KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

Ai pobre kilisyåno!

Ma na' chispas sin pinto'-ña.

Ya ma sodda' gi bodega

na ha sasaosao lago'-ña.

(Oh poor person!

They made him/her disappear against his/her will.

And they found him/her in the basement

wiping away his/her tears.)

I have no idea what made the poor guy/gal run and cry.

But the verse is somewhat sympathetic, somewhat teasing.

NOTES

Pobre. This is Spanish, meaning "poor." Not necessarily materially poor, but as in lacking in other ways. Someone in a bad situation, or suffering some setback, is thus afflicted, grievous, woeful and many other adjectives. "Poor me!" is a common phrase said by someone in some disadvantageous situation. The word pobre is left untranslated, since in Chamorro we say popble, which is our pronunciation of pobre. The Spanish version of the word is kept in this verse because our elders did, in fact, say many things in the original Spanish, even if there were a Chamorro version of the same word.

Kilisyåno. This literally means "Christian," from the Spanish word cristiano. But Chamorros used it to refer to any human being, but assuming the person was a Christian. The term wouldn't have been used for Pacific Islanders or Asians who had not (yet) been baptized.

Ma na' chispas. Chispas literally means "spark." Then it came to mean any sudden movement, like a sudden burst of water from the hose, or a sudden rush from here to there. To be "made to rush" is to be forced to move, to run away, to disappear from sight.

Sin pinto'-ña. Pinto' means "will." Sin means "without." "Without his will" means it was something he didn't want to do, but was forced to do.

Bodega. Basement. Almost all the homes built of mampostería (rock and lime) had a basement for storage and, when needed, shelter from a typhoon. Since it wasn't used like an ordinary part of the home, it was a good place to hide or find privacy.

A bodega (bottom part) in Inalåhan

Since the bodega was part-storage, part-shelter, it was usually made of stronger material and the rest of the house of lighter.

KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

An tumåtånges i patgon

nå'e na'-ña entot tupu.

Yanggen sige ha' de tumånges,

håtsa hulo' ya un na' susu.

(When the child is crying

give him a piece of sugar cane to eat.

If he keeps on crying,

lift him up and breast feed him.)

Now, I could be wrong but I don't think this verse is to be taken literally.

I'm not sure it's good to give an infant a piece of fibrous sugar cane that s/he can choke on! Even with mommy watching, I think it would be a challenge to get a baby to just suck the juice and not swallow the fiber. And chew with what teeth? No; I think the verse is meant solely for entertainment value.

Entot means a cut-off piece, a fragment. It comes from the word utot, which means to cut off.

Tupu (or tupo) is sugar cane. It is not to be confused with tupu' (tupo'), which has a glota at the end, which means a water well.

KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

This Chamorrita verse gives new meaning to the Bee Gee's hit song "How Deep is Your Love." According to the man, he would dive to the bottom of the sea for his sweetheart.

Candy Taman sings the verse for us.

Yanggen lulok bai hu hulok,
(If it is iron I will break it,)

an kadena bai desåse.
(if it is a chain I will undo it.)

Bai atotga bumusero
(I will dare to be a diver)

yanggen gaige hao fondon tåse.
(if you're at the bottom of the sea.)

The verse points to a man's natural desire to prove himself worthy of the lady's love, and to his great strength and determination.

NOTES

Desåse. Many Chamorros pronounce this dechåse. It comes from the Spanish word deshacer. "Des" is a negation, like our English "dis" (dislocate, disregard). "Hacer" means "to do, to make." Deshacer means "to undo, unmake." If you build a temporary wooden platform (palapåla) for a party, after the party you desåse it; you break it up and put away the parts.

Atotga. Taken from the Spanish otorgar, "to consent, to give." Chamorro took the meaning of this word further to mean to be courageous enough to consent or agree to dare, to chance and to risk.

Busero. Borrowed from the Spanish buzo meaning "diver."

Fondo. Borrowed also from the Spanish word meaning "bottom, depths, end, back, bottom." We get the English words "profound," "foundation" and "fundamental" from the Latin root word fundus meaning "bottom." The word fund, as in a bank account, is also connected to this, because, as they say, money is the bottom line, and fondo in Chamorro can also mean a bank account.

"DESDE SAIPAN ASTA PÅGAN"

ALAMÅGAN

mentioned in this song

The Chamorrita is a style of singing in the Chamorro culture consisting of four lines. These verses were supposed to be composed extemporaneously, "in the moment," with one person answering back the first verse sung by another and continuing this "verse and response" interplay, competing, as it were, who could outwit the other.

In time, certain verses became well-known and standard, repeated in many singing sessions all from memory, such as most of the verses in this recording.

This recording was made of a group of singers in Saipan who had connections with the Northern Islands like Pågan, Agrigan and Alamågan. They add a verse mentioning two of the Northern Islands.

LYRICS

1. Buenas noches Ton Saina-ho.
(Good evening, my elder.)

Oppe yo' pot kilisyåno.
(Answer me because I am a Christian.)

"Håfa, iho, malago'-mo?"
("What is it you want, son?")

I tinalo na hagå-mo.
(Your middle daughter.)

2. I tinalo na hagå-ho
(My middle daughter)

esta guaha seguru-ña.
(already has someone sure.)

Ya ti ya-ña ma atborota
(And she doesn't like to be bothered)

sa' malilinek ilu-ña.
(because she has a headache.)

3. Ya hu faisen gi besino
(And I asked the neighbor)

håfa åmot malinek ulo.
(what is the medicine for headaches.)

Ya manoppe i besino
(And the neighbor answered)

na ma chiko ma na' duro.
(to kiss her vigorously.)

4. Desde Saipan asta Pågan
(From Saipan to Pågan)

Pågan asta Alamågan,
(from Pågan to Alamågan,)

ti manli'e' yo' gåtbon flores,
(I didn't see pretty flowers,)

solamente as Pakåkang.
(only the Pakåkang.)

5. Ai nåna atende
(Oh mother attend to)

Ai nåna i taotao.
(Oh mother, the person.)

Ai nåna, nåna konsidera
(Oh mother, mother consider)

sa' sumen chago' tano'-ña.
(that his land is far away.)

NOTES

Ton Saina-ho. "Ton" is the general title of respect for older males or males with a higher status than the speaker. "Saina" means an elder, not necessarily due to age but also due to status or ranking within the family. Because the singer addresses the person with the male title of respect, asking for a daughter's hand, we know that this is a man seeking permission from a father to court his daughter.

Oppe yo' pot kilisyåno. "Kilisyåno" literally means "Christian," but Chamorros used it to refer to persons in general, since everyone was a baptized Christian in those days. The term implies a certain dignity, since the person is not just a mere human being but a baptized one, meaning he or she is an adopted child of the one true God. Thus, having this kind of dignity, he or she has certain rights and privileges. "Answer me," the man says, "because I have certain rights and privileges due to my Christian status. You, the father, are a Christian, and so am I. So let us treat each other as brother Christians."

Seguru-ña. "Seguro" means "sure" or "certain." The young lady already has a man she is sure of courting and perhaps marrying.

Malinek ulo. This headache was certainly an excuse for dismissing the suitor, and he knows it, because, with some sarcasm, he asks a neighbor what is the cure for headaches, and the answer (sarcastically) is vigorous kissing.

Pakåkang. This is the nickname for a family in Saipan named Cruz whose members also lived in the Northern Islands. This line may be a loving tease of that family. The singer traveled to three islands and didn't see any pretty flowers, only a member or members of the Pakåkang family!

Ai nåna. This verse speaks of the hospitality and compassion found among many Chamorros for strangers and travelers. The singer asks the mother to attend to the needs of the person, because he is far from home.

KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

Ma susede un desgråsia

as Malilok na lugåt.

Ya ti ilek-ho na ti un måtai,

na un måtai naturåt.

An unfortunate incident occurred

at a place called Malilok.

I never said you would never die,

only that you would die naturally.

This verse comes to us from the island of Luta (Rota).

Puntan Malilok is a place there, on the southeastern shore.

Chamorrita verses, or any poetic verse, are not always meant to be logical. Oftentimes they are meant to be nonsensical, humorous or satirical.

What unfortunate event happened at Malilok? It seems to be connected to someone's death. How was this person's death "natural?" Not murdered, that's for sure. Murder wouldn't be "natural." Did the person simply drop dead? Of a heart attack? Possibly. That would be considered a natural death, but would it be considered unfortunate?

Perhaps an accident killed the person, or a drowning. Something that could have been avoided and was thus unfortunate.

We'll never find out the verified meaning of this verse; the composer is long dead. The humor comes from the singer addressing the dead person posthumously. The dead person was never guaranteed a long life; only that he or she wouldn't die by murder, suicide or war.

NOTE

Desgråsia sounds like "disgrace" but the word is borrowed from the Spanish and it means some misfortune or tragedy. This is the meaning in Chamorro as well.

KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

Artist : Paul Jacoulet

Hånao ha' bonitan måta

puede ngai'an na ha'åne;

ya måno nai guaha lugåt-ho

ayo hao na hu sangåne.

Go ahead, pretty face

hopefully whatever day it may be;

and whenever I have the time

that's when I will tell you.

Young love is often shy love.

Nerves. Rules.

The two meet, and cannot unleash the strong feelings beating in their hearts.

They smile and flirt, but that is all.

She has spent too much time with him. What if people notice and start to make comments?

She takes her leave, but he says he will wait for the right moment, whenever that may be, to finally tell her how she has captured his heart.

KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

Yanggen oga'an hao na sinedda'

ti un tinaka' talo'åne;

hahasso yo' bonitan måta

yanggen håfa hao hu sangåne.

If in the morning you are found

you won't reach midday;

think of me, pretty face

if I tell you something.

This verse is open to more than one interpretation.

Remember that, being a strict Catholic society in those days, lovers had to speak in code all the time.

"You won't reach midday." The lover, probably a male since it is unbecoming, in those days, for the female to be the pursuer, is telling his paramour that if he has the good fortune of seeing her in the morning, his love is so intent that it won't even be noontime when he does or says something.

"Think of me if I tell you something." If he sees her in the morning, he will tell her something that he hopes she won't forget. Perhaps he will ask her to meet him somewhere, and hopefully it will take place before noontime.

KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

Sen tungu'on yanggen gaige

sa' lumo'lo' gi besino.

Ya manlolo'lo' pumalo,

lao lilo'-ña konosido.

It's very easy to know when he's around

because he coughed at the neighbor's.

And while others are coughing,

his cough is recognizable.

Those were the days when houses were so close to each other, you could hear someone cough in the next house.

Tungu'on = the suffix -on means "able to." Tungo' (to know) becomes tungu'on, "knowable."

Konosido = borrowed from the Spanish conocer, which means to be acquainted with, to know in an experiential or personal way.

KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

Åntes de para un hånao

ai fangågågao lisensia!

Yanggen magof yo' un hånao;

yan ti magof yo' pasiensia.

(Before you leave,

oh, ask for permission!

If it pleases me, you will go;

if not, have patience.)

Stinging words that can be applied in more than one scenario.

One can imagine an adolescent boy who knows the girl of his love interest is momentarily at church or in another public place.  If he moves quickly enough, he can stroll by and converse with her.  But mother is keeping him on a short leash.

It could be a teenage girl, eyeing a potential boyfriend.

Perhaps it could even be from one lover to another, detaining the other to prove who rules in the relationship or perhaps to further enjoy the other's company.

The verse can mean many things, depending on the singer.

KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

Båsta nåna de tumånges

sa' un na' lache karerå-ho;

yan maolek-ña yo' gi langet

ke i tano' na sagå-ho.

 

Stop your crying, mother,

because you will make me stray from my path;

for I am better off in heaven

than in my earthly place.

 

There are several Kåntan Chamorrita verses in which the speaker, still alive, speaks to someone about their impending death, even if that death might be decades from now.

 

Perhaps it was due to some (many?) Chamorros lingering thoughts on the nearness of death.  Epidemics were not unknown, which wiped out large numbers of people.

 

I wonder, even, if this might be due to some of the young men's propensity to get on whaling ships and leave Guam as fast they could.  Many, if not most, never returned.  As late as 1941, I know of mothers and aunties weeping over a son's joining the US Navy as if they had just been told he had died.  Perhaps this was the young man's way of saying his joining the whaling ships might mean they would never see him again on earth, but that they would be together again, and more happy, in heaven.

 

The line about a mother's weeping is interesting.  For a young man seriously contemplating leaving the island for the big world, by joining the foreign ships, hearing his mother cry at the idea might make him change his mind and stray from his path.

 

Or, perhaps, for the soul which has departed the earth in death, to see his mother crying over his dead body will make him feel remorse and disturb his smooth journey to the next life.

 

Those two things stand out, for sure, in this verse, concerning the old Chamorro mentality.  A mother's tears were strong enough to seriously affect a child's future.  And that heaven was a better future than anything on earth.

KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

Today, a Chamorrita verse from our neighboring island of Luta (Rota)....

Ti sangånon minames-mo yan i mafñot kariñu-mo;

hu buettåye entero Luta, lao ti hu sodda' parehu-mo.

 

Your sweetness is unspeakable, nor your intense affection;

I scoured the entire breadth of Rota, but I didn't find anyone equal to you.

NOTES

Sangånon - made up of the word sångan, which means "to say, to speak" and the suffix -on.  Think of Chamorro -on as English -able.  Sangånon thus means "speakable."  Ti is the negation, so ti sangånon means "unspeakable."

Mafñot - means "tight."  So this is an idiomatic phrase, not literal.  How can affection be "tight" unless this is figurative for intensity or affection that is physically close.

Buettåye - from the Spanish vuelta, which means "a lap, turn or revolution."  The Chamorro suffix -e means the action is done to or for something.  Buettåye means "to make a lap or tour around a place."

KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

Este i dos påtman kanai-ho / lamasa-mo an para un chocho

I kattre-mo an para un maigo' / este ta'lo i pecho-ko.

 

These two palms of my hands / is your table for when you eat

your bed for when you sleep / is also my chest.

A romantic verse, where the man professes to the woman of his dreams that he will provide for all her needs.

There may be the idea, too, that, though he is poor in material goods, he will use his very body to make up for what he cannot materially provide.

Thus, he is willing to sacrifice his own body for her.  Such is his strong love for her.

KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

Toktok mågi sintura-ho, ya un kariño yo' ni mames;

an humånu'ao ti bai måtai, an hu dingu'ao siempre un tånges.

Hold me here at my waist, and be sweetly affectionate with me;

if you leave, I won't die; if I leave you, you will surely cry.

In other words....

I want your love, but if you reject me, it will be you who suffer.

What a mixture of indigenous words and Spanish loan words!

Indigenous : toktok (hug/embrace), mågi (here), mames (sweet), hånao (to go, leave), måtai (die), dingu (leave), tånges (cry/weep).

Spanish loan words : sintura (waist), kariño (affection), siempre (in Spanish it means "always," in Chamorro "surely").

Still, if you (or a Spaniard) didn't know the indigenous words, you wouldn't understand what this was all about.  Only something about a waist, and affection.

KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

I akague na kannai-ho alunån-ho sa' ti u yåfai;
ya i agapa' na kannai-ho un sinetbe asta ke un måtai.

My left hand is my pillow because it will never tire;

and my right hand will serve you until you die.

Many verses of the Kåntan Chamorrita make reference to parts of the body as the tools with which love is expressed in either concrete or symbolic action.

This man might be so poor, that he sleeps on his own left hand for a pillow.  But he is young and strong, and will use his right hand to serve the needs of his sweetheart, despite his apparent poverty.  Just as his left hand won't tire from being used as a pillow, his right hand will never tire of taking care of her.

KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

Esta bente yo' fumaisen / hågo muna' bentiuno;

ya entre todos i pumalo / ti hu sodda' parehu-mo.

Twenty have already asked me / you make it twenty-one;

and among all the others / I haven't found your equal.

Anyone remember when we had 21 senators?  Maybe this song was about 21 incumbents asking a lady for her vote.

In reality, of course, it's about a girl being courted and she lets her favorite know who he is.

Then, again, maybe 20 other men never did court her and she was just making it seem that way to let the man of her dreams know that she was worth more than he may have thought.  Ah, the ways of love.

KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

An un hasso yo' yumute' / yute' yo' gi oran las ocho;

sa' ti u dadåndån las nuebe / esta yo' mañodda' otro.

A wonderful example of the sassy Chamorro comeback.

If you are thinking of dumping me, do it at eight o'clock.
The clock won't chime nine, and I will have already found your replacement.

So there!

KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

Nåna lao na gåtbon nene / i gumuhu gi bentåna;
ya bunecho ya u gåtbo / sa' inadora as nanå-ña.

My what a cute baby / the one looking out the window;

and it's all very well that she's a cute baby / because her mother adores her.

All cultures, I believe, adore their children, albeit in different ways.  In our culture, we always have to hold, hug, pinch, pet and play with our babies, trying to make them laugh.

Nåna lao = literally, the two words separately mean "mother" and "but," but this phrase is used to express surprise, disapproval or even dismay, or some reaction.

Gåtbo = from the Spanish garbo, meaning "beautiful."  Greta Garbo was, indeed, beautiful.

Guhu = to look out a window.

Bunecho = from the Spanish "buen hecho," though the more correct Spanish form is "bien hecho," "well done."  But Chamorros use the phrase sarcastically, as when a child is warned to stop running around and then falls and scratches a knee.  The parent will say, "Bunecho!"  "Very good!  I told you so!" 

KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

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Esta guiya yo' na måtto! / Håfa tatatmanu'ao nene?

Kao pareho ha' yan åntes / annai guåho'ao mumantiene?

Here  I am; I have come! How are you, darling?

Are you the same as before, when it was I who held you?

Ei na inande'!  What a flirt!  And no lack of self-confidence! 

He means to say, "Surely, darling, you regret my absence; you long for my embrace.  Needless to say you are worse off now than before, when we were together.  But cheer up -  I have returned!"

Words had to be shortened to fit them into the melody.  Hao becomes 'ao.

Pareho = from the Spanish parejo, which means "even, uniform, neutral, fair."  From the Latin par, meaning "equal," as we say in English, "to be on par with someone."

Mantiene = from the Spanish mantener, which, you won't be surprised, sounds very much like the English maintain, meaning "maintain, hold, keep."  In all those forms, the word comes from two Latin words "manus" or "hand" and "tenere" or "to hold."  A tenet is a belief you hold on to, and comes from the Latin tenere, as well as almost all words ending in -tain (obtain, retain, sustain, contain, etc) and words such as tenant (someone holding a place) or tenor (someone capable of holding the voice) and tenacious (someone who strongly holds onto something).  Maintain/mantener mean "to hold in one's hand."

KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

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Guåha ga'-ho galagito / si Menggåno i na'ån-ña;

ti manlili'e sa' båtchet / ti manhuhungok sa' tangnga.

I have a pet puppy / Menggano is his name;

he doesn't see because he's blind / he doesn't hear because he's deaf.

Gof na'masi si Menggåno, no?

In Chamorro, you don't say "I have a dog" or "I have a cat."  You say "There is my animal dog" or "my animal cat" or whatever animal you may have.  Gå'ga' means "animal," but when it becomes someone's possession, gå'ga' becomes ga'.  Ga'-ho, "my animal."  Ga'-mo, "your animal."

Galagito.  A Chamorro word transformed in a Spanish way. Ga'lågo (literally, "animal from the direction of the sea" because dogs came with the European ships) takes on the Spanish diminutive -ito.  Any word changed to -ito makes it a smaller thing.  Galagito means "small ga'lågo" or "puppy."

Menggåno is also Spanish; it isn't a real name.  It is one way of calling someone "so-and-so," or "what's his name."



KÅNTAN CHAMORRITA

czestochowa.us

Gaige i piniten nåna, an hu chochopchop sisu-ña;

siempre guå'o u pinitiye, sa' guåho finañagu-ña.

There is a mother's pain, when I suckle at her breast;

naturally she will be in pain over me, for it was she who gave me birth.

The mother-child bond is universally sacred.  This verse points to more than the just the bond when the child is still young, nursing at her breast.  She - the mother - will always suffer when her child is in trouble, even if the "child" is 30 years old. 

In the first line, the verse admits that it is the child who inflicts pain on the mother when the child suckles; and the child will be the cause of even more pain for the mother when the child is an adult.  But the second line justifies this; the mother willingly endures the pain because, after all, she gave the child life and her life is intimately connected with the child's.