If you've ever gone shopping with older Chamorro ladies, especially when they are on a pilgrimage or otherwise shopping in a religious store, you know that they really go for fancy rosaries.
The more glittering and sparkling the rosary, the more she likes it. It's probably the rosary that will grace her folded hands in her casket when she dies.
This is not a new thing; new as in only since American times. Court documents from Spanish times show that this has been going on for two hundreds years or more.
As simple as life was for most people during Spanish times, even the Chamorro lady who lacked many fancy things often was the owner of a gold rosary. Despite the fact that the Marianas did not have ships bringing in imported goods frequently; despite the fact that we had few "stores" to speak of in Spanish times, many of our people did have jewelry, watches and.....gold rosaries.
Gold rosaries show up in court documents over a hundred years ago in the Marianas in surprising frequency.
A last will and testament states that a gold rosary owned by the deceased is to be given after death to a certain daughter in the family.
A complaint is filed in court against a platero (a silversmith) for failing to replace beads in a gold rosary as the owner had requested.
Another complaint is filed in court alleging that so-and-so stole a gold rosary when the alleged thief was employed as a house servant.
That stolen gold rosary passed to no less than three different buyers until the matter was brought to court.
In another case involving the payment of a debt, a debtor includes a gold rosary as part of the payment.
Although gold rosaries were the most prized, rosaries that stood out in other ways were also valued. There is a case involving a lisåyon resplandot åttilong, a rosary with a black shine. Others were made of white pearl or of glass. They were included in the inventory of deceased persons when the estate was brought to court.
Gold rosaries were highly prized by Chamorro women
Hafa Adai Pale,
ReplyDeleteI didn’t know how to contact you outside of this blog.
My family and I had questions about lisåyun måtai:
1. Do you say the sorrowful mysteries only for the 9 days or change it based on day of the week
2. Is it correct to make the sign of the cross during the glory be? We’ve seen some do it, some not.
3. During the litany, do you say pray for him/her, have mercy on him/her, or pray for us/have mercy on us?
Joaquin I will have no idea if you ever see my reply to your questions unless you say so here in the comments. Please do.
DeleteHafa Adai Påle,
DeleteSi Yu’us ma’åse!!! I had a feeling that a lot of it is based more on tradition than church rules. I truly appreciate your time, effort and research.
God bless,
Joaquin
Thank you for letting me know you saw my reply to you. Take care.
DeleteMany people can be surprised that the Church does not have rules for EVERYTHING about private prayer outside some basics. By "private" I do not mean praying by yourself. I mean prayer that is not lead by a priest or deacon. When a priest or deacon leads public prayer, that is called liturgy and is regulated by the rules of the official ritual. But prayers lead by the people are "private" prayers and there is much more freedom when it comes to those.
ReplyDeleteSo, for example, many people think you have to say the Glorious Mysteries on some days. But the fact is you can say the Glorious Mysteries any day. Some people say all 15 mysteries every day of the week. But it makes sense that on Fridays, the day our Lord suffered, if we are going to say just one rosary that day on a Friday, we say the Sorrowful Mysteries. It makes sense, but there's no LAW about it. The custom of some mysteries for some days has the power of Church recommendation, tradition and common sense. But the Church doesn't establish LAWS about everything.
1. So the custom of saying only the Sorrowful Mysteries in rosaries for the dead has the power of tradition. The Church certainly does not forbid it. It has the power of common sense. We pray for the dead because the souls in Purgatory are in need of prayers, that God in His mercy will shorten their time in Purgatory. But the mercy of God is shown to us by the fact that Jesus paid for our sins and took on the punishment that should be ours when He suffered and died. That is why we focus on the Sorrowful Mysteries when praying for the dead. But there's no Church Law mandating it, and no Church Law forbidding it. The people are free to choose.
2. Again, the Church does not see the need to spell out rules for everything. Making the sign of the cross at the Glory Be is an old custom and is practiced by many people over many centuries. No Church Law mandates it for the people and no Church Law forbids it. The individual is free to choose.
3. In the official ritual of the prayers for the dying, in the Litany of the Saints, the official response is "pray for him/her." Back in the 1990s or early 2000s, one priest with is own ideas convinced Achbp Apuron to change it to "pray for us." I don't agree with it. We are praying for the deceased person(s). We have many opportunities to pray for ourselves but in the rosary for the dead, we are praying specifically for that deceased person(s) so I stick with the tradition. Again, the power of tradition and common sense.