NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Tune in to Fanachu! on Facebook, Friday, January 4th, 2019 from 9am-12pm for a special live stream event, "State of the Movement."

I have not written one of these posts in a while, although the collecting of Chamorro sayings continues. Fina'kuentos Chamorro is where I post different Chamorro sayings or phrases, they are important in providing us a sense of the Chamorro worldview, both in history and in a contemporary context, and give us a sense of the Chamorro particular flavor to life. Sometimes this flavor can be very familiar to other cultures, sometimes it can be very Catholic, sometimes is can appear to be very tied to the land and people here themselves. This saying "Si Yu'os, Yu'os. I taotao, taotao ha'" can be both very simple, yet also encompass very deep thoughts. It translates simply to "God is God, man is man." On the surface it is simply that men should not worry about things that are beyond their control, as those things lie in God's hands and he will determine what happens. It is a simplified serenity prayer. But it can also extend further into helpin

On April 7, 2017, more than 800 people gathered in the field in front of the Ricardo J. Bordallo Government Complex in Adelup, Guåhan for the “Respect the Chamoru People Rally.” The event, organized by a grassroots collective of volunteers, aimed at celebrating the culture of the island’s indigenous people, the Chamorros, and at helping remind the Guam community about the need to maintain a respectful relationship to them in their island homeland. The event was non-partisan, backing no political candidates or agendas. Over the course of the event’s 2 ½ hours, 15 speakers shared stories of the struggles of Chamorros in the past and the need to protect their island and heritage for future generations. Cultural groups offered blessings. Poets and musicians delivered inspiration through powerful words and melodies. Community organizations manned tables providing information on the military buildup, decolonization, and cultural preservation. The Håya Foundation, which seeks to preserve

Respect the Chamoru People Rally April 7 For Immediate Release, March 29, 2017 —  A series of disrespectful acts against the Chamoru people seemed to eclipse what is normally one of the most festive times of the year — Mes Chamoru , a month dedicated to celebrating the Chamoru culture.   Almost daily this month, Guam’s news outlets have reported on military and other encroachment into sacred lands and natural habitats from northern to southern Guam; a court decision against the Chamoru right to self-determination; and Federal threats to the Chamor u Land Trust . For many Chamorus, these actions have sparked the need to remind the community that Guam is i Tano ’ i Man Chamoru, the homeland of the Chamoru people.  The language, culture and heritage of the Native people of Guam and the Marianas are what make our archipelago unique in the world.  There is no other place on earth for Chamorus to call their homeland. Above all, the Chamoru people, like all

It's almost Mes Chamoru once again! For my free weekly Chamorro classes today I brought a record player and a wide range of Chamorro LPs from my collection. We listened to a few songs, discussing the lyrics. One of the requests from the students was this song below "Mannginge'" from Jesse Bais. It is one commonly heard at parties, in stores, and also used by teachers for performances with their Chamorro classes. The practice of mannginge', or the sniffing and sometimes kissing of the hand of an elder is the subject of different community debates. First there are the debates over whether or not it is dying or still persists. Although it may not be something practiced in all Chamorro families today, it is definitely not dead, and if anything I find more and more families practicing it because of the belief that it is dead. Second there are the debates over who you should or should not pay respect to in this way. This is something that I struggle with as well.

Several years ago, there was a small but significant spike in Guam/Chamorro based activism around the announcement that rather than Pågat, the US military not intended to build their firing range complex for their military buildup near Litekyan or Ritidian as many know it on Guam. For those unfamiliar with the long, winding road for this the US military buildup to Guam, they created a DEIS around their intent to build the firing range complex in Pågat. After push-back from the community, lawsuits and also problems at the US federal level, this was withdrawn and a SEIS or supplementary environmental impact statement was conducted, identifying the area above Litekyan in Northern Guam as the new location. I attended the public comment meetings, participated in protests and demonstrations and also helped organize teach-ins and forums to educate the public about the military's intended use of this very important cultural and historic area for Chamorros. The level of public outrage nev

To be very honest I used to hate the comments on the Guam PDN website before. Every couple of weeks someone would tell me something someone was saying about me on in the threads. I wouldn't often check it out, but when I did it was never pleasant. It was like a no-reality zone there for most people. I would be called all sorts of names and people would make up some pretty insane things about me. The PDN comments were filled with so many people who had left Guam behind, but their disdain for the people of the island or disgust for the island burned brighter than ever. That disconnect was very intriguing for me. How the people who took that space the most seriously in terms of dominating it with their ideas were those who probably at the least to gain or least actual investment or connection to what they were arguing over. Since the PDN changed their comments over to Facebook and requiring that people be signed into Facebook in order to comment the dialogue has cleaned up quite a

Colonialism isn't supposed to exist anymore, which is why it is intriguing every time I hear someone use it and its imagery in order to make their point today. People who are trapped in relationships call them colonial. People who feel exploited name it colonial. People who feel oppressed refer to it as colonial. I have even heard it used in positive senses, as in moving into a place and changing the way it operates, for the better, as being colonial.  The colonial mention of the day comes from a group of Latin American leaders from countries who have long resisted United States hegemony in the region. The United States is trying to play is very su'anu with regards to the Edward Snowden scandal. They want to pretend like its nothing, like he's lint you just brush off your shoulder. It is no big deal. But at the same time they are applying very real pressure throughout the world in order to punish him and take away his options. The issue is not Snowden himself of cour

Here are some of my thoughts on the Chamorro language today. Fihu ma faisen yu' put i hinasso-ku siha gi este na klasin asunto, pues pine'lo-ku maolek na para bai hu pegga siha guini para u mali'e' yan mataitai. Ti hu kekesangan na impottante yu' gi i diniskuti put este, lao guaha inimpottante gi i sinangan-hu siha. Ko'lo'lo'na ayu nai put i lenguahi ni' i pumalu siha ti ma admimite. ******************** 1. Chamorro is an official language of Guam along with English. This is something people often forget. 2. It is important to teach, practice and preserve the Chamorro language because it is part of the unique heritage of Guam and the Marian as. If Chamorros and non-Chamorros allow the Chamorro language to disappear the n it means ( gi minagahet) that we are a sad and pathetic community. This island likes to say that respect is important here, but the majority of people on Guam (and this includes Chamorros) have little to no respect for

"Republicans: The Truth is Stranger than Dystopian Science Fiction" By John Amato August 17, 2011 06:00 AM' Crooks and Liars.com If you witnessed the last GOP Presidential debate on Fox News, you witnessed a Republican field of candidates that have become a cross between the John Birch Society, the Moral Majority and Americans For Tax Reform . When Jack Abramoff, Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed burst onto the scene via the College Republicans , they were considered the tea party of their day by both parties. Complete radicals who had insane ideas and weren't to be taken seriously. I mean, they really loved South Africa under Apartheid. Fast forward 30 years and their ideas have become embedded into the heart of the GOP. Thomas Frank predicts much of what happened to Obama in interview with Amy Goodman back in August of 2008 because he understood their bag of tricks as well as anyone ever has, especially on deficit spending : But the most insidious one,

I've said this regularly on this blog, but I'm going to say it again one more time, achokka' esta hu tungo' na para bai hu sangan este ta'lo: there is no such thing as authentic culture, and there is no culture which is authentic or pure. I know this may come as a shock to some of you, but its completely true. No matter what you may think about yourself, your culture, your history or your people, they are not authentic now and never actually been authentic or pure. The idea of a people truly embodying or accepting or living "their culture" is not possible, there are always exceptions, always variations, always ways in which cultures are changing or being contested. It doesn't matter if you claim that your language and culture hasn't changed in a 1000 years, that in no way means you can claim any more authenticity than anyone else. The easy answer as to why this is the case is that culture simply doesn't work that way, for it to ever be pure o