KÅNTA : SEN MEHNALOM NA ADAHEN

Chamorro hymn to San Jose (Saint Joseph)

LYRICS

REFRAIN : Sen mehnalom na adahen / i Såntos na Iglesia
(Most wise guardian / of the Holy Church)
na' mames hao ya un goggue / i gumuguaiya hao siha.
(sweeten your disposition and defend / those who love you.)

San Jose inayek Yu'us / fina' Tatan i Lahi-ña
(Saint Joseph, chosen by God / to be the foster father of His Son)
tayuyute ham sen fehman / på'go guennao gi me'nå-ña.
(pray for us fervently / there now before Him.)

Asaguan i nanan Yu'us / ya man hulat gi me'nå-ña
(Husband of the Mother of God / and powerful before Him)
Na' ma chuda' giya hame / sen misen i grasiå-ña.
(Shower on us / an overflowing of His grace.)

Må'gas i man tåta siha / na' apo' i talanga-mo
(Leader of fathers / bend your ear)
Atan ham ni man man nangga / guennao gi nina' siñå-mo.
(Look at us who are waiting / there for your power.)

NOTES

Mehnalom. Comes from the prefix mi (abundant) and hinalom (inside, interior), To be full of interior wisdom. But many people say and spell it menhalom. This is a common occurrence in many languages; the switching places of letters to make it easier for people to say the word.

Na' mames hao. Literally means "make yourself sweet," but what is meant, of course, is that the person make himself positively disposed towards someone else.

Fina' Tata. The root is fa', which means "to make." But fina' can also mean "provisionally, artificially, imperfectly made." One example, fina' chalan means a temporary or provisional road. So, fina' tata means a man "considered, thought to be" a father, but really isn't a biological father of that child. Thus, a foster father. I suppose the sense here is that, he really isn't the father, but we make him to be (fa') the father.

Hulat. Means to overcome, to be victorious.