FANHA'ANIYAN

Today, if you happen to be on Guam, you can head down to the Guam Fishermen's Coop next to Chamorro Village in Hagåtña to celebrate the 6th Annual Chamorro Lunar Calendar Festival.

In Chamorro, it is being billed as the : GUPOT FANHA'ANIYAN PULAN CHAMORU

When an elderly Chamorro man who speaks fluent Chamorro came up to me with the flyer for this event and asked me what fanha'aniyan meant, I knew I had better blog about it.

In Chamorro, we have a wonderful device called the FAN+WORD+AN construction.

Put any word, noun or verb, in the middle and out comes : PLACE OF or TIME OF.

Remember that the suffix -AN usually means, in Chamorro, PLACE or TIME of.

So, if we look at the middle term in fanha'aniyan, we find ha'åni, sometimes spelled ha'åne.

Ha'åni means "day" or "life."

So, fanha'aniyan means "place of days."  In other words, calendar!

If you notice, a Y has been added to -AN because it just sounds nicer to Chamorro ears to say fanha'aniyan rather than fanha'anian.

PULAN

Just as an aside, pulan itself has multiple meanings.

It means the "moon."

Since the moon watches over us at night, it can also mean "to watch over."

Since each new moon begins a new lunar cycle, pulan has a third meaning : month.

Påle' Román, a Basque Spaniard and Capuchin missionary, can be credited for promoting the use of the indigenous word pulan for "month" and fanha'aniyan for "calendar" (instead of the Spanish-based words mes and kalendårio) because he used these indigenous terms in his many Chamorro books and pamphlets.

Personally, I like using all these terms.  Know the indigenous, but also know what generations of our mañaina have been using for three hundreds years, as well.  Otherwise, we miss out of three centuries of custom.

By the way, the indigenous word for "year" is såkkan, which also means "harvest.  But three centuries of Chamorros also used the Spanish word año.  Thousands of Chamorros for many years were equally adept at using either or both words for the same thing.

WHAT IS THE CHAMORRO CALENDAR?

Before the Spaniards came and gave us the Western calendar, our ancestors went by the moon.  They had a lunar calendar, since it is easy to mark the different phases of the moon.  The Chamorro lunar calendar was made up of thirteen moons, or months.

It's no wonder that this event is being held at the Fisherman's Coop, because traditional fishermen also use the phases of the moon to guide their fishing activities.

To learn more about this, go to :

http://guampedia.com/ancient-chamorro-cultural-aspects-of-fishing/

MAÑENGGON FREEDOM RUN

A Freedom Run was held yesterday to mark the 69th anniversary of the liberation of the Mañenggon civilian concentration camp on July 28, 1944.

It was that day that the Americans entered the Mañenggon Valley to find that the Chamorros had been quietly abandoned by the skeleton crew of Japanese soldiers who had been guarding them since around July 10.

To mark the event, a number of groups, especially those involved in public safety and defense, were invited to run from various starting points around the island and converge on Mañenggon by at a targeted time.  Once assembled in Mañenggon, the runners, young and vibrant, would join the survivors of the actual forced march to Mañenggon.  The survivors, carrying a banner, walked several hundreds yards from the drop-off point to the old camp, in symbolic re-enactment of their more arduous trek 69 years ago.

The survivors, in their 70s and 80s, take the lead in the walk, assisted by some younger folk.  Three young drummers preceded them in their honor.

Behind them, in emulation of what the survivors went through, the young and strong from three generations after the war.  It was a chance for our young people to experience something of what their parents and grandparents went through.  Not just knowing history, but in a sense living it.

The runners started at five points earlier that day :

1. CHAGUI'AN (Yigo) - site of a massacre of civilian Chamorros by the Japanese.  These men were part of a forced labor crew working on Japanese defense works just before the invasion.  Then the Japanese turned on them, chopping off their heads.  The Japanese feared the men would meet Americans and inform them about Japanese locations.  Some of the dead are not positively identified to this day.  It took years for people to even now about this massacre.

2. TIYAN (Barrigada)

3. ADILOK/PIGO' (Hagåtña) - Pigo' Cemetery was used as a civilian refugee camp shortly after the Liberation.

4. HÅGAT - this starting point also commemorates the massacre at Fena'.

5. INALÅHAN

GUIHE LÅGO : CHAMORRO WORKSHOP IN THE BAY AREA

Around 250 San Francisco Bay Area Chamorros (and friends and family of Chamorros) braved the rainy weather to attend the Chamorro Cultural Workshop presented by Pale' Eric Forbes, OFM Cap.  A large committee of Bay Area Chamorros have been organizing this workshop for many months.

The Bishop of Reno, Nevada is Chamorro.  Bishop Randy Calvo graced us with his presence the whole day.

Buñuelos Aga'

(Banana Fritters)

Pugua' Basket

CHAMORRO CULTURAL WORKSHOP : SAN DIEGO

Close to 200 people, mostly Chamorros and some family and friends of Chamorros, attended a Chamorro cultural workshop presented by Pale' Eric in San Diego, California.

From 9AM till 4PM, Pale' walked the participants down the same roads the people of the Marianas walked from the first physical signs of human habitation, down to the present situation and the challenges we face as a people.

With the help of many graphics and recordings of interviews, all aspects were touched on : history, language, beliefs, religion, family origins, customs, song, dance.

CHAMORRO WORKSHOP IN LOS ANGELES

On Saturday, November 3, about 100 Chamorros and friends and family of Chamorros, gathered in Torrance, California (LA area) for a workshop on Chamorro culture given by Pale' Eric Forbes.

Starting with the first signs of human settlement in the Marianas 3700 years ago to the present, the history, language and culture of the Chamorros, in all their major phases was covered, with pictorial and audiovisual aids.

The workshop closed with a description of the present cultural situation and different people's responses to the issues and questions of the day concerning the future of the Chamorro people.

SINAJAÑA HISTORICAL PHOTO EXHIBIT

This year's St Jude fiesta had to have a special touch.  Fifty years ago, the present church was dedicated.  So one of the special features of this year's observance was a historical photo display of the village.

The church built after the war.

The public school in Sinajaña before the war.

Vice Mayor Robert Hofmann and Peter Onedera spearheaded much of the fiesta events, and William Paulino on the right took these photos for me.

CHAMORRON SAN DIEGO : BIBA SAN JUDE!

The Chamorro community in San Diego celebrated the fiesta of St Jude last Saturday in El Cajon.  Sinajaña people, of course, were well-represented.

Pugua'!

 

PRAYING FOR THE DEAD AND FOR PEACE

Every year, Buddhist monks and Catholic clergy take turns praying for the dead and for peace at the same memorial service at Matåguak, Yigo, site of the last battle on Guam in World War II.

The man on the left fought on Guam during the war.  The man on the right was a civilian, still in school in fact, on Saipan and then was drafted into the service and sent to Guam for the war.

Buddhist monks preparing for prayer.

Sorry for the poor video quality in the beginning.  The focus kept auto-adjusting. 

The event was surreal.  Black clouds hung over us, with peels of thunder and flashes of lightning.  Then United States Air Force jets from the nearby base roared through the skies.

EXHIBIT AT INALAHAN'S OLD FLORES STORE

GUAM CHAMORROS AT LOS ANGELES CATHEDRAL

Chamorros from Guam were not missing at a Celebration of Cultures Mass at the Los Angeles Cathedral.

Among those representing Guam, dressed in mestisa, was my aunt Josephine Artero McKeever, mother of Sonya Artero of KUAM fame.  My auntie Jo is first cousins with my mama.

I know some of you readers will wonder about the "Guamanian" versus "Chamorro."  Wasn't that a tempest in a teapot some time ago with the Governor's speech?  I suppose one must keep in mind the context.  The huge crowd wouldn't have known what Chamorro meant.  "Guam" had to stand out as the quickly identifiable marker.  I suppose for next time (Chamorro) could be added to the sign to educate others about our ethnic identity, not just our geographical origin.  Another question.  Were people from the Northern Marianas represented?  If so, they might refer to themselves as Chamorro/Carolinian, keeping in mind the second ethnic group in Saipan that has been there since the 1820s.

MORE ON CHAMORRO MEDICINE

Today, the Åmot Conference (Chamorro medicine) went to an herbal farm run by Mr & Mrs Nelson in Dededo.  They call it the Åmot Taotao Tåno' Farm, or the Farm of the Medicine of the People of the Land.

Participants were able to see many differents plants and herbs and hear how they differ; even how they interact.  Some plants don't like to be placed next to certain plants, so Mrs Nelson changes their position.  Suruhånos and suruhånas were there to demonstrate how to use some of these herbs to make local medicine.  But no recordings of these were allowed.

Fermina Blas from Luta shares a little about the medicine she makes for those afflicted with coughing (lo'lo').  She uses håle' måtbas, ka'mang tåse, sibukao and flores ilang ilang.  She dries the ilang ilang flowers first because they are too fragrant when they are fresh.  Then she makes a tea out of the dried flowers. 

CHAMORRO CULTURE WORKSHOP IN L.A.

I will be conducting a workshop on Chamorro culture in Torrance, CA (Los Angeles area) on November 3.  If you are in SoCal and would be intersted in coming, please use the contact info provided on this poster.  My last workshops were well-attended so the earlier you register the better.

This year, I want to present a view of where we've come from, where we're at and ask people where they want to go.

HAGAS

Hagas means "past," but can also mean "past and no longer present."  For example, one can say "i hagas guma'," "the former house, now no longer existing."

In this section of the workshop, symbolized by the pre-contact artistic rendition of our ancestors, I want to talk about the way we where before we knew about European culture.  It is our "remote past."  Hagas.  But the indigenous culture did not disappear entirely.  Traces of our hagas remain; some strong, some not as strong. 

ÅNTES

Åntes means "before" and is a Spanish word, so it's a good word to use to describe what came just before us now.  We see in this photo Chamorro women dressed in the mestisa, adopted from the colonial dress of the Philippines.  This is the generation of our great-grandparents, who lived under the Spanish flag and were the new kind of Chamorro that was created from that interplay between the hagas and the åntes.  Traces of this remain today, much of it still in strong condition, though it is weakening.

PÅ'GO

På'go means "now, today." This is a new kind of Chamorro even still.  Some traits of the past remain in them, but many of this new generation have little connection with the hagas and the åntes; raised in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural maze we call modern Americanized Guam and the modern Marianas.  We also a huge group of Chamorros who have never even seen the Marianas.  What do they want, if anything, from the hagas and the åntes?  Where do they want to go?  College graduates jump in the air for joy.  But what lies in store for them and their cultural identity?

AT THE ÅMOT CONFERENCE

Today was the first day of a conference about traditional, Chamorro natural medicines; from plants, herbs, roots and the natural environment around us.  It is sponsored by the Håya Foundation with the assistance of the Department of Public Health and Social Services and the Non Communicable Disease Consortium.

There are participants from the Northern Marianas, and some suruhånos/suruhånas and other practitioners.

I gave a talk today about how I lost 70 pounds by switching to a more natural diet based on local produce and fish.  And brought down my cholesterol and blood pressure.

There are two more days left and more information can be obtained by emailing Zita Pangelinan at :  zpangelinan@ledgelight.com.

At the bottom right hand corner of this table is my good friend Carmen "Måmme'" Taimañao, originally from Luta but long-time Saipan resident.

The man in the mwarmwar/korona is Manny Borja (familian Tuhu) from Saipan, who recently has done a lot of published research into traditional Chamorro medicine.  Also present from Saipan (but not pictured here) was my other good friend Lino Olopai, who brings his Refaluwasch/Carolinian wisdom to the discussion.  At the table also is Rosanna Barcinas, whom I've known since childhood.  And the guy with the sinahi goes by the name of Mames ("sweet") and he really is because he generously shared with me his supply of mamå'on (betel nut).

CHAMORRO MEDICINE CONFERENCE

pic2fly.com

From September 6-8, a conference will be held on Guam on Chamorro herbal medicine.

Sponsored by the Haya Foundation, along with the Inetnot Amot Natibu (Native Medicine Association), the Department of Public Health and Social Services and the Non Communicable Disease Consortium.

Some of the activities planned are talks on the art of Chamorro medicine, demonstrations of medicinal preparations and visits to places where these medicinal herbs grow.

For more information, email Zita Pangelinan at zpangelinan@ledgelight.com.

 

Note on the Pic Above

That's Mr. Margarito Tenorio, familian Supiano, whose father was a suruhano that I once visited.  He carries on his father's knowledge.

SAN DIEGO CHAMORROS HELP KIDS

Chamorros in San Diego are organizing a fundraising event to help a Ronald McDonald house, which of course helps kids needing housing (with their families) while getting medical attention.

Some of the Chamorros involved are :

Robert Santos

Familian Båli Tres

San Diego TV newscaster/meteorologist

Carly Peeters

Ukulele player

In the band, these Chamorro musicians...

Janice Waller Bouffiou, Robert de Leon Cabrera, Tony SN Treltas, Rose Pangelinan Treltas, Benni Benavente Schwab.

MARIANAS HISTORY CONFERENCE

Many luminaries in the fields of history, culture and language are gathered in Saipan this weekend for the first Marianas History Conference.

One of the non-luminaries at the podium.

CHAMORRON SAN LAGO

Check out what our mañe'lo in Southern California are doing to promote our language among the famagu'on.

To showcase the progress these young ones are making, on May 20 at a theater in Long Beach, CA, the man hoben stood before their audience and showed their Chamorro-speaking skills.

Group Photo

The older ones (secondary class)

For more info :

www.facebook.com/KutturanChamoru 

www.KutturanChamoru.org

info@KutturanChamoru.org

Thanks to Heidi Chargualaf-Quenga for sending me this.

NÅ'E ÅNIMO!

CHAMORRON LONG BEACH

Chamorros on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, in Southern California to be exact, are completing a Chamorro language program this weekend and are hosting a celebration to crown the event.

www.KutturanChamoru.org

YAP REMEMBERS CHAMORRO COLONY

Yap Visitors Bureau

The Flores family in Yap

Circa 1900-1915

The Yapese government hosts an annual Homecoming Festival, and this year the theme is the Chamorro community that lived on Yap since about the 1880s till 1948.  The Homecoming Festival is a way to bring back to Yap people who used to live there, both Yapese and others.

The event will be held on June 16.

Email Don Evans at donyvb@mail.fm for more information. 

I wish I could go!

CHAMORRON LOMPOC

Capuchin Brother Ryan Charfauros lives in Santa Ynez but returns to Guam this summer.

The smell of lechon and red rice filled the California air as 20 Chamorro families in the Lompoc area gathered at Our Lady Queen of Angels Church.  It was a fundraising event and many guests came to enjoy the Chamorro fiesta food.

Many Capuchin friars from all over the U.S., England and Australia got their first taste of Chamorro fiesta food.