REKUETDON NÅNA

Jesusa's mother won this statue of Santa Rosa de Lima in a raffle at the Agat Fiesta sometime before World War II.  It survived the war and Jesusa inherited it.

Jesusa takes good care of it and keeps her yearly promesa to continue her mother's devotion to Santa Rosa.

I will be posting more on the custom of the promesa.

For more about the life of Saint Rose of Lima, check http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=446

FAMILIA : CRISOSTOMO

SAN JUAN CRISOSTOMO

(Saint John Chrysostom)

The Crisostomo family takes its surname from a saint.  In Greece, back in the 400s AD, the Archbishop of Constantinople, John, was such a gifted speaker and preacher that he was nicknamed "Chrysostomos," which means "golden mouthed."  In Spanish, his name is "San Juan Crisostomo."

When the Spaniards colonized the Philippines, many of the Filipinos took on religious last names, and some of these were the names of saints.  Thus, in the Philippines, Crisostomo is not an unusual last name.

In the 1758 Census of Guam, there is a widow by the name of Luisa Ago living with her three sons, who are all surnamed Crisostomo.  It seems clear, then, that their deceased father was a man surnamed Crisostomo.  They are listed under the Pampanga (Filipino) soliders.  It is probable, then, that the deceased father had been a Pampanga soldier.  Luisa's last name, Ago, could be the Chamorro word "ago'," which means "to change."  It is possible, then, that the Crisostomo-Ago family was a mixed (mestiso) Pampanga-Chamorro family.

Luisa's three boys meant that the Crisostomo name would have endured for some time.  Indeed, by the 1897 Census, the Crisostomos were spread all over Guam.

One of the biggest branches of the Crisostomos are the descendants of Juana Crisostomo who lived in the 1800s.  By at least the 1830s, she had half a dozen or so children as a single woman, so they carried the last name of their mother - Crisostomo.  Many of her children started or married into leading families. 

There were small groups of Crisostomos in Asan, Sinajaña, Sumay and Inarajan by 1900, and a few years later a Crisostomo moved to Saipan (under the Germans) and started a family there.  Some of them spell it "Crisostimo."

WHO INVITED THE FLIES?

Flies. Lålo'.  We just have to accept their existence in the tropics.

We love to ask rhetorically at parties, "Who invited the flies?"

But we have the bohao.  It's anything that can be used as a fan to shew away the flies.

Palm fronds (as seen above).
Styrofoam plates.
Old copies of the daily news.
Program booklets from that evening's event.

Many things can be used ad hoc as a bohao.  Getting volunteers to bohågue (fan) is sometimes the problem.

BASIC GRAMMAR : UM, part 2

We continue looking at the function of the infix UM.

BAILA (to dance)
Bumaila yo'.  I danced.
Bumaila hao.  You danced.
Bumaila gue'.  He/she/it danced.

DÅNGKULO (big)
Dumångkulo yo'.  I grew big.
Dumångkulo hao.  You grew big.
Dumångkulo gue'.  He/she/it grew big.

GIMEN (to drink)
Gumimen yo'.  I drank.
Gumimen hao.  You drank.
Gumimen gue'.  He/she/it drank.

Now you try it on your own with the following words...

TOHGE (to stand up)
HÅNAO (to go)
CHÅLEK (to laugh)

LÅNCHON KOTPUS : PAST

1960s

June 26 is the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Body (and Blood) of Christ. 

Corpus = Body (in Latin)
Christi = of Christ

The Catholic custom is to take the Blessed Sacrament around the parish in solemn procession.  At certain points during the lukao (procession), the priest and people stop at temporary altars for prayer.  In the Marianas, these altars are called låncho. 

Låncho means "ranch."  But I think the reason the altars are so-called is because the people erected shelters or canopies, sometimes quite elaborate, that reminded them of the huts they had on the ranch, although on a smaller scale.  Or, perhaps, because the old custom was to decorate the shelters with abundant produce from the ranch : fruits, vegetables, flora.

The first picture above shows that Spanish influence was still present as late as 1950, as the sign says, in Spanish, "Viva Jesus Sacramentado," meaning,  "Long Live Jesus in the Sacrament."

Most parishes have three låncho.  In the past, they were usually at private residences, the family being committed every year to erecting the låncho.  Recently, some parishes have some or all låncho on parish grounds.

1960s

UNOFFICIAL GUAM TRAFFIC LIGHTS

googleincome.org



RED : 2 more cars

YELLOW : hurry up!

GREEN : watch out for the last 2 cars

Para ta fañålek ha'!
Osge i lai gi sinigon-mimiyo!

BASIC GRAMMAR : UM

UM

"Um" is a crucial element in the Chamorro language.  It takes a word that isn't going anywhere and makes it go somewhere.

Take, for example, the word "kånta."  It can mean "song" and it can also refer to the act of singing.

If you are telling one or two people to sing, you say "Kånta!"  It's an order, or a request.  But nobody is singing yet.  You're hoping they will start to sing, sometime in the immediate future.  No action has occurred yet.

But if you want to describe how someone is singing, or was singing, you need the "um."

"Um" is an infix.  We know that a prefix goes before the word, and a suffix comes after the word.  An infix goes inside a word.

So, kånta becomes kumånta.  Now an action has taken place.  It went somewhere.  Now we need to know who did the act.

If you were the one who sang, you'd say, "Kumånta yo'."  "I sang."

If you're telling someone that s/he sang, you'd say, "Kumånta hao."

If someone else sang, you'd say, "Kumånta gue'."

Notice that we've only been talking, so far, about individual people.  The "um" works only for one or two people.

So, if you're telling two people that they sang, you'd say, "Kumånta hamyo."

Or, about two other people who sang, "Kumånta siha."

But talk about three or more people, you don't use "um."  You use something else we'll talk about in another post.

Notice also we haven't been speaking about action that is going on now, as we speak : "I am singing."  We'll look at that later.

AND.....make sure you pronounce "um" in Chamorro....like OOOM and not UHM.

CHAMORRO EXPRESSIONS : HOI'

The informal way we call on people at their homes is to cry out "HOI'!"

I stress the word informal.  Calling out "Hoi'!" can be considered rude, depending on whom you are calling.

The more polite way to call on a home is to say "Åbe Maria purisima."  (Hail, Mary most pure.)  If there are people home, they will respond, "Sin pekådo konsebida." (Conceived without sin.)

But it is perfectly acceptable to say "Hoi'!" if you are calling on someone you know well who is at least not higher than you in status.

NI HOI, NI GOI

There is a saying, when someone was physically there but never bothered to make verbal contact with you.

Jose : Kao måtto si Kiko? (Did Kiko come?)
Juan : Måtto, lao ni hoi ni goi. (He came, but didn't say a word.)

VILLAGE LEADERS IN 1839



micsem.org
(Chamorro villagers, ca 1830)

CHAMORRO VILLAGE LEADERS IN 1839

(Source : Philippines National Archives)

Stored at the Philippines National Archives in Manila are many records of the Marianas in Spanish times.  This is a list of the village leaders in the Marianas in the year 1839.  I make a few observations at the end of this list. 

To avoid useless repetition, the three names for the officials of each village are always in this order : the Gobernadorcillo of the village (he was like the village mayor); the Teniente (or substitute/assistant) and the Alguacil (a kind of peace officer).

The names of villages and people are spelled as they appear in the original document.

AGAÑA (1)
Lucas de Castro
Domingo Camacho
Juan de San Nicolas

UMATA
Domingo Quinata
Jose Aguon
Juan Cheguiña

AGAT
Jose Jocog
Jose Pinaula
Manuel de San Nicolas

ROTA
Ignacio Quicanay (2)
Manuel Angoco
Eubagrio Jocog

ANIGUA
Claudio Materne
Balentin Gumataotao
Jose Quitugua

ASAN
Clemente Megofña
Felipe Taitano
Alexandro Taytano (3)

TEPUNGAN (4)
Jose Sagualage (5)
Mariano Taigito (6)
Luis Chargualaf

SINAJAÑA
Mariano Naputi
Juan de San Nicolas
Jose Achaygua (7)

MUNGMUNG
Juan Ninaysen (8)
Manuel Quiguma (9)
Ildefonso Asuda (10)

PAGO
Isidro Atoygui (11)
Vidal Mafnas
Francisco Quichuchu (12)

INARAJAN
Justo Taimanglo
Jose Nalujo y Quitonguico (13)
Jose Cheguiña

MERIZO
Francisco Espinosa
Jose Quidagua (14)
Macedonio Fegurgur

NOTES

1. Notice how different the last names are between the Agaña officials and everbody else.  Generally, the Chamorros of Agaña were more mixed than the Chamorros of the outlying villages, since the majority of the Spanish (Latin American) and Filipino (Pampanga) soldiers lived in Agaña.  Notice how the overwhelming majority of village leaders in all the other villages have Chamorro surnames, while the Agaña officials have Spanish last names.  "San Nicolas," however, is not a Spanish last name but a religious last name which missionaries gave some infants.  This is why there are many San Nicolases spread out over Guam who have no blood ties since priests gave this name to babies unrelated to each other.

2. Probably from "kannai," or "hand."

3. Even in the same document and the same village, the clerk spelled the same last name in two ways; Taitano-Taytano.  But they both come out sounding the same.  People weren't that hung up on these things in those days.

4. Tepungan was just north of Piti.  The houses later inched closer to Piti and the official name of the village was changed to reflect that move.

5. "Sagua'" means "channel" as in the sea.  "Lage" is "lahe," "son/male."  The name died out on Guam.

6. Or Taijito.

7. Or Achaigua.

8. Or Ninaisen.

9. From "guma'," "house."

10. Probably "Asodda'," meaning "someone you encounter."

11. Or Atoigue.

12. Or Quichocho.

13. Both names, Nalujo and Quitonguico, have died out. 

14.  Not Quitugua, as many think, but Quidagua.  "Daggua" means "sunburned." The name survived in Merizo until the 1900s but is no more.

15. There are no officials for Saipan or Tinian.  On Saipan, no permanent Chamorros or their families lived there yet.  It had been abandoned in the 1700s and Carolinians moved there in the beginning of the 1800s.  On Tinian, small numbers of Chamorros, and later with the Carolinians, ran the farms there that sent produce and meat to Guam (and later Saipan).  In 1839, only Guam and Rota had permanent Chamorro communities where village leaders were needed.

TAKE ME TO THE SURUHÅNO!

commons.wikimedia.org

The Pacific Daily News today talks about the effectiveness of the Education Suruhanu's position.
http://www.guampdn.com/article/20110615/NEWS01/106150334/Efficacy-education-suruhanu-questioned

Suruhåno, as you may know, refers to a male (suruhåna for female) herbal practitioner or specialist.  He knows what herbs will help alleviate your pain or condition.  Some suruhåno specialize in therapeutic massage techniques, too.

But some suruhåno (I stress some) also claimed intermediary powers with the spirit world.  He was the one who interceded for you when you got in trouble with the spirits.  So it was in that sense that the Legislature, back in the late 70s, created the Office of the Suruhanu, or Ombudsman, to enable individual citizens to go to a government official named Suruhanu who would act as an intermediary, an intercessor, a political patron saint, if you will, on behalf of the individual.

We were smart-alecky high school juniors/seniors when we heard that there was a new government office called the Suruhanu.  We joked about going down to his office with complaints of headaches, nausea and the like.  Or, if you had a problem with a government agency, that the Suruhanu would go to the Department headquarters and sprinkle salt or burn old clothing around the building.  Real smart-alecks.

The concept of suruhåno as a government intermediary is a modern addition to the traditional meaning of the word.  But languages evolve.  We'll see whether the idea sticks, since the office itself may or may not.  As funny as the additional definition may be to some, what is certain is that our children's education is no laughing matter.

The word, by the way, is taken from the Spanish "cirujano," which means "surgeon."

traditionalplantmedicine.com

THE VANISHED VILLAGE OF PAGO

PÅGO BAY, WHERE A VILLAGE ONCE STOOD

When the Spaniards rounded up all of the people to live in specific villages on Guam, one of these selected villages was Pågo, on the northern shore of the bay we all know by that name.  For years, it had its own church, rectory and government building.  In 1849, a strong earthquake did much damage to these buildings and the sea level rose, flooding the whole village.  When the waters receded, dead fish covered the ground, including fish never seen before by the people.  In 1855, a bad typhoon did further damage.

In 1856, a smallpox epidemic killed nearly half of the island population.  Pågo lost so many of its residents that the survivors packed and moved elsewhere.  Over time, a few people continued to live at Pågo Bay, usually fishing for a living.  The Spaniards established an infirmary for lepers there in 1890 but it closed the following year because a typhoon damaged the building.

The outlying villages of Guam were populated mainly by more pure-blooded Chamorros, unlike those in Hagåtña, so it's not surprising that some of the families with roots in Pågo had indigenous names like Quichocho, Agualo, Taisipic.  These later moved to Hagåtña and Sinajaña.

Pågo is the name of a kind of hibiscus (tiliaceus) that frequently grows on the shore in the tropics.  The plant is very useful in making cords and rope, and were prized by seamen because these ropes did not rot in water.

Our Chamorro word pågo is related to words for the same plant in other languages in our Austronesian family : bago (Ilokano), baru (Malay), fau (Samoan), balibago (Tagalog).

GMH VOLUNTEERS 1960s

Hospital volunteers were called "candy stripers" for a reason!  Here they are setting up for Mass at the GMH chapel.  From left to right :

Margaret Jones - Tita Souder - Tina Perez

GI ANNAI TÅYA' PÅLE'

amer-geo.com

ISLAN PÅGAN YAN I BOTKÅN

Depende gi håfa na såkkan, ginen guåha taotao ni mañåsåga gi san kattan na islas siha : Anatåhan, Sarigan, Alamågan, Pågan yan Agrigan.  Ya asta på'go guåguåha ha' masea unos kuåntos na taotågue ni mañåsåga guihe siha na isla.  Pot i man diddide' ha' siha na tinaotao, yan lokkue' pot i eskåsu guåha boti ni siña kumonne' kåttan pasahero, ofñan ha' na man binisita gi as Påle'.

Ennao mina' sumetmon si Påle' Lee gi taiguine na manera annai un biåhe humånao kåttan si Påle' para u atiende i mangilisyåno gi san kattan na islas :

"Magof yo' ni gaige yo' guine på'go gi entalo'-miyo.  Låstima sa' unos kuåntos biåhe ha' gi sakkan siña man binisita hamyo mågi nu i Pale'.  U ma'åse' mohon si Yu'us ya un dia u ta fan nahong Påle' giya Saipan, kosa ke siña hamyo man ma bisisita la-sesso.

Pot i tåya' guine Påle'-miyo, guåha siha na kosas nesesita todo i tiempo en hahasso ha'.  Chagi, fan, na todo i tiempo, en fan gagaige ha' gi estao i gråsia.  Yanggen chañapito si Yu'us en komete un makkat na isao, ensegidas sangåne si Yu'us na man mañotsot hamyo nu i en isague gue'.  Cha'-miyo fan mamaigo' gi puenge yanggen ti en tataitai i Fina'tinas Sinetsot : Asaina Jesukristo na Saina-ho...etc.

Yanggen guåha guine påtgon mafañågo, cha'-miyo fan maleleffa na ha nesesita ma takpånge yanggen mumalångo.  Chile' i hanom ya en atte i ilon i patgon, ya at mismo tiempo ålok : Guåho hu takpånge hao gi na'an i Tata, yan i Lahi-ña, yan i Espiritu Sånto.

Na' fan fiet hamyo gi tinaitai siha ni en iisa gi bonito na kapiyan-miyo.  Prokura fumanågue maulek i famagu'on-miyo nu i Katesismo.  Man isao hamyo yanggen ti en fanågue i famagu'on-miyo nu i dottrinan kilisyåno.

En lugåt di en fan man aligao espesiåt na penitensia, ofrerese si Yu'us nu i makkat na lina'la'-miyo guine komo penitensia.

Magåhet na tåya' Påle' sumåsåga gi entalo'-miyo, lao todo i tiempo man hahamyo yan si Yu'us.  Man pinipilan hamyo as Yu'us ha'åne yan puenge.  Na' fan fiet hamyo na famagu'on Yu'us yan Sånta Maria, ya siempre en fan binendise as Yu'us."

ASIAN COMMERCIALS

Guam is still used by Asian businesses to film TV commercials.  This one at the Plaza de España.

My first trip off-island was around 1970 when my dad took us to Tokyo.  You can imagine my surprise when, while watching Japanese TV, we saw Guam police cars in a Japanese TV commercial.

BAHÅKE

As the sign says, "Strictly casual."  Bahåke is the Chamorro term for the most casual clothing possible, usually reserved for in and around the house.  Take for example these two lalåhe :

The guy on the left : casual.  Good enough even for church (weekday Mass) or many types of employment.
The guy on the right : BAHÅKE! 

Bahåke is the type of clothing that a young man runs and changes in the bedroom when he sees the girl he is flirting with approaching the house.

Bahåke is the old but comfy gown a woman would never be caught dead in outside the immediate family. 

The word was adopted by the Chamorros from the Spaniards by way of the Filipinos.  The original, Tagalog word is "bahag."  It means "loincloth," as seen below.  The bahag was worn by many Filipinos before the Spaniards came, but since then it is mainly the mountain tribesmen that wear it.



http://jerelona.tripod.com/Bahag.html

A modern-dressed Filipino modeling the "bahag" loincloth

The Spaniards could not pronounce "bahag" and said "bahaque" instead.  Exactly how the word was passed on to Chamorros is not known.  Perhaps the Spaniards called the loincloths and other similar, minimal coverings used by the Chamorro men at the very beginning of westernization, bahaque. But, it entered our language and was eventually applied to the most casual, informal house dress.   

What would a store called "Bahakihut" sell?  Take a look :