writing in that theme.

Gaige hao gi fi’on-ña på’go
Humåhanao mo’na gi kareran-miyu
Lao gagaige ha’ hao gi halom i korason-hu
Hu guaiya hao
Lao mabokbok i ante-ku
Annai un yute’ yu’
Gagaige ha’ hao gi halom i hinasso-ku
Yan gaige yu’ på’go gi hiyong i gima’-mu

Adventures in Chamorro #207: I recently took my Chamorro classes on a hike to Pågat. For those who couldn't make it, they could be excused if they wrote, in Chamorro, a poem or a reflection paper on the beauty or the importance of the location. Here is an example of a poem which was started by a CM101 student, and then when I shared with with a CM102 student, he added in some extra, humorous details.

Hu hungok na gof bonito i sengsong Pågat.
Ti siña humånao yu’ para Pågat sa’ macho’cho’cho’ yu’.
Bula antigun na latte giya Pågat.
Guaha paopao na flores giya Pågat.
Guaha binådu siha giya Pågat.
Guaha mikulot na guihan gi tasi giya Pågat.
Guaha yommok na babui siha giya Pågat.
Hu hungok na guaha meggai na bubulao na kulepbla siha giya Pågat.
Ti ya-hu kulepbla siha!
Ti malago’ yu’ humånao para Pågat.
Ma’å’ñao yu’ umbee.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chamoru Love Sayings

Image
A student from my Zoom Chamoru classes recently asked me for some suggestions for some Chamoru sayings or words of wisdom that she could use for a speech she had to give for a friend's wedding.  I get this type of request pretty frequently and so over the years I have a number of lists of ways to say "I Love You" in Chamoru. For years that was one of the my most visited pages on this blog, a simple page that had more than a dozen different ways to say "Hu Guaiya Hao" ranging from the poetic and deep, to the silly and sexy.  When I looked at many of those lists, I realized that the majority of the ways love was expressed, was indeed written in Chamoru, but not necessarily rooted in Chamoru. What I mean by this, is that alot of the sayings were simply translated from English or variants of ways that love would be expressed in English.  For me, I am definitely in support of these sorts of things, I love having our language adapt and take on new forms, especially wh
Read more

Chamorro Public Service Post #15: Pues Adios, Esta Ki

A lot of people end up visiting this blog because they are searching around the internet for lyrics to Chamorro songs. Over the years I’ve pasted a couple here and there, but haven’t really kept up with it as much as I should. I complain all the time about there not being enough internet presence for the Chamorro language and for Chamorro thoughts and so I feel bad when I inadvertently contribute to that absence. På’go, gaige yu’ gi i gima’ iyo-ku grandfather. Desde i ma’pos’ña na mes, kumakatre gui’. Kana’ hineart attack gui’, ya sumaga’ gui’ gi i espitåt para tres meses. Mana’huyong gi i ma’pos na mes, ya sumåsaga’ gui’ gi i gima’, lao ti ha hulat tumohgue sin ayuda. Kada na puengge måtto yu’ gi i gima’-ña para i tetno-hu pumulan gui’. Gi este na tiempo, tåya’ internet, pues siña hu usa este para bai hu fanhasso. Manhasso yu’ put i lina’la’-hu pat i guinife-hu. Buente i chinathinasso-ku siha lokkue’. Tonight, I was trying to figure out what would be the best song to share the lyrics
Read more

Tuleti

Image
I was racking my brain recently to determine what was the first ever Chamorro song that was featured in a motion picture. Noon Sunday was the first every motion picture to be filmed primarily on Guam, prior to that some minor filming had been done on Guam for World War II and Godzilla films but nothing substantial. Noon Sunday was not set in Guam, but it was the first film to feature extensively the island of Guam. Guam was the locale for a fictional Pacific island that was being taken over by a menacing Asian power. Almost all the speaking roles went to people from off-island (from the US or the Philippines), and Chamorros ended up playing most of the "extra" roles. As a result the film didn't feature any Chamorro music. You do find documentaries and television programs, all locally produced that feature Chamorro songs of at least Chamorros singing songs. Guam's History Through Songs, made by the late Carmen Santos is a perfect example of this. For those of you u
Read more