NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

I have for several years now been collecting plåkan Chamoru or Chamoru vinyl albums.  Each week I scour the internet searching for records I haven't seen or heard yet.  Every few months I'm able to find a new one to fill in the gaps in my collection.  I have over the past few years been able to find four copies of this album "Dalai Nene" released by Johnny Sablan in 1968. This was the first ever Chamoru language music album and was released when Johnny Sablan was just 20 years old.  I have collected four in all, one for each of my kids (three are already here, one more is a few months out from when I am typing this).  Each will inherit one of them when I pass away.  This album is historic in so many ways, but one thing for me makes it even more unique and special, namely its use of Chamoru for its text.  There are hundreds of Chamoru albums that have been released on vinyl, cassette and CDs. And while all used Chamoru as the primary language for their ...

Every time I start a new round of my free Chamoru classes, especially since I moved them onto zoom, I always start off by talking to the students about why I offer these classes in the first place.    I always tell them that I didn't grow up speaking Chamoru, or that I only knew less than 10 Chamoru words until I was 20 years old (unless you count food words). During the zoom class orientation last month I told the students the six main words I learned in Chamoru growing up, and that if I said one of the few words they know, put a "biba" in the chat.    I listed off to many giggle and smiles in the zoom boxes: "dåggan...tåke'...fa'fa'...do'do'...mugo'...susu..."   When I glanced at the chat after going through a list mainly of body parts and bodily functions, I realized that more than a hundreds bibas had been typed into the chat.    I continue to offer these free Chamoru classes, primarily because I feel compelled to, in order to honor t...

Ti ya-hu i mubi Operation Christmas Drop. Ti ya-hu i estoria.  Ti ya-hu na ha fatta i militåt.  Lao ya-hu na manannok i tano'-ta gi i mubi. Ya guaha taotao-ta lokkue' mana'annok gi mubi. Ya gof ya-hu na este na kånta mana'saosaonao gi i soundtrack para i mubi. Kada såkkan, hu usa este gi klas-hu Fino' Chamoru gi zoom. ******************* PALUMA The Dolls (Operation Christmas Drop Soundtrack)   Kalang hao paluma Na ti siña hu go’te Måtto hao mambisita An manengheng i puengi Pues gumupu hao gi langhet   You are like a bird That I can’t hold on to You came for a visit When the night was cold And then you flew up to the sky   An umali’e’ hit ta’lo Yan parehu i puti’on Yan hu li’e’ i matå-mu Para ta aguaiya ta’lo   If we meet again And the stars are the same And I see your face We will love each other again   Hu hasso i kulot I paopao-mu Kalang i isa Yan i pao-ña i aire Yan i sinienten i korason-hu...

  As is the tradition for the Guam Bevacqua family, we put together our family bilen this month.    Each member of the family gets their own figure in the bilen representing them.    This year’s bilen is different however, since part of my gifts for everyone was to get Desiree, Sumåhi, Akli’e’ and Chuguangguang (Lulai) each a nesting doll.    Each was made in Ukraine and was purchased to support Ukrainian small businesses and artists.    Sumåhi is the Pokémon, Akli’e’ is the Star Wars, Desiree is the Dracula and Chuguangguang is the Neni na Yoda.    I forgot to buy one for myself though, so I chose the cassette tape for the Chamoru album by the DPW Singing Bus Drivers to represent me.    The background for our family bilen is the two disc vinyl album from Johnny Sablan “A Chamorro Christmas.”    Si Yu’os Ma’åse to Lulai’s nina Isa for the wooden name tags that came with our gifts this year.    The bilen...

 For my weekly Chamoru language practice group, I offered them this week in honor of Thanksgiving, 10 survival phrases in Chamoru to help get you through the day. The sentences focus on honoring and expressing gratitude, but also on discussing drama and delicate topics. They were more for fun than anything else, and I certainly did enjoy writing them up.  ************************ 1. Hu agradesi hamyo ni’ fumå’tinas este na mångnge na sena   I appreciate all of you who made this delicious dinner   2. Hu agradesi todu i mañainå-ta ni’ muna’posipble i guinahå-ta yan bendision-ta siha på’go   I appreciate all of our elders who made possible the abundance and blessings we have today   3. Hu agradesi hao nåna sa’ sen mångnge i korason-mu   I appreciate you mom because you have such a wonderful heart.   4. Hu agradesi hao lokkue’ tata sa’ taichi i gineftao-mu   I appreciate you too dad because your gene...

Ever since I first began learning Chamoru my interest in Chamoru music has continually grown.  I grew up sometimes hearing Chamoru music, but couldn't understand it and didn't really connect with it.  But from the first time that I sat down with my grandmother at the dining room table and had her help me translate the CD "Chamorro Yu'" from Johnny Sablan, kinenne' yu'. I have been hooked.  To this end I have been collecting Chamoru music, whether in CD, cassette or vinyl form.  I've collected whatever I can from newspapers, magazines and scholarly sources related to Chamoru music.   I have also been fortunate enough to sit down with many musicians and talk to them about their experiences and why in a world where English dominates, they chose to record and release music in Chamoru. Last month I was very very luck, gof suettettette, to be able to pick up the album "Ai Saun Diroga" by Chamolinian II while searching for Chamoru music online.   Fr...

  The grandmother of my partner Desiree, Tan Agnes Duenas Perez (familian Pepero) passed away last month at the age of 92. Her youngest great-grandchild is our daughter Lulai, born just last year. I am so thankful that they got to meet before her passing. I am also glad that I have was able to spend some time with her and listen to her stories. She was just 11 years old when the Japanese invaded Guam. She was the eldest of her siblings and helped care for them during this traumatic time. From her auntie Tan Amanda Guzman Shelton, a pioneering Chamoru nurse she learned some basic skills for helping the sick and the elderly. Soon after the war she married musician Josephat Mauro Perez and began to raise a large family. She spent time in those immediate postwar years helping to start the network of community centers and programs for manåmko’. Her family would become prominent in the village of To’to’ and well known for their musical talents. Tan Agnes had 12 chi...

People have been asking us at the Guam Bus for years to make audio books or audio recordings of our bilingual Chamoru-English children’s books. We sadly have never gotten around to it. But with the new series “Beneath the Mango Tree” from Nihi Kids, you can listen and follow along to a reading of our first kid’s book “Sumåhi and the Karabao!” You can find both an English and Chamoru version on the Nihi Kids YouTube page. Biba Nihi! Konsigi mo’na yan todu este gefpagon bidadå-mu put i kotturan yan lengguahen Chamoru!   Here is the link to the Chamoru language version:  

I islå-ta siha giya Marianas i fine’nana entre todu i islas Pasifuku ni’ masagåyi. I manmofo’na na mangguelo-ta mantekngo’ put båtko yan i tasi ya maasusuma na manmanaliligao nuebu na lugåt ni’ para u ma sagåyi anai manmåtto mågi.   Annai ma tutuhon i mangguelo-ta manmañaga guini, ma usa todu klåsen rikesa gI isla para u ma få’tinas i ramientan-ñiha para i gualo’ yan peska, yan lokkue’ ma få’tinas åtmas siha para u maprutehi i guinahan-ñiha.   Guihi na tiempo, duru machalapon siha gi todu isla ya maestablisa songsong siha giya interu Marianas.   Yanggen guaha ira komu påkyo pat tiempon fañomak’an guaha na ma dingu i lugåt-ñiha para otro na isla para nengkanno' yan liheng. Mit años tåtte guaha matulaika gi hagas payon-ta, i hinalom fama’åyan yan i acho’ latte.   Uniku i gima’latte giya Marianas tiot guihi na tiempo annai guaha dångkolo na tinilaika yan hinanao taotao.   I latte un simbilon i menhalom-ta. Komo i haligi para gima’ mangguelo-ta, ha repr...

 If anyone knows how I can contact Rodrigue Levesque, please let me know.  He researched, translated and published the History of Micronesia series, which is an amazing set of primary source documents dealing with Micronesia. It is a collection of information that has yet to be fully incorporated into how we tell the history of our islands.  The books, when they were published were gof guaguan, very expensive, at least $100 each. But they were massive. When I was a graduate student at UOG, spending time at the University of Guam Micronesian Area Research Center, I loved reading through the lepblon Levesque siha.  They featured completely different perspectives from the traditional or canonical history of the Marianas, but using not just the official histories or accounts of events, but also letters by priests, government officials, soldiers and sailors, that he was able to collect in his research.  A few years ago Levesque finished his History of Micronesia seri...

  The Yokoi Museum is closing in Japan, created in the house of the Japanese straggler following his death has closed down. It was opened by Yokoi's widow in 2006, but closed in 2020 due to the pandemic. Mihoko, Yokoi's widow passed away during the pandemic and the family has been unable to find support from the prefecture or city to keep it open and so has chosen to close it.  In the Guam Museum, we have several items from Yokoi and 28 years hiding in Guam's jungles. But for me personally, I would love to obtain items from the collection of his museum in Japan, even though many of the items, at least from the reporting, seem to be recreations once he was back in Japan.     ************************ Memorial museum for ex-Japanese soldier who lived for 28 yrs in Guam's jungle closes  September 6, 2022 (Mainichi Japan) NAGOYA -- The memorial museum here for the late Shoichi Yokoi, a former Japanese soldier who lived in the mountains of Guam for 28 years wit...

In recent years my research and scholarly work has become heavily focused on Chamoru music.  Part of this stems from the fact that my own journey in starting to learn the Chamoru language, more than 20 years ago, was heavily aided by Chamoru music, listening to songs and trying to translate songs with my grandmother.  Party of it also stems from the fact that when you go through Guam's history, even from the perspective of outsiders, music was an essential part of life, and one of the most important ways that Chamorus expressed themselves. This is something that the Spanish smartly focused on in their colonization of the Chamoru people in the 17th century. Using Chamoru and focusing on teaching the new religion through songs. Here is an account from Le Gobien in 1700, At first the natives shyly held back upon the arrival of the ships and did not want to come aboard. San Vitores, however, encouraged them to sing the litany of the Virgin and soon they approached...

 This coming week's episode of Fanachu! will feature an interview with Saina Donald Mendiola, a yo'åmti and CNMI Cultural Icon. I'm excited about this episode, where I'll get to learn more about Saina Donald's journey to becoming a healer, and also the recent recognition he has received in both Guam and the CNMI for his work in the community and in schools. Below is an article from June in the CNMI. ******************** Senate resolution honors traditional healer, educator  by K-Andrea Evarose Limol Jun 21, 2022 Updated Jun 21, 2022 Marianas Variety THE Senate on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution honoring traditional healer and educator Donald Benavente Mendiola. Authored by Sen. Edith Deleon Guerrero, S.R. 22-24 acknowledges and honors Mendiola for his long-lasting contributions to the CNMI. Mendiola has been practicing Chamorro medicine for around 47 years. He was 8 when he began navigating the practice of being a “suruhuånu” or “yo’åmti” under his ...

 One thing that I enjoy about being a researcher is that I get to search for things and come across things that others may not have the time, resources or privileges to find.  But the question is, what do you do with all of these things that you are able to gather? That was always a things that bothered me being part of academia. Is that so much of what I spent time working on was to be funneled into particular forums or formats, where it may not reach many people (scholars included). I remember talking to a Chamoru who has been at a university in the states for many years now about this issue. He in his time in archives across the US and the Pacific, had collected so much incredible research from Chamoru history.  He maintained that he was serving his islands back home and the Chamoru people in general by publishing his work into books and articles. I can understand that, but I had to be honest and remind him that I've never met an actual person back home who has read yo...