NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Ti katoliko yu'. SDA i rilihon-hu anai dumadangkolu yu'. Gi entre todu i gima'yu'us siha giya Guahan, i gima'yu'us Katoliko i mas Chamorro. Hunggan, matanom i simiyas para i hineggen Protestante mas ki un siento anos tatte, lao ma'establesi ayu na guma'yu'us gi duranten i Tiempon Fina'amerikanu, ya humuyongna ti gof Chamorro i pengga' Protestante giya Guahan. I rilihon SDA, humålom giya Guahan despues di i Tiempon Chapones, ya put enao manhålom i Chamorro siha gi duranten un mas didok na Tiempon Fina'amerikanu. Anai estaba humålom yu' gi Gima'yu'us Katoliko, meggai Fino' Chamorro hu hungok, gi kanta siha, tinaitai siha yan pinagat lokkue'. Lao gi gima'yu'us-mami, taya'. Achokka' ti hu aksepta i doktrina komo iyo-ku, hu agradesi i che'cho'-na i Gima'yu'us Katoliko gi halacha na tiempo. Sa' siha mas umu'usa i Fino' Chamorro. Estague un hemplo: *****************

For most Chamorros, there is only one religion which gets to be designated as a "Chamorro" religion. That is Catholicism. Even though it has only been a part of Chamorro lives for just a few hundred years, it became intimately connected to so many parts of Chamorro life during that time, that for some scholars and individuals you cannot be Chamorro today unless you are Catholic or participate in Catholic rites. For others the Chamorro religion deals with taotaomo'na or aniti, ancestral spirits, their reverence and worship. We see elements of this in the way that cautious respect for the jungle and other natural areas persisted in a quiet supernatural or spiritual form, even when the overt belief in the spirits of Chamorro ancestors became weakened and almost forgotten. Although positive perceptions and connections to our ancient ancestors are common today, few people accept this as their religion alone. Instead they mix elements that to some might be contradictory toget

Mina'sais na Lisayu 12/20/13 You could say that religion was a central part of grandma’s life and a key part of her family’s legacy to this island. Her families, both from her mother and her father, helped build the foundation for two different churches during the 20 th century. The seeds of Protestantism had already been planted in the island during the Spanish period. Whalers from the United States brought it in small doses towards the end of the Spanish period. In fact the first concerted effort to build a non-Catholic community came from two Chamorros who had left as whalers and returned as evangelists, the Custino Brothers. On both her mother’s and her father’s side, grandma’s relatives were among the first Chamorros to convert to Protestantism. Both grandma’s mother’s and father’s family were of the first generation of Chamorros to convert. In fact grandma’s grandfather, my great great grandfather Jose Aguon Flores (Tatan Engko) was th

This week I will be writing daily lisayus in honor of my grandmother. She was not Catholic and neither am I, so these are meant to be expressions of my love for her and gratitude that I got to know her and learn from her.  *************** Fine'nina na Lisayu for Elizabeth De Leon Flores Lujan December 15, 2013 You cannot understand who my grandmother was without knowing her mother. So many of the stories that I was told by my grandmother came from this woman, my great-grandmother Rita Pangelinan De Leon who married Guillermo Sablan Flores. My grandmother’s eyes would sparkle when she would share the stories of her mother’s life. For years she would narrate the story of her mother like it was a daily soap opera. The stories usually began with my great-great-great grandfather who was in charge of the kitchen in the Spanish Governor’s palace.  After those in the palace had been fed leftovers would be scraped from huge metal pots onto plates, wrapped and placed into