NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

A special presentation by Chamorro Studies student at UOG as part of the 2019 MARC Seminar Series. Sen gefpågo este na dinanña'. Ya-hu taiguihi na fina'pos, sa' ta na'fåmta' i lengguahi ya ta na'gof oppan gui' lokkue'! It featured presentations by students at the CM102, 202 and 302 levels. It also featured some very special presentations by my CM340 of Chamoru Culture students. One of whom Joe "Dågu" Babauta is included below in a video with his original song that he shared.

A few years ago, the University of Guam underwent a long discussion over the changing of its GE or General Education requirements for students. The intent was to update the system and lower the overall credit requirement. No system reform can ever be perfect or make all stakeholders happy, but this overhaul seemed to be strangely arbitrary and disconnected from UOG's mission, purpose or advantages as an educational institution. For most of its existence, you could argue that UOG was a colonial institution. You could argue that it continues to be one today. When I say colonial, it is not meant to describe that it came from the outside and therefore it implicitly bad. This is something that has been and can continue to be argued over forever. When I say colonial, I am invoking it to refer to the type of education it provides. How it is rooted and what it is meant to do. All cultures have some form of education and that education comes with different intents, to teach certain thin

Ever since we created the Chamorro Studies Program at UOG, there has been an expected tension within the university over what should or should not constitute the program offerings. While there isn't much debate over whether the Chamorro Studies program should offer courses in Chamoru language, Chamoru history or that discuss Chamoru culture from a theoretical perspective, there are regular disagreements over whether or not the program should offer "culture" courses. As someone who went off to grad school with the intent of helping to "decolonize" the University of Guam, a place where I had received my BA and my first MA, this conflict is usually very personal. Most everyone can agree that academia should make room for "indigenous knowledge" in a trendy or fad-like sense. In the same way in which everyone might want to connect something about climate change to their work to be aligned with prevailing intellectual currents, we find something similar in

Last month for UOG's annual Chamoru Christmas celebration "Puengen Minagof Noche Buena" my Radical Chamoru History class performed their own version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" using Chamoru and also references from the Fanuchånan semester and Guam's recent election. It was a lot of fun watching them write it and as you can see in this picture, they used appropria te props when performing it. Here are their lyrics: "I fine’nina na Krismas, este ma susedi I fine’nina na na palao'an gobietno (The first day of Christmas, this is what took place The first female governor (of Guam!)) I mina’dos na Krismas, este ma susedi Dos na Påkyo (The second day of Christmas, this is what took place Two typhoons (that happened during the semester)) I mina’tres na Krismas, este ma susedi Tres freskon mannok (The third day of Christmas, this is what took place Three fresh chickens (new fresh, faces in the Legislature) I mina’kuåtro na Krismas, este ma susedi Ku

For those interested in listening to Chamoru stories in the Chamoru language, please come join the Chamorro Studies Majors and Minors at UOG for this special event: "Na'haspok na Estoria" on April 28 from 12-3 pm at SBPA 131 at UOG. The name "Na'haspok na Estoria" means "stories that fill you up" as the word "håspok" means sated or filled up as in your stomach being full. The event should be very interesting as most of the presenters are around the age of 40 or less, but still fluent in the Chamoru language. Alot of events that I am organizing or participating in lately seem to have this sort of theme, where those of us who are younger learners of Chamoru and often times second-language learners, nai ti mandångkolo' gi halom i mismo fino'-ta, are nonetheless attempting to take up the kulo' for language vitality.

Hagas umatungo' ham yan este na taotao, si Siñot Joe "Dågu" Babauta, un ma'estron Chamorro yan gof maolek na titifok yan danderu. Desde i ma'pos na såkkan hu ayuyuda gui' mama'tinas lepblon e'eyak para i ma'estron Chamorro gi GDOE. Hu kekeayuda gui' på'go mama'nå'gue klas gi UOG para i otro semester (Fañomåkan 2018). Halacha nai hu interview gui' para i website Hongga Mo'na , ya debi di bei edit yan na'funhåyan ayu. Estague un tinige' put guiya yan i bidadå-ña ginen i gasetan PDN. **************************** "Chamorro teacher Joe 'Dågu' Babuata keeps weaving tradition alive" by Chloe Babauta Pacific Daily News August 7, 2017 When Joe “Dågu” Babauta saw “Tan Maria” weaving a hat out of coconut leaves at 12 years old, his lifelong love affair with the art of weaving began. “Being that I was so young, I had to ask older friends who drove to take me down there from Agat, to wh

Each semester I have my higher level Chamorro major classes write letters to the editor of the local newspapers, gi fino' Chamorro. They write these about pertinent issues affecting the island. Once they are finished, I encourage them to submit them to either the Pacific Daily New or the Guam Daily Post. They are rarely published. Even though there are supposed to be two official languages for Guam, Chamorro and English, in practice this is rarely the case. Chamorro is scarcely given the support or the recognition in public, private or commercial spheres per its status as the indigenous or native language of the land. Still I was happy last December (12/22/16) when the Pacific Daily News published these two letters from my students and did not require the publication of English translations as if common. ****************** Chamorros can keep our language alive Preba na ti Chamorro i sumåsangan na måtai esta i lengguåhi-ta. Ginen ma na’ påra ma na’setbe i fino’-ta gi tiempo

2017 Chamorro Language Competition Celebrates Storytelling, Launches New Chamorro Learning Website  Mangilao, Guam: On March 13-14, 2017, the Chamorro Studies Program in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Guam will hold its annual “Inacha’igen Fino’ CHamoru,” or Chamorro language competition.  Each year, hundreds of students from both private and public schools throughout the Marianas gather to compete against each other in categories that test their knowledge of speaking, reading, writing, and singing in the Chamorro language. The theme for this year’s competition is “I Fino’ CHamoru: Ta Hungok, Ta Li’e’, Ta Sångan, Pues Nihi Ta Mantieni!”: "The Chamorro Language: We Hear, We See, We Speak, So Let’s Hold On to It!”  The first day of the competition will take place on Monday, March 13, from 2 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the CLASS Lecture Hall and feature categories for individual contestants. On this day, s

My two PDN columns on the need to protect language learning at UOG. If you aren't familiar with the issue, please head to this website UOG Language Drive , to learn more and sign the petition. If we combine both online and paper signatures, we have collected over 1500 and are still working on getting more! ************************* Protect Language Learning at UOG Michael Lujan Bevacqua Pacific Daily News December 30, 2016 At present at the University of Guam, each undergraduate student is required to take two language classes (eight credits total) as part of their General Education or GE requirements. UOG offers courses regularly for Chamorro, Japanese, Tagalong, Spanish, Mandarin, French and can also offer courses in Chuukese and other Micronesian languages upon request. UOG is also home to the Chamorro Studies Program, of which I am a faculty member and this program is unique in the world in terms of focusing its courses on the history, language and culture of t

If you believe that the University of Guam should support bilingualism and encourage through its curriculum the learning of the many languages from this region and beyond, please read below the statement of our "UOG Language Drive." Faculty and administrators at UOG are planning on reducing the required language classes for undergraduates from 2 to just 1 next year. This would reduce the language learning for all students from a single year (8 credits) to just a single semester (4 credits). Students could still take more courses if they wanted to, or if their major required it, but in general this will lead to a severely negative impact on any programs, such as mine, Chamorro Studies that are language focused. Please read this statement, written by a group of faculty including myself, and consider signing our Protect Languages at UOG Petition . ******************** The purpose of this signature drive is to promote and to advance language learning at the University of Gu

I felt like I've written a hundred press releases this year, most of them for the Independence for Guåhan Task Force, but plenty of others for the Chamorro Studies Program at UOG. I've been meaning to post them here just to easily archive them, especially for when I apply for promotion to UOG in the coming year. It is intriguing, because what made me think of this tonight, was a column written today by Paul Zerzan in the Guam Daily Post. It discusses how the Chamorro language is a dead language. It isn't very well-written and its argument is incredibly poor on almost all possible levels. Part of it hinges on him describing an anecdote whereby a Chamorro cultural event planned in 1993 was attended by only himself, therefore clearly proving the language being dead. What struck me as bewildering about this particular portion of his argument, was that on a regular basis I attend and organize (ko'lo'lo'ña gi UOG) Chamorro events that hundreds of people att

My personal metric for determining candidates who get my vote boils down to these three things: 1. Do they speak Chamorro? 2. Are they supportive of Chamorro language, culture and rights? 3. Do they support decolonization and are they open to considering independence as a political status for Guam? This election there are fewer Chamorro speakers than ever, especially at the senatorial level. But that's why I was grateful that so many candidates ( such as those in these images) were willing to participate in a Chamorro language forum where they used the Chamorro language in their responses even if it was difficult for them. I've also been impressed with the number of candidates who are expressing an openness to decolonization and the possibilities of Guam becoming independent. Biba Ha'anen Botasion! Biba Chamorro! Biba Guåhan!

Hu gof agradesi i sinaonaon este na kandidatu gi i Inadaggao Lengguahen Chamoru gi ma'pos na simana. Mas ki dos siento na taotao manannok ya ma ekungok este na ocho mamfino' Chamomorro put diferentes takhilo' na asunto gi kumunidåt-ta på'go. Hu nå'i este siha dångkolu na respetu. Magof hu na bei anunsia na in kekeotganisa un otro na dinanña' taiguni para i otro'ña na simåna. Siempre bei na'huyong i infotmasion på'go pat agupa'. Biba Chamorro! Biba Chamorro Studie gi UOG! Si Yu'os Ma'ase to the candidates who participated in the Inadaggao Lengguahen Chamoru held last week at the University of Guam and organized by students from t he Chamorro Studies Program. They are from left to right in this photo: Senator Tom Ada, Senator Rory Respicio, Senator Dennis Rodriguez, Joe San Agustin, Wil Castro, Fernando Esteves, Eric Palacios and Senator Mary Torres. Due to the community response, a second Chamorro language forum may be sch

Tomorrow is the Inadaggao Lengguahen Chamoru at UOG. The forum for senatorial candidates in the Chamorro language will begin at 6 pm in the CLASS Lecture Hall. See my column below for more information on why it is important.   ************** Breathe life in the Chamorro language Michael Lujan Bevacqua Pacific Daily News October 6, 2016   From 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 10 at the University of Guam  CLASS Lecture Hall, students in the Chamorro Studies program will organize an “Inadaggao Lengguahen Chamoru” or a Chamorro Language Forum. For this event, four senatorial candidates from each political party will be asked questions in the Chamorro language about pertinent island issues, and respond in the Chamorro language. The event is open to the public and refreshments will be provided. Nowadays it is easy to forget that there are two official languages for this island, Chamorro and English. One of them has been here for a little over a century, the other for thousands of

Press Release Guagua Tiningo’ February 28, 2016 Ha’ånen Fino’ Chamoru Ha’: March 6th to be a “day of speaking Chamorro only.” Community is challenged to use as much Chamorro as possible to start off Mes Chamoru this year. Mangilao, Guam – Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua and Kenneth Gofigan Kuper, two Chamorro language revitalization advocates are encouraging people on island and around the world to participate in Ha’ånen Fino’ Chamoru Ha’ on March 6, 2016, or a day of only speaking Chamorro. This will be the second annual Ha’ånen Fino’ Chamoru Ha’ following last year’s successful campaign, in which more than 100 people committed to using as much Chamorro as possible on March 1, 2015. The organizers hope to keep expanded this new effort at revitalizing the Chamorro language, especially with Mes Chamoru or Chamorro month soon approaching and FESTPAC less than three months away. On March 6 th , participants are encouraged to use only the Chamorro language as they go ab

Last month I spent an afternoon working with Sinot Louie Wabol, un ma'estron Chamoru giya Guahan and a major in the Chamorro Studies program at UOG. Over the Christmas break we worked on a project together titled "Ossitan Chamorro Marianas" and with the help of my TA Nathan Topasna, we recorded two hours of Chamorro jokes and humorous stories. ( I nobia-hu Isa provided hanom yan fina'mames na sinapotte). At first I tried my best to keep myself from cracking up after each joke, but eventually gave up as his performance d eserved a laugh track. In all he shared more than 50 jokes, some of which I'll be using in future research. For now, though I'm glad one joke that he included is the Juan Malimanga standard about public urination. (Juan Malimanga is peeing against the wall in an alley) Polisia: Hoi! Para! Kao un tungo' na kontra i lai enao i bidada-mu? Juan: Ahe', ti kontra i lai Sinot! Kontra i liga! *************** Esta mas ki 40 n

 I've been helping with the organizing of UOG's annual Puengen Minagof Nochebuena celebration for several years now. At first, I found myself very awkwardly participating, as much of the traditions involved, whether it be the praying of the nobena or the singing of Chamorro Christmas songs was foreign to me. I grew up in a home where we didn't make a bilen and certainly didn't go out into the jungle to obtain lumot for it. We sometimes sang some Christmas songs, but they were always in English and I was never really exposed to the exciting array of Chamorro Christmas songs, some of which are translations of popular English tunes (like "Similot" which is the Chamorro version of "Silver Bells") or gof katoliko na kanta siha, or Catholic Chamorro songs that feel like they were penned straight from the quill of Pale' San Vitores himself. As I grew up Seventh-Day Adventist, we didn't pray the nobena either.  Boñelos were a part o