Wednesday, February 27, 2013

FAMILIA : ATALIG



Atalig is a Chamorro name from Luta.  Many Guam Chamorros mispronounce it and say a-TA-lik, whereas the correct pronunciation is AT-talik.

"A" before a word in Chamorro means "each other."  Aguaiya means "to love each other."

But we're not sure what talik or talek means.  Unfortunately, many Chamorro words were lost before their meanings could be recorded.

Two Atalig men were civic leaders in Luta and were given the honorary title "Don" or "Sir."

Gerónimo Atalig of Luta married Maria Sablan Borja of Guam and his descendants were many. Gerónimo is the Spanish form of the name Jerome.

Benito Atalig married Brigida Mangloña Masga.

There are also half a dozen other Ataligs in Luta in 1897 but their connection with these others is unknown.

 
Kevin Atalig is a well-known Chamorro singer from Luta with a unique style.  Chamorro rock.


Here's one of Kevin's earlier compositions, about his Cadillac

I remember people laughing at his opening words : KWAT - TRO, KWAT - TRO REDA-ÑA!

(Kuåttro, kuåttro rueda-ña; it has four, four wheels.)

People were saying : "Ofcourse his car has four wheels!" All in good fun.

11 comments:

  1. Thank you for the information on Brigida Mangloña Masga Pale' Rik. I've been trying to find out what her middle name was for years. She was my mother's great grandmother.

    Don Geronimo Ancogo Atalig and Don Benito Angoco Atalig were both my ancestors and they were brothers. Geronimo was my father Thomas Muña Mangloña's great-great grandfather and Benito was my mother Laura Maria Quichocho Inos-Mangloña's great grandfather.

    There are a few Atalig's in the 1897 Census that I could not figure the connection however, some of them I did and they were the family of these two brothers. The reason for that was that during the time the census was taken some of these two brothers' children were already married with children of their own and living in different households. I hope this helps.

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    1. Correction. Brigida Masga was my great great grandmother. Also, Brigida's middle name needs verification. It could be Muña instead of Mangloña.

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    2. Correction. Brigida Masga was my great great grandmother. Also, Brigida's middle name needs verification. It could be Muña instead of Mangloña.

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  2. Do you have the lyrics to Kevin's song Machalek Na Lina'la (Mungga)?

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  3. No worries haha. I've been trying to transcribe them in my own, but his unique Luta accent is hard to write down. Anyways, I enjoy the blog! I'm glad people are archiving Chamoru lyrics :)

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  4. How about Ingrato by candy Taman?

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  5. Si yu'us ma'ase. I na'an hu si Trey Cunningham, I lahen Uncle Toting.

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    1. We can work on it together. Four ears is better than two.

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  6. I've always thought that Atalig is actually A'tahlek - To twist or twist each other. I've ask my family members on Tinian and they mentioned the same thing

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