NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

“The World, Deeply” Michael Lujan Bevacqua
The Marianas Variety
12/28/11


Every once in a while I leaf through the pages of “The Book of Five Rings” by legendary 17th century samurai warrior Miyamoto Musashi. This text, famous for the way it brings together philosophy and strategy, is where I sometimes turn to when seeking some pidasun finayi, or fragments of wisdom. For example, when I find myself at a crossroads in terms of activism, or needing a hint of guidance on how to approach some aspect of community engagement, empowerment or consciousness raising, I find that Musashi sometimes has some great, profound, sometimes vague insights.

Last year during the ideologically turbulent DEIS comment period on the Guam military buildup, I found some solace through Musashi’s notion that you should (in Chamorro) "Tungo’ i enimigu-mu, tungo’ i sapblå-ña." Or, in English, “Know your enemy, know his sword.”

Part of the wisdom of this quote is that in order to defeat your enemy, in orde…

Every once in a while I leaf through The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi to see what sort of pidasun finayi or fragments of wisdom I might find there. When I find myself at a crossroads in terms of activism, or needing a hint of guidance on how to approach some aspect of community engagement, empowerment or consciousness raising, I find that Musashi sometimes has some great, profound, sometimes vague insights. For example, last year after the end of the ideologically turbulent DEIS comment period on the Guam military buildup, I wrote a post titled "Know Your Enemy, Know His Sword," or in Chamorro, "Tungo’ i enimigu-mu, tungo’ i sapblå-ña."

Part of the wisdom of this quote is that in order to defeat your enemy, in order to truly vanquish him, it is not enough to hate him. Ti nahong na un chatli'e' gui' ya ti ya-mu gui'. You have to know him, and his sword, which is another way of referring to his soul, in order to defeat him. That means that …