NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

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

Thought it would be nice to end the year with a reference to what is considering to be the beginning of the Chamorro people, namely Fouha Bay, where most consider the Chamorro creation story to be set. Here is some information on it, placing it in both a historical and contemporary context and briefly how it connects to an upcoming project my family will be published. ******************* Fouha Bay/Laso' Fouha The Birthplace of Chamorro Civilization There are several creation stories for Chamorros. Some deal with Magellan getting lost, others with Marines hitting beaches, and then there are those which imagine the beginning with snakes tempting fruit aficionados in paradise. One creation story that is achieving more and more prominence is the tale of Fu’una and Puntan, which is partially set in the village of Humatak, and it is also the setting for a comic that I have been working on with my brother Jack as part of our Guam Bus creative plans.  For

People ask me all the time what decolonization means or is. Manhoben, manåmko’, taotao sanhiyong, taotao sanhalom, all hear of this term as they go about their lives, but are unclear as to what it might mean. For most it stirs up fearsome feelings about losing everything that makes life possible and so they are seeking some reassurance that decolonization couldn’t mean that. I have a variety of answers, anecdotes, theoretical lens and concept ready to go, but it always depends on the context. Are they speaking to me about decolonization in a political context? Or is it cultural? Linguistic? Economic? Spiritual? People will conceive of decolonization differently based on their particular interests or their set of phobias. Many will instinctively define decolonization in a particular way because of their fears of feelings of dependency. Others will want to define it in a certain way because of their interest in something changing. You can conceive of decoloniza

The latte stones that we find at Angel Santos Memorial Latte Stone Park in Hagatna are some of the most iconic on Guam. They are larger than most on island and found in a central location in the historic Hagatna area. Tens of thousands of tourists visit them each year. The late Angel Santos, a Chamorro human rights activist and Maga’lahi of Nasion Chamoru loved to meditate around those stones. When Nasion Chamoru first came into being as an activist group, they declared their existence in a ceremony at that very park, surrounded by those latte and the spirits of the Chamorro aniti or ancestors that they represented. A statue of him will be unveiled soon, which helps to mark the space as not just one of commemoration, but one of transformation and possible critique. While for so many these stones represent the minesngon of the Chamorro people, and their history, their culture, like remnants of a lost time, they represent so much more than that. There is a sign there next

I wrote a column for the Marianas Variety titled "Sympathy for the Taotaomo'na" a while back, it provided an overview of different beliefs about Guam's particular brand of spiritual phenomena and how most people may need to expand their understanding of them. For most on the island, taotaomo'na are ghost stories. When you start talking about them, people begin to get intrigued, to get frightened, hairs on their body begin to stand up. For me it is very interesting that when Destination Truth visited Guam years ago almost everyone hated the show they produced. They were here for a few days, met with people, filmed in the jungles, at beaches, in Tumon. While they were here they seemed to those I spoke to friendly, nice and understanding. People were almost universally irritated and appalled when they saw the Guam Zombie episode they created. The idea that taotaomo'na were somehow zombies made sense to people. It was disrespectful and ignorant. We watched the

--> A Play Called Pagat Michael Lujan Bevacqua The Marianas Variety 4/16/14 Later this month, the University of Guam will be holding a series of special premiere performances of the locally written and produced play, “Pågat.” This play and these performances are made possible through a collaboration with UOG’s Theater and Chamorro Studies programs and the cultural dance group Inetnon Gefpago. The play will focus on the complexities of contemporary and historical Chamorro identity, through a cast of four modern young adults and the memories of a cast of spirits who share with the audience key moments in the history of the Chamorro people. Full disclosure, I am one of the playwrights for this play and so naturally I am biased in terms of its awesomeness and its potential. This play was originally written by Victoria Leon Guerrero and I for the dance group Inetnon Gefpago. In 2010, their leader Vince Reyes asked Victoria and I to write a play that would celebr

For Immediate Release:                                                        Contact: Michelle Blas April 7, 2014                                                                          mcblas76@yahoo.com   University Theater Presents: Pågat: A locally written and produced play about the Chamoru spirit, culture and identity By Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua and Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero April 24-26 and May 1-3                                                         University Theater closes its 2013-2014 season with the play Pågat, written by local writers Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua and Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero, directed by Michelle Blas, and featuring choreography by Vince Reyes of Inetnon Gef På’go.    Pågat explores the complexities of cultural identity and change through the lives of four modern young adults and the memories of a cast of spirits, who share key moments in the history of the Chamoru people. The play is set in a latte site in the jungles of På

If you asked me six years ago if I had any taotaomo'na experiences I would have named just one and a couple of other maybes. But after being a hiking fiend on Guam and spending a great deal of time in the jungle with a wide range of people I can honestly say I have had lots of experiences with taotaomo'na or supernatural phenomena on Guam. Some of these experiences are small and strange, faint feelings, as if there is a glitch out there somewhere and you know it is there, but just not sure where. Others have been full-blown experiences that I cannot explain, where strange, bewildering things happened, and I have seen things that I cannot explain. I always prepare my students for things that might happen and this both excites and scares them. Most people on Guam have heard of taotaomo'na stories and know people who know people where things have happened to them. But even if the stories are everywhere, this doesn't mean people have an intimate relationship to this spi

The groups Our Islands Are Sacred and Hinasso organized a wonderful event today in order to celebrate the Chamorro new year. Although Guam today uses the 12 month calendar, the Ancient Chamorro calendar was based on 13 months because of the 13 moons of the year. This period of the year is Tumaiguini, the first month of the year meaning "to become like this." The event is Lukao Fuha or a procession to Fouha Rock in Fouha Bay. Fouha Bay was a very sacred place in Ancient times for Chamorros. It was so sacred that the Spanish accounts even recognize its religious significance. This is important because the priests were committed to doing away with most of the religion of Ancient Chamorros and finding ways to subvert it and make it become subordinate to the new Catholic faith. But Fouha Bay in Umatac was noted for being a place where Chamorros from villages around the entire island would travel to hold a ceremony or gathering to honor Fu'una and Puntan, who according to t