FEW OBESE

GRANDMA WALKING BAREFOOT FOR MILES TO THE RANCH

before the war

In the 1990s, an older woman shared with me this description of prewar life on Guam.

Ai, åntes de gera, håssan yommok. 

(Oh, before the war, there were few overweight people.)

Håfa na ti meggagai na taotao man yommok åntes de gera?

(Where weren't there many overweight people before the war?)

Ke sa' megai-ña na in kanno' håfa in tanom gi gualo' pat in kenne' gi tasi. Nahong ha' para in fan lå'la' lao diddide' golosina na klåse. Ayo ha' i in nesesita. Titiyas, atule, guihan, chåda'. I mannok, hame in pepeksai. I hineksa' yan kåtne mås para an Damenggo pat gupot.

(Well because we mainly ate what we grew on the farm and caught in the sea. It was enough for us to live, but very few delicacies. Just what we needed. Flat bread, corn porridge, fish, eggs. The chicken we raised ourselves. Rice and meat were more for Sundays or parties.)

Yanggen para in fanmamåhan gi tienda, ni bes en kuåndo ha' na in che'gue, para arina yan laterías; satmon, leche, latan kåtne. Lao megai-ña na in kanno' håfa in tatanom gi gualo'.

(When we were to buy from a store, which we did only once in a while, it was for flour and canned goods; salmon, milk, canned meat. But we mainly are what we planted on the farm.)

Pues, fuera de ennao, man macho'cho' ham duro guihe na tiempo. Desde ke man makmåta ham asta ke man maigo' ham. Ya ti ma nanangga asta ke sumottera pat sumottero hao para un tutuhon macho'cho'. Yanggen esta hao siña mamokkat, siempre u guaha para tareå-mo. Makkat i lina'la' åntes de gera.

(Then, more than that, we worked hard in those days. From the time we woke up till we slept. And they didn't wait for you to be a teenager for you to start working. If you could walk, you would have your task. Life before the war was hard.)

Mañåga ham Hagåtña lao gaige i gualo'-måme giya Lu'ayao pues debe de in fanmamokkat desde Hagåtña para ayo na lugåt katna ha' kada dia. Guaha karetan guaka lao ti todo siña man hulat man ma udai guihe. Para håfa ham ni "diet" sa' esta nahong i diårio na cho'cho' para bai in fan dalalai.

(We lived in Hagåtña but our farm was in Lu'ayao, so we had to walk from Hagåtña to that place almost every day. There was a bull cart but not everyone could fit to ride on it. We didn't need to 'diet' because daily work was enough to keep us thin.)

Åntes de gera, i yemmok kumekeilek-ña na riko hao. Kololo'-ña i asaguan i riko na taotao. Pot i ti ha nesesita macho'cho' i riko na palao'an. Sumåsåga ha' gi halom guma' ya guaha muchachå-ña para todo i che'cho' halom guma'.  Tåya' na mamokkat para i gualo' yan guaha karetan asaguå-ña yanggen para u paseo. Yan, pot i riko, meggai finahån-ña na nengkanno' ginen i tienda ni na' yommok.

(Before the war, to be fat meant you are rich. Especially the wives of rich men. Because the rich woman didn't need to work. She stayed indoors and had a servant to do the housework. She never walked to the farm and she had her husband's cart to go around in. And, because she was rich, she had a lot of store-bought food which was fattening.)