NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Below is an account of the death of Ferdinand Magellan, on the island of Mactan in 1521. I've been reading different historians and their interpretation of the events and where they situate his death in the context of his personality and his behavior. At the conference that I was at in Madrid last month, there was quite a bit of myth-making around Magellan. Some of it is deserved, as he did guide a voyage that was into water unknown to Europeans. But the success of his mission has a tendency to lead historians to make generalizations of greatness. Many historians take the flaws in Magellan's character and then argue that they were actually strengths because of the time that he lived in and because of the obstacles, both geographic and human that he faced. For example, Magellan's tactics in dealing with the concerns or the fears of his men, is argued to be a strength since he was dealing with medieval and pre-modern superstitions about the world that he refused to let ru

In Magellan's trip across the Pacific, he passed by thousands of islands, the majority of which they did not see. They noticed a few, but they had no resources to offer and only made the voyagers more distressed. Guam and the Marianas were the first landfall they made after months at sea, where many became ill and more than a dozen died. The interactions between Chamorus and Magellan did not go well, and I'll write more about that later. Because of this contact, Magellan's voyage was able to obtain some supplies to help them eventually reach the Philippines less than two weeks later. As a result, hundreds of years later, Guam still has a small, but secure place in the history of European imperialism and the stories of its mastering of the world. One historian refers to this moment as the first taint of civilization, and if you believe in notions of cultural purity than it is easy to understand or accept that thesis. But even from the general ways these moments of first

When George W. Bush was President, he was hardly a socially or politically polished individual on the surface. Despite coming from a very wealthy and elite background, and attending elite institutions of education his manner and appearance was that of a folksy gentlemen. The type of person you might want to BBQ with and share alcoholic beverages with, but maybe not have in charge of the United States of America. The US has had a variety of Presidents, all except one white, many of them lawyers, all men, most of them coming from a political background, meaning they had served in some capacity in government. Their demeanor could be quite different, in that their approach to how to interact with people or with their staff could range widely. But all, including those who might appear to be more "folksy" and "unpolished" nonetheless retain a seriousness. The weight of the office affects their personality. It drives them to be better, or at least appear to be better as

Last week I wrote my column in the Guam Daily Post about the comfort women issue in South Korea and how the governments of Japan and South Korea are working towards a process of restitution over the use of South Korean women as sex slaves during World War II. The issue of the comfort women extends far beyond just South Korea, and is something that affected cultures across Asia and the Pacific. I have been talking more intensely about the comfort women issue over the past year as i nobia-hu Dr. Isa Kelley Bowman has been conducting research into it. It has been difficult for her, as the issue is one shrouded in so many different forms of silence. The lack of writing around the issue in Guam is often thought to be simply a matter of stigma and social shame, with women and their families seeking to keep the issue quiet and not be reminded of what happened. But it is far more complicated than that, and it can be frustrating, how people will accept one level of silence as being the truth

(Kada sakkan gi este na mes, hu tuge' este na post ta'lo. Hu fa'nuebu didide'. Este na mas kabales na hinasso-ku put Mes Chamoru) It’s Chamorro month again, or mes Chamorro ta’lo. That means that the landscape of Guam changes in some small and large ways, to bring out more of the island’s “Chamorro side.” It’s the only month of the year that you might see more Guam flags than American flags. It’s the only month that you can actually hear a large group of young people, actively debating and creating in the Chamorro language. Its also the month during which communication between grand kids, great-grand kids and their respective elders is usually at an all time high due to class assignments about Guam history. I imagine there is an increased demand for Chamorro related tattoos. Lastly, it’s also the third most important time period for t-shirt vendors on Guam, after election season and the month of July (Liberation Day). It can be both an exciting and depr