NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

So many people ask me this each year, I decided to post a reply from Pale' Eric Forbes from his blog four years ago to save me time. One of these days, I'll make a post of my own and add some other options to the list. ******************** http://paleric.blogspot.com/2011/12/how-do-you-say-merry-christmas-in.html Thursday, December 22, 2011 HOW DO YOU SAY "MERRY CHRISTMAS" IN CHAMORRO? SHORT ANSWER Felis Påsgua or Felis Påsguan Nochebuena or Magof Nochebuena LONG ANSWER First of all, not all cultures have an old custom of using specific greetings for special occasions.  The phrase "Merry Christmas" is an American/British custom.  The phrase appeared in some English writings many hundreds of years back, but didn't become popularized till Christmas cards started using them in the early 1800s.  In times past, "merry" meant "pleasant" or "agreeable."  But it a

Sometimes I get depressed about the state of the Chamorro language. Whenever I am talking to an elderly Chamorro about how our language is dying and the culture is being forgotten and I see them speaking to their grandchildren in English, it makes me want to explode. Everytime I hear elders complain about the young today and how soft and weak and spoiled they are, but who allow their children to be glued to iPads at dinner or in public, it makes me want to run away. When I sit in a meeting where everyone thinks that the solution to the saving of the language lies with an app, or software, but ignores that basic fact that what we really need is just more inter-generational use of Chamorro, the speaking of Chamorro not across a generation, but rather between generations, I want to set something on fire. Whenever I have a conversation with someone who tells me that Chamorro is only supposed to be used like this, or is only meant to talk about this or that, and doesn't want to expan

When I have my students do oral history projects with elder Chamorros, they often times groan and moan. They knew that Chamorros suffered in World War II and don't need to interview an old person to know it. They know they speak Chamorro fluently and don't need to ask them about it. I generally have my students focus their questions on certain things that elders may have heard or been exposed to when they were very young, which wouldn't necessarily be the things an ethnographer or anthropologist or historian would ask them. For example, one topic I am always interested in hearing about are legends or children's stories. What were the stories that the elders of today were told when they were kids? My students often groan about this because they assume that the stories that were told then were probably the same stories we tell today. So kids today can hear stories about Sirena, Gadao, Fu'una and Puntan and Duendes, these must be the same stories that people told t

The website of Pale' Eric Forbes is a great place for information on Chamorro language, culture and history. He has everything from Chamorro sayings, to translations of Chamorro texts, to little tidbits and footnotes from Chamorro history. It is a great resource for those who want to deepen their knowledge about so many of the things that make Chamorro Chamorro. He has a creative way of drawing out interesting parts of our native and pre-contact history, but also our colonial history. He has an equal excitement for both dimensions, which many find surprising because of his work as a Catholic priest. Below is the transcript of some testimony given recently at the Legislature gi Fino' Chamoru. Pale' Eric provides not only a transcript but also a translation. Often times when he provide a text like this he'll have detailed notes on some of the words used and their origins. The testimony was given in favor of a bill to support the Historic Inalahan program. It is nice

"Translating the Garrido Manuscript" Michael Lujan Bevacqua Marianas Variety 3/26/14 This Thursday, March 27 a very special presentation will be held at the University of Guam and titled “The Garrido Manuscript: A Unique Glimpse of the Chamorro Language in 1798.” The public is invited to come and learn about the translation of the oldest document known written in the Chamorro language, from 1798, more than 200 years ago. The presentation will begin at 6 pm and take place in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Lecture Hall at UOG. This presentation is sponsored by the Micronesia Area Research Center and the Chamorro Studies Program. Dr. Carlos Madrid, a research associate at MARC has spearheaded the project with essential assistance from Jeremy Cepeda, a Chamorro teacher at Simon Sanchez. Lenoard Iriarte from I Fanlalai’an Oral History Project, Pale’ Eric Forbes, Rosa Palomo from the Micronesian Language Institute and myself also a

MARC. Colonial studies Working Group  PRESS RELEASE The Garrido Manuscript: A Unique Glimpse of the Chamorro Language in 1798 by Dr. Carlos Madrid and Jeremy Cepeda. University of Guam, CLASS Lecture Hall Thursday, March 27, 2014 – 6 pm. Expected duration of the event: 1 hour. A one-of-a-kind document written in the Chamorro language of the 18th Century is being brought to light as a result of research recently conducted at the Micronesian Area Research Center, University of Guam. The Micronesian Area Research Center and the Chamorro Studies Program are presenting a translation of this document to the community and offering a rare look into what the Chamorro language looked and sounded like more than 200 years ago. In 1798, Manuel Garrido, a Chamorro and official of the Spanish Government of the Mariana Islands was asked to translate into Chamorro news received from Manila regarding the victory of Spanish and Filipino soldiers against British shi

When you look at the pantheon of Chamorro legends and epic stories, there is quite a bit of love there. Unfortunately much of the love is of the tragic variety. All of the various versions of I Puntan Dos Amantes or The Two Lovers all end badly with a lovers suicide taking place in Tumon. Guam's own version of Romeo and Juliet that tells us how the Atbot det Fuego got its red leaves. Even the story of the white lady in Ma'ina has versions about true love gone awry. It makes me wonder sometimes if Ancient Chamorros truly had such a dim and depressing view of love, or if the tragic effects of young love is something that comes after the Spanish and their attacks on Chamorro sexuality and culture? The Spanish accounts talk about the deep love that Chamorros of opposite sexes would have for each other. How they would put that affection into beautiful songs and poems. Once Catholicism dominates Guam and Chamorro life this changes. The love is still there, but now an incredible