A CHAMORRO IN A HAWAII NURSING HOME

A brief stop in Hawaii gave me the opportunity to visit an elderly Chamorro lady from Saipan who is trying to recover enough strength in her Hawaii nursing home to get back home.

My half-hour visit opened my eyes to see how she and her family are not quite the same as other clients in the nursing home.

The lady is just one of three clients in the room.  In fact, she is the minority.  One out of three.  But she is the dominant flavor of the entire room.  It shows on her part of the wall.  Religious iconography cover every available inch.

But it's also because she has three adult children at her side.  They do not have shifts, since the home does not allow 24 hour visitation.  So, all three of her children are basically there the whole day and into the night, up till visiting hours end.  The other two clients, though residents of Hawaii, do not have any children, much less three, visiting all day.  One, unfortunately, gets no visits.  The other gets a visitor periodically.  Of the three Chamorro children, two live in Saipan and so have made the journey and taken extended leave from work to surround their mother with three children.  Not only does this provide the mother with a larger circle of family, it lightens the load on the children, who have three pairs of shoulders to share the weight.

The four of them pray in Chamorro and sing Chamorro hymns all throughout the day and night.  This does not disturb the other two clients.  In fact, one of them, the one who gets no visits, enjoys them.  Though not Catholic, she is Christian and appreciates the prayers and hymns.  Before I ended my visit, the Chamorro family asked me to bless this neighbor.  She was happy to be blessed.

The lady from Saipan is old enough to have learned Japanese in her youth when Saipan was under the Japanese.  Hawaii has many residents of Japanese ancestry.  The lady from Saipan told me that she would talk more with some of the clients in Japanese, except that many of them are not capable of conversing much.

Lastly, the children of this elderly lady made sure she had Chamorro food to supplement what she was being fed by the home.  I don't know whether they had the blessing of the nursing home or not, but there was saibok lemmai (breadfruit cooked in coconut milk) and I was given a Tupperware bowl of it to take with me, even though I would be boarding a plane in several hours!

The stark differences between this Chamorro lady and her children and the rest of the clients were very noticeable from the start.  Family, constant physical presence, food and the unashamed expression of religious faith were all strongly noted.

A sickly Chamorro woman was being nursed in Hawaii, but to a great extent in a very Chamorro way.

PRE-WAR CHARITY

Before the war, Bishop Olaiz organized the Saint Vincent de Paul Society for the relief of the very poor.  All over the world, local chapters of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society did the same, so the Bishop decided to start one for Guam.

It was headed by such prominent Guam business and civic leaders as Antonio Suarez, Vicente Calvo, Judge Manibusan, Jose M. Torres, Pedro Martinez and James Underwood, all seen in the photo above with Bishop Olaiz in the center and Påle' Blas on the right.

The group photo of the Society was taken in front of their own hall, built adjacent to the Agaña Cathedral around 1930.

The Society chipped in money and collected donations from the general public and gave these funds to the most needy families.

FORGOTTEN CHAMORRO : KÅTSA

Who can forget Margaret Dumont, the actress, always bedecked with the most elegant jewelry.

In Chamorro, we call that kåtsa.

It means to dress elegantly, with fine jewelry, or the smartest fashion for the men.

In the old days, "dressing up" made one stand out, and standing out in a Chamorro context always invites teasing.

A guy dressed to the nines walks into a store.

Says one, "Håfa?  Ginen mamano hao mågi?  Sa' ma kåtsa si pendeho!"

"So?  Where are you coming from?  Because the rascal is all dressed up!"

Again, this word is borrowed from the Spanish calza, a fashion term but it doesn't mean to be "dressed up."  We borrowed it, but gave it our own meaning.

FALSE FRIENDS : LIBIÅNO

LIBIÅNO

In Chamorro, when something is easy to do, we say it is libiåno.

Libiåno ma sodda'.  Easy to find.

Libiåno ma kånta.  Easy to sing.

Although the word is Spanish in origin, we have given it a meaning that has strayed a bit from the original Spanish meaning.

In Spanish, liviano means "light" in weight.  They got it from the same Latin root that gives us the English word levity, or lightness (in weight or spirits).

But even in Spanish, different locales have given it secondary meanings, like "frivolous," "fickle" and even "lewd."

So our Chamorro ancestors also gave the word a new shade of meaning.

Something light in weight is easy to handle.  So libiåno came to mean "easy" in every way.

But it's a false friend in Spanish because you can't go to Spain or Mexico and ask that something be done the libiåno way.  They'll think you mean light in weight, not easy to do,

20 SIGNS YOU'RE NOW A "LOCAL STATESIDER"

My stateside dad has been living on Guam continuously since 1959 and is definitely "local statesider."  It got me wondering what are the tell-tale signs that a statesider has become local.

1. Understands that the 35mph signs are just reminders how we used to drive in 1974.

2. Goes to the Talofofo fiesta, even though he or she's not Catholic.

3. Figures out immediately how two people are related.

4. Skips straight to the Assistant Manager, whom s/he knows, rather than speak to the Customer Service Representative.

5. Isn't bothered by geckos anymore; believes they're good because "they eat the bad bugs."

6. Prepares all morning to spend the day at the beach, and once there looks for the most shade.

7. Goes to Kentucky Fried Chicken for the kelaguen.

8. Finds him/herself secretly tuning into the Chamorro radio station while driving alone.

9. Still doesn't speak Chamorro, but adds "nai" at the end of English sentences.

10. When waiting at a red light, doesn't dare look over to the next driver.

11. Knows the name of his/her mayor.

12. Can never go to any store without saying "hi" to at least one person.

13. Knows that "Abe Maria Purisima" is the end of any rosary.

14. Drives down south, passes a carabao without even looking at it.

15. Is single with no family, but still has to visit someone at GMH.

16. Actually has reasons NOT to vote for some senatorial candidates.

17. Bush cuts in zori.

18. Looks for the soy sauce, tabasco or tooth pick in any restaurant of any cuisine.

19. Walks through Micronesia Mall and says to self, "So many statesiders now on Guam!"

20. Has a second fridge; outside the house.

TODAY'S CHAMORRO WORD : MÅSMAI

MÅSMAI : drenched, soaked

More people are familiar with the word fotgon.  But fotgon means wet; måsmai goes further.  It means someone or something is totally soaked.

Måsmai masahalom.  Soaked in one's sweat.

Måsmai håga' chininå-ña si Jose.  Jose's shirt is soaked in blood.

Måsmai yo' gi ichan.  I was soaked in the rain.


The word måsmai is a contraction of ma sumai.  Sumai means to submerge in water or liquid.

SPANISH HYMN IN SAIPAN

September 24 is the feast of Our Lady of Mercy.  Up in Saipan, since 1928, the Mercedarian Missionaries of Berriz (Spain) have been ministering and brought this hymn to that island.

It is not sung anymore by the people, but we still have the music and lyrics.

The lyrics can be found here :

http://soltorres.udl.cat/bitstream/handle/10459/561/LLG-1-0356.pdf?sequence=1

 

En Español

Llegaron a Saipan (Islas Marianas) las Misioneras Mercedarias de Bérriz (Vizcaya) en el año 1928.  Enseñaron  a unas alumnas este Himno a la Orden Mercedaria pero, lamentablemente, ya no se canta este himno en aquella isla.  Conservamos las letras y la solfa y, para complacer la solicitud de un amable lector, he puesto aquí esta grabación del himno.

COMMON MISTAKES IN CHAMORRO PRAYERS

Nowadays there is a bit of an attempt to keep praying in Chamorro alive, but, as younger Chamorros who are less proficient in the language take leadership in this, they may not be aware of some of the more common mistakes being made when praying in Chamorro.

Here is, I hope, a simple guide to help us watch out for these.

TATAN-MÅME (Our Father)

Mistake : Asi'e i tano', komo gi langet

Correct : Asi gi tano', komo gi langet

Explanation : The English is, "On earth, as it is in heaven."  When the missionaries translated this into Chamorro, their rendering was "as it is on earth, as in heaven."  They used the Spanish word así, which means "like this" or "like that."  The stress is on the second syllable; aSI.

If you say, "Asi'e i tano'" you are saying, "Forgive the world," which is not what the Our Father says.  What makes even less sense is the rest of the sentence, "as it is in heaven."  "Forgive the world, as it is in heaven."  God doesn't forgive anyone in heaven.  That's how they got to heaven; they were forgiven first while on earth.

So, once again, the English is, "Thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven."  We're talking about God's will being done on earth as God's will is done in heaven.  No talk about forgiveness here.

"U ma fa'tinas i pinto'-mo, asi gi tano', komo gi langet."

"May your will be done, like on earth, as in heaven," would be a more literal translation of the Chamorro.

Older Chamorros, more accustomed to Spanish, would have understood the word así.  But modern Chamorros, cut off as it were from their Spanish influences, don't recognize the word así and confuse it with asi'e.

SI YU'US UN GINEGGUE MARIA (Hail Mary)

Mistake : Si Yu'us u gaige giya hågo

Correct : Si Yu'us gaige giya hågo

Explanation : In the Hail Mary, in English, we say, "The Lord is with you."  It's a declarative statement.  It declares something existing.  The Lord IS with Mary.  Not will be; not we hope will be; but rather IS.

The Chamorro word u is a future marker.  It means "will be" or "hopefully will be."

Siempre u ma cho'gue agupa'.  It will surely be done tomorrow.

Puede u ma cho'gue agupa'.  Hopefully it will be done tomorrow.

When we say, "Si Yu'us u gaige giya hågo," we are saying, "May the Lord be with you," or, "The Lord will be with you." 

This is not only linguistically inaccurate, it is also theologically off.  The whole point Gabriel was making was that Mary was "full of grace,"  connected with God in a way radically different from the rest of Adam's race, who were cut off from God by Adam's sin.

Mistake : U ma tuna hao entre todo i famalao'an

Correct : Ma tuna hao entre todo i famalao'an

Explanation : Same mistake; the improper use of u.  "U ma tuna hao" means "You will be praised/blessed" or "May you be praised/blessed."  But this is erroneous.  Gabriel was making a declarative statement.  Mary IS praised/blessed among all women.

Mistake : Ya u ma tuna i finañagu-mo as Jesus.

Correct : Ya ma tuna i finañagu-mo as Jesus.

Explanation : Same thing.  Jesus will not BE praised/blessed (u ma tuna) but is in fact praised/blessed (ma tuna).

Possible Source of the Confusion

In the Glory Be, we say "U ma tuna i Tata, yan i Lahi-ña, yan i Espiritu Santo."

There we do use the u, because in this particular prayer we are wishing glory to God.  Of course God is already glorified, whether we glorify Him or not.  God doesn't need anyone to glorify Him; He is glorious in Himself whether anybody knows it or not.

But in our worship and adoration of Him, we desire to give Him our glory.  That's where the u comes in.  U expresses something that will happen in the future, or which we wish will happen in the future, even if the future means in the next few seconds.

ABE MARIA PURISIMA

In this short prayer (ejaculation) which is unique among Spanish-speaking and Spanish-influenced places, we say :

Abe Maria Purisima, sin pekådo konsebida.  (Hail Mary most pure, conceived without sin.)

Mistake : Sen pekådo konsebida.

Correct : Sin pekådo konsebida.

Explanation : This prayer is actually in Spanish, pronounced the Chamorro way.  The original Spanish is "sin pecado concebida."  "Conceived without sin."

Sin is Spanish and Chamorro for "without."

Sen is Chamorro for "very much."

If we say, "Sen pekådo," we are saying, "Very much sin."  Not something we want to say about the Mother of God.

DEER HUNTERS IN 1872

Guam's deer, or benådo, were brought to the island by Governor Mariano Tobias in the early 1770s.

They became so rampant that they damaged crops, including the governor's own garden behind his Palacio.

In 1872, we see a list of deer hunters on Guam.  They were :

Juan del ESPIRITU SANTO

 

Pedro PEREZ

 

Tomas IRIARTE

 

Andres DELGADO

 

Mariano de CASTRO

 

Alberto GARCIA

 

Antonio NAMAULEG

KATESISMO #10

29. Kuånto siha na Yu'us guaha?

Tåya' mås na un Yu'us ha' na maisa.

30. Kuånto siha na Petsona guaha gi as Yu'us?

Gi as Yu'us guaha tres na Petsona : I Tata, i Iho yan i Espiritu Santo.

31. Kao guaha håye guine gi tres na Petsona mås åmko' pat mås na'siña ke i palo?

Tåya'; I tres na Petsonan Yu'us hagas ha' man gaige desde åntes de todo i tiempo, ya siha man chagaisiña, man chamaulek ya man chakabales.

32. Håf ta fa'nana'an este na misterion un Yu'us gi tres na Petsona?

I misterion un Yu'us gi tres na Petsona ta fa'nana'an i misterion i Santisima Trinidåt.

 

 

NOTES

Maisa : alone, by itself

Iho : Spanish, but used by older Chamorros along with låhe for "son"

Cha : prefix meaning "equally"

Gai : to have

Fa'na'an : Fa' (to make), nå'an (name); "to call"

FINO' GUAM, FINO' SAIPAN

In Saipan and Guam, we basically eat the same food and call them the same names, but sometimes the names are totally different.  If you ask for that food in Saipan using the Guam name, they may not know what you are talking about, and the same holds true for Guam if you use the Saipan name.

In both islands, we all eat bananas, breadfruit, taro and other starches cooked in coconut milk.  But on Guam we call it gollai åppan.  In Saipan, it is called saibok.

Gollai means "vegetable," related to the Tagalog word gulay. 

Åppan means "to evaporate, extract liquid, dry."

Saibok means "to cook in coconut milk."

It's interesting that almost all the Chamorro families in Saipan come from Guam families that moved up there between 100 and 150 years ago.  That's not a long time span, and there's only 120 miles that separate us, but little differences in language have evolved nonetheless.

FAMILY NICKNAMES : KOTLA

KOTLA

A huge branch of the Pangelinan family is better-known-as the Kotla family.

Where Chamorro families got their nicknames is often a mystery.  Sometimes the origin is easy to figure out, especially when the nickname comes from the name of an ancestor such as the Siket (Castro) family, named for their ancestor Ezequiel (Siket) or the Nåndo family (Peredo), whose ancestor was Fernando.

Other times, the family has preserved a family story, such as the Charot (Taitano) clan which has the lore that their ancestor was given a pair of shoes known as charol in Spanish.

As for Kotla, if we looked for a Spanish origin, it is possibly derived from an old Spanish term corlar, which means to apply a gold varnish on something, like the beautiful violin in the picture above.

Spanish corlar becomes Chamorro kotla, because Chamorros change an L or an R to a T when it's the final sound in a syllable. Another example of this would be ÅTTAT, which comes from Spanish altar. Notice that the L and the R are the final sounds of their syllables, and Chamorro changes them into a final T.

Juan Flores Pangelinan is the first documented person we know who was called Kotla. Why? I have no idea, and, as far as the family is concerned, there are a few theories but no one can guarantee their theory.

But since kotla means "to varnish," could it be that Juan worked in varnishing? Or perhaps he varnished something so well that people nicknamed him kotla. Chamorros loved to tease, and would tease you for something that stood out about you, even if it were a one-time event. Juan was a big landowner; he owned a lot of property in the Hågat and Sumay areas and their surroundings. The land records are still existing, in large part. He owned that land because he worked that land, growing, harvesting and selling.  People in those days made a lot of things by hand (there was no Home Depot). This includes the tools they used for farming, carpentry and so on. Varnishing would have been a part of that work.

But, the truth is, we have no solid evidence how the nickname came about. We only know what it means, if indeed Kotla comes from corlar.

SIGNATURE OF JUAN KOTLA IN 1898

He didn't need to add his first name Juan. His flourish at the end of his surname was enough identification.

SINANGAN I MAN ÅMKO'

 

TODO UN DÅGGAO MO'NA, SIEMPRE UN SODDA'

What you throw in front of you, you will surely find.

Christ put it this way, "You reap what you sow."

Therefore, don't cry over what you yourself have arranged for yourself.

In college I remember a classmate using this imagery.  Some people go about life throwing thumb tacks in front of them as they walk.  Then they go "Ouch, ouch, ouch!"

We humans have a knack for self-destruction.  One of the consequences of Original Sin.  But repentance is always an option.

Stop throwing tacks ahead of your steps.

SPANISH THE CHAMORRO WAY : BABARIAS

There are a good number of Chamorro words that sound like we borrowed them from the Spaniards, but we didn't.

We just made our own word sound a bit more Spanish.

Take the Chamorro word babarias.

There is no such word in Spanish.  The root of the word is purely Chamorro; båba.  It means "bad."  Someone whose head is bad is "båbaba i ilu-ña."

We attached the Spanish ending -rías to the Chamorro båba, to mean "foolishness, silliness."

There is a Spanish word bobo (or boba for women) which means a "fool, idiot or dunce."  But that's a stretch to go from bobo/boba to båba.  Anyway, in Spanish there is no word bobarías.

Far more likely is that Chamorros added the Spanish -rías to the Chamorro båba.  The -rías ending is seen in many Spanish words.  Tonto (or "stupid) becomes tonterías (nonsense, absurdities).  Puerco (pig) becomes porquerías (filth, junk, rubbish).

Some examples of the use of our word babarias :

Ti ya-ho!  Puro ha' babarias!  I don't like it!  It's all rubbish!

Babarias ha' kuentotos-ña.  S/he's only talking nonsense.

THE FORGOTTEN MISSIONARIES

The Jesuits?  Many people know that Catholicism was brought to the Marianas by the Jesuits, lead by Sanvitores.  We're even called the Marianas because of the Jesuit Sanvitores.

The Capuchins?  Any Chamorro Catholic 50 years or older knows about them, as they are still around and were the missionaries who gave birth to the modern Archdiocese of Agaña.

But the Augustinian Recollects?  Only those with more than a passing interest in Marianas history have heard of them.  Yet this Order of missionaries was in charge of the Marianas the LONGEST.

THE CATHOLIC MISSION OF THE MARIANAS   Under Three Missionary Communities
JESUITS	1668 ~ 1769
AUGUSTINIAN RECOLLECTS	1769 ~ 1899   ·         The Recollects remained in the Northern Marianas till 1907
CAPUCHINS	1901 ~ 1965   ·         When the mission became a Diocese in 1965, the Capuchins were no longer responsible for administering the entire local Church ·         The Capuchins remain on Guam to this day but not as missionaries but rather as a permanent, indigenous community

 

Some notable things about the Recollects :

 

• they re-established the Catholic mission in Saipan after many years of depopulation
• when the population of Tinian grew with the arrival of Carolinians in the 1860s, in time the Recollects opened a short-lived mission there
• it was a Recollect who groomed José Palomo y Torres, a Chamorro, for the priesthood
• under Recollect influence, a barrio in Hagåtña was named after their province's patron saint, San Nicolás
• some Recollect priests gave San Nicolás as the last name of illegitimate babies, thus adding a new surname in the Marianas
• A Recollect, Father Aniceto Ibáñez, published a Spanish-Chamorro dictionary and other works in Chamorro (some of the earliest we have)
• Father Ibáñez and a later Recollect, Father Francisco Resano, kept a chronicle of events in the 1800s which gives us a bit of Marianas history for that century
• The Recollects founded in the Marianas an association membered mostly by women, the Cofradía de Nuestra Señora de la Consolación de la Correa.  Members wore a leather belt, or correa, which entered into Chamorro folk customs.  The koreas was used to spank a child under the spell of the duendes or jungle fairies.

 

 

It was a Recollect priest who built the Malesso' Konbento in 1856

the oldest residence in continual use on Guam

 

 

A Spanish Recollect Missionary

his thick leather belt, or correa, is a distinctive feature of the Augustinian habit

 

So, for 130 years, with the exception of Father Palomo and several Filipino diocesan priests working in the Marianas when Recollect priests were either few or not available at all, it was the Recollects who kept the Catholic faith going in the Marianas, building churches, baptizing, marrying, burying, teaching.  Our great-grandparents knew their names, those at the end of the 19th century : Fathers Resano, Cabanillas, Ortín, Cueva, Lambán and others.

 

But few people today know anything about them.

 

 

 

Religious orders, like the Recollects, are divided into provinces usually named after a saint.  The Recollects in charge of the Marianas for 130 years were from the Province of San Nicolás de Tolentino.  That is why the name San Nicolás shows up on Guam and the Marianas in more ways than one.