A Chamorro hymn to the Sacred Heart that isn't very well known all over the island or by the younger generations. But I recorded this in Inalåhan, where it is still sung.
According to Påle' Roman, who more than likely wrote the Chamorro version, the original is by Haller. I assume he means Michael Haller, a German Catholic priest composer (1840-1915).
Don't be surprised that Påle' Roman may have borrowed music from Haller. Påle' Roman went to a Capuchin seminary (Lecároz) that was well-known in that area of Spain (close to France) for its focus on music, sacred and otherwise.
The words are simple enough. A hymn of love between the Sacred Heart of Jesus and he or she who is devoted to Him. The melody is also simple, but charmingly so.
The hymn starts off with Jesus addressing the person. In verse two, it becomes the person responding to the Lord. In verses 3 and 4, the pronouns are a bit vague but I take them to mean Jesus is inviting the person to become united with His Heart, since the hymn started with the Lord taking the initiative.
Fatoigue yo' mågi - ånte ni mansapet;
fatoigue yo' - gofli'e yo'.
(Come here to me - suffering soul
come to me - love me.)
Estague yo' guine - O Korason Jesus;
hu tuna hao - hu guaiya hao.
(I am here - O Heart of Jesus;
I praise You - I love You.)
Ta hita gefsaga - guine na korason;
an ya-mo yo' - iyo-mo yo'.
(Let us dwell contentedly - in this heart;
if you love Me - I am yours.)
Inigue sagå-mo - ni hu po'luye hao;
mailague yo' - sagåye yo'.
(Here is your place - where I place you;
come to Me - stay with Me.)
NOTES
Fatoigue = the root word is fåtto, "to come, arrive." To "come to" is fatoigue.
Mansapet = the root word is så'pet, to suffer. "Ma såså'pet," meaning "suffering," is shortened to "mansapet," with the stress on "man" to sound like MANsapet. We see the same thing with "ma såsångan," which becomes MANsangan.
Inigue = hardly ever used anymore. "Ini" is the indigenous word for "this," which has been replaced by the Spanish borrowed term "este." We still retain ennague (there) and ayogue (that).
Rev. Michael Haller
Composer
Amazing! I grew up in Sinajana, and never have I sung, nor heard this song sung, there. What a simple but beautiful song.
ReplyDeleteI thought "ni hu polu'ye hao" would be interpreted as, "that I saved for you"...
ReplyDeleteYes, po'luye most often means "to put aside and save for someone." It can also mean "to place for someone" and even "to establish for someone." The sense I get from the context is that the Lord has a space in His heart reserved for the person to stay, so I wanted to stress that the Lord has not only reserved a space in His heart but that He wants the person to live in His heart. As you say rightly, "interpreted" and there are always shades of meaning in interpretation, which adds richness to what is being said. Thanks for reading the blog!
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