Tåke' Biha: The Flower that Makes You Smile

It is a joyous point in every Chamoru child’s life when you discover this yellow flower, which has a name that will make you giggle endlessly, tåke’ biha, which translates to old woman’s poop. 

 

I remember seeing them growing near my grandparents house in Mangilao when I was young, but not knowing what they were called. 

 

Lao fihu taiguini gi dumångkolo'-hu, ti meggai tininingo'-hu put trongko yan tinanom siha, pi'ot tiningo' put siha gi Fino' Chamoru.  

 

It wasn’t til I was 20 years old and actively learning Chamoru that my grandmother told me what they were called. I broke out laughing and so did she. 

 

I am reminded of this recently for a few reasons. Firstly, the first year I started teaching my Zoom Chamoru classes, I had transitioned from offering them in coffee shops on Guam to largely students who had grown up in Guam who were attending in person, to now hundreds of students attending, most of whom had never really lived in Guam or had lived most of their lives in the diaspora. 

 

That first year of offering Zoom classes was inspiring as hundreds of students attended, some of whom have gone on to become fluent, but it was also a time where I was confronted with Chamorus who had a very different sense of Chamoru culture, humor, appropriateness. 

 

For example, mentioning something like tåke' biha in class, which to me shows the humor and silliness of Chamorus, was accepted by most students, but it did get responses from some who told me I shouldn't teach that in a class or that is was gross, offensive and wrong. 

 

It was a strange experience then that I'm reflecting on now as I am preparing to offer a new series of free weekly Zoom Chamoru classes and I remember students so taimamahlao and also taihinasso in that way. 

 

But a second reason I am reflecting on this is because recently, Lulai my four year old, learned about tåke’ biha. There is some that grows near my dad’s house and Desiree has been asking for us to check on it for months so she can collect it to make some åmot or medicine. A few times I would take Lulai out to the bushes for the tåke’ biha and she would ask “Håfa bidadå-ta?” (What are we doing?)

 

I would respond, “Manespipiha hit tåke’ biha” (we are looking for tåke’ biha). She would look at me with disbelieving eyes and say “nooo!”

 

“Hunggan, Lao ti mismo tåke’ este. Tåke’ biha un flores. Este na flores ni’ siña inisa as nanå-mu para åmot” (Yes, but this isn’t really poop. This is a flower that can be used by your mom for medicine.)

 

When we visited my dad this weekend he has set up on the table some freshly cut tåke’ biha, Lulai couldn’t stop laughing and smiling each time we all said the name “tåke’ biha.” 

 

Biba tåke’ biha!