LUMUT

LUMUT

Jungle Moss

becomes grass for the belen (Nativity Scene)

A lumut-covered belen

from roof to floor

Lumut thrives on limestone rock, and the north of Guam is made up of limestone.  The south is volcanic, so there is less lumut to be found there.  One of the best places up north to get lumut is Urunao.  But the land there is generally either private property or military reserve, so be careful.

fcc.gov

URUNAO

is in the northwest of the island

My Uncle Vic talks about lumut.  He has land up in Urunao.

PICKING LUMUT

One woman's story

"A week before December 8, my husband and I would pick moss at our land in Urunao.  I have always enjoyed picking moss especially during the early 60s.  Upon entering the jungles of Urunao, I would hear different birds chirping and then see a tottot, or a kingfisher; or smell the scent of a bat, hanging.  It was just something!  My greatest joy were the chichirikas.  These were small, colorful birds which tended to fly close to the ground.  They flew in front of me or beside me, making their beautiful sounds.  There were times when I tried to touch them, but they flew right away.  I surely miss these beautiful creatures.

Picking moss is really complicated as sometimes we found the moss to be too dry, too thin or most recently picked earlier by others.  Because of this we had to go deeper into the jungle, beyond the cliff, down the rugged and sometimes slippery slopes.  Mosquitoes were buzzing all around and biting us oftentimes, despite applying mosquito repellant.

By the time we finished and were out of the jungle, we were tired, thirsty and hungry.  Our perspiring bodies were sweltering from the heat.  Our clothes and hair were soaking wet.  It was a lot of hard work, but then, we were always very happy and thankful to Niño Jesus for the many bags we filled with thick, long and green moss." (By Naty Calvo, Agaña Heights)

TA FALÅGGUE SAHYAO

One of my favorite, cheerful Kåntan Niño.

TA FALÅGGUE SAHYAO

Koro : Ta falåggue sahyao i patgon Belen;

(Let's quickly run after the child of Bethlehem)

ta li'e i Bithen yan si San Jose.

(let us see the Virgin and Saint Joseph.)

Faisine ham Nåna haftaimano gue'

(Ask for us, Mother, how will He be)

kao yagin tumoa u ma'gåse hit?

(when He grows older will He rule over us?)

Sangåne ham lokkue' kao i Dikkike'

(Tell us also if the Little One)

guiya i ma sångan na Låhen David?

(is the foretold Son of David?)

Pastores fatoigue i Sainan Pastot

(Shepherds come to the Shepherd Lord)

maila' fan manriko gi Sainan Señot

(come, you rich, to the Lord.)

Falåggue gue' todos kalan Redentot

(Run to him, all of you, as Redeemer)

ya in fan mannginge' nu i Satbadot.

(and venerate the Savior.)

Jesus ni mesias in dimuye hao

(Jesus Messiah we kneel before you)

i minaulek-måme muna' måtto hao.

(you came for our well-being.)

I ga'-måme gå'ga' in chuli'e hao

(We bring you our animals)

sa' iyo-mo håme gå'ga' yan taotao.

(for we are yours, animals and people.)

Ta tungo' gi lai-ta esta gos åpmam

(We have known in our law for a long time)

na guiya u huyong na'-ta na' manman.

(that He would become our wonderful food.)

Måná chiup långet na' fanhåspok ham

(Manna dew from heaven make us full)

ågon i man ånghet yiniusan pån.

(bread of angels, divine bread.)

NOTES

Sahyao : a rarely-used word nowadays meaning "fast, speedy, quick."

Toa : to become mature.  Applicable also to fruit.

Måná : is borrowed from the Spanish word for "manna," the food God gave the Israelites in the desert.  The second syllable is stressed, i.e. ma-NAH.

Chiup : when was the last time you heard that word?  It means "dew."

Åggon : åggon is really whatever food can be classified as a staple; some carbohydrate eaten with the protein source (totche) like meat or fish.  Since pre-European Chamorros didn't have bread, åggon was often used as a word for "bread."  The last name Aguon could be the word åggon.

OUTDOOR NOBENA

Having the nobena outdoors, in the garage or under a pålapåla (a covered deck), is a great idea.   More people can attend the nobena outdoors than indoors.  It is usually cooler than indoors, if held at night. What's the use of indoor air-conditioning if the living room has 50 people crammed in it for the nobena?.

In addition, an outdoor nobena is a great way of evangelizing others, like the irreligious neighbor or passerby.

As seen in the video, the only thing is the family ga'lågo (dog) might want to join the nobena, but you just have to react to this the Chamorro way.  What is that?

Look at what the women do in the video clip.  Give the ga'lågo brief attention.   Look at it or swoosh it away for no more than 3 seconds. Then pretend it's not even there. That's how Chamorros deal with wandering ga'lågo.

CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

THE NOBENAN NIÑO

My grandmother's sister was a techa.  We had a Nobenan Niño every year.  First went up the belen.  The musty smell of lumut (moss) filled the house.  Our belen was a hodge-podge collection of Spanish pieces from over the years.  Many were chipped, but nothing too serious.  Many pieces didn't match, as newer statues were bought to replace damaged older ones.  "Gloria in Excelsis Deo" was one of the first Latin lines I learned, as it was written on the scroll carried by the angel we hung on the roof of the belen.

Many kids from the neighborhood came to our nobena; kids I didn't even know.  Word just spread among them.  In Sinajaña before Urban Renewal, the houses were a whole lot closer; the streets more narrow.  Kids were always playing in the street.  "Let's go!  That house is having a nobena!"  They knelt, fidgeting, for the whole nobena, even though it was in Chamorro, which, by my generation, they didn't understand much.

The draw?  The rock-hard candy that was passed out every night after the nobena.  Candy that was saved year-to-year.  Candy that stayed the rest of the year in a hot closet, melting one into the other.

houseofstirfry.com

Some may say the kids came just for the candy.  Of course.  But it got them exposed to some religion, which is a good thing, IMHO.  Sanvitores passed out European cookies and trinkets to attract children to his catechism classes.  Yesterday I saw an 8-year-old texting someone.  I doubt today's kids would be attracted to anything with candy and cookies as bait.

Sanvitores also made up religious songs in Chamorro to draw them in.  Even though I didn't understand Chamorro as a kid growing up at my grandma's house (except the Chamorro words used for scolding me), the Chamorro Christmas carols always stuck in my head.  I could sing "Ta nginge', ta adora" by the time I was 5.

Music has a way of touching the soul, beyond words.  Some elderly people at the point of death, who can barely say anything, hum a childhood hymn just before sighing their last breath.  The visual is also important.  I would gaze at the little figurines in the belen, imagining what it would be like to be a shepherd in Bethlehem, or feel the goodness of the baby Jesus.  These Catholic traditions can have great impact, especially on the young.  Too bad many people have ignored them.

The older I get, the more I realize I am basically who I am now because I grew up in Sinajaña in the 1960s.

SAIPAN CHRISTMAS CAROL

Belen Nochebuena / ma selebra på'go

(Christmas Bethlehem / is celebrated today)

pe'lo hamyo i sena ya ta fan malågo.

(put dinner aside and let us run.)

Duro sin deskånso / u ta fan malågo

(Hurriedly, without rest / we will run)

ya ta li'e i Niño ni esta mafanågo.

(and we will see the Child who is already born.)

Koro : Na' magof, nana' magof, nana'magof na puenge!

(Happy, happy, happy night!)

I kantan man ånghet / mames melodia

(The song of the angels / sweet melody)

Gloria as Yu'us gi langet sa' måtto i Mesias.

(Glory to God in heaven because the Messiah is come.)

Sen ma'lak na estreyas / ayogue na annok

(Very bright stars / that is where it is seen)

para giå-ta guato ya tåya' u måhnao.

(as our guide there and no one will turn back.)

Koro...

Dångkulon minagof / todo ta abandona

(With great joy / we will foresake all)

tåt ti humånao guato para u fan adora.

(No one will not go there to adore.)

Sen popble na påtgon / yan Kotderon Yu'us

(Very poor child / and Lamb of God)

pot hame un måtai un dia gi kilu'us.

(to die for us one day on the cross.)

Koro..

O atan ham mågi / guine gi sagan-måme

(O look here at us / here in our place)

nu i yo'ase' matå-mo gai'ase' nu hame.

(with your kind eyes have mercy on us.)

Såtba todo i man måtai / guine på'go na såkkan

(Save all the dead / in this present year)

ya gi pettan i langet hågo ham un taggam.

(and at the door of heaven you will greet us.)

Koro...

HOW TO SAY "MERRY CHRISTMAS" IN CHAMORRO?

SHORT ANSWER

Felis Påsgua

or

Felis Påsguan Nochebuena

or

Magof Nochebuena

or

Felis Nabidåt

LONG ANSWER

Greeting people on certain holidays wasn't always done

First of all, not all cultures have an old custom of using specific greetings for special occasions.  The phrase "Merry Christmas" is an American/British custom.  The phrase appeared in some English writings many hundreds of years back, but didn't become popularized till Christmas cards started using them in the early 1800s.  In times past, "merry" meant "pleasant" or "agreeable."  But it also can be understood to mean "tipsy" or "drunk," and that is why, it is believed, many in England prefer the phrase "Happy Christmas."  This is what you hear a bit more in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

"Christmas" itself comes from the phrase "Christ's Mass."  Back when England was Catholic, some feast days were named after the Mass of that day's feast.  So, on the feast of Saint Michael, they celebrated Michaelmas.  On the feast of the Purification, when candles were blessed, it was Candlemas.  On the day of Christ's birth, it was Christmas.

Spain, not US

Now the Marianas were influenced by Spain and its customs, and the Catholic religion.  What we call Christmas in English is called the feast of the Nativity of the Lord in the Catholic Church.  "Nativity" is a fancy word for "birth."

"Nativity" in Spanish is Natividad.  Applied to Christmas, it is simply Navidad.  Thus you have heard of Jose Feliciano's famous song Feliz Navidad (Merry Christmas).  Feliz means "happy" or "merry." Many older Chamorros will say Felis Nabidåt for "Merry Christmas."

Påsgua

But an older name for the feast of the Birth of Jesus is Pascua.  Pascua is the term for one of three great events in the religious calendar : the Birth of Jesus, the Resurrection of Jesus and finally the coming of the Holy Spirit or Pentecost.  All three feasts are considered pascua.

In order to distinguish these three, Christmas became known as Pascua de Nochebuena; Easter as Pascua Florida (or, "Flowery Pascua" on account of the Easter flowers that come out in spring) and Pentecost as Pascua de Pentecostés.

This court record on Guam in 1905 shows how people called Christmas "Pascua de Navidad" in Spanish or Påsguan Nochebuena in Chamorro but based on the Spanish

Nochebuena

Nochebuena literally means "good night" and refers to December 24th, Christmas Eve, when the Birth of Jesus is first celebrated in church.

During Spanish times, December 24th, or Nochebuena, got much more attention than Christmas Day on the 25th. The 25th was a day of rest, or some would go to Mass who did not attend the Midnight Mass. But the 24th was the day of celebration. Families would try to put out the best they could for dinner, then they would go off to Midnight Mass (Misan Gåyo), which was sung with as much merriment as possible. Choirs involved instruments like the tambourine and castanets. It got so exuberant that later missionaries had to curb the use of instruments that were not technically allowed in Mass.

Since Nochebuena was the real "party" day, many people said Felis Nochebuena or Magof Nochebuena.

Magof Nochebuena

Believe it or not, despite all this linguistic technicality that may have you scratching your head, if indeed you are still reading, many man åmko' knew all of this! They were well-trained.

OK, now pascua became påsgua in Chamorro.  So what is Feliz Pascua in Spanish becomes Felis Påsgua in Chamorro.  You can add Nochebuena in there, too, to make it clear (remember, for the Spanish and the man åmko' Chamorro, there are three pascuas).  So, Felis Påsguan Nochebuena.

As an alternative to all this, I lean toward Magof Nochebuena.  This phrase keeps Nochebuena to denote Christmas, but uses magof instead of felis.  Magof is pure Chamorro and means the same thing as felis, which is "happy."  One could also say I suppose Magof Påsguan Nochebuena, but I think the shorter version accomplishes the same task.

A GOVERNMENT OFFICE SAYS "FELIS PÅSGUAN NOCHEBUENA!"

Guam Preservation Trust

THREE WAYS - ALL "CORRECT"

MÅNGLO' KRISMAS

givejonadollar.com

Lately we've been experiencing what is typically known as "Christmas weather."

Windy, dry.  No rain, less humidity.  Cooler.  Sunny.  Månnge'!

Just the kind of weather you want for outside activities, like taking the niño all around the village.

I've heard people even call this wind Månglo' Krismas.  Christmas Wind.

This is the start of the dry season.  Fañomnagan.  FAN + SOMNAK + AN.  Somnak means "sunny."

It was getting pretty rainy late in the year last week.  But one man, who lives in the south right by a river, says that it takes the river nine times to overflow before the rainy season (fanuchånan) ends.  The river overflowed for the ninth time last week.  Yay!

YOU KNOW YOU'RE CHAMORRO WHEN...

greenupgrader.com

YOU CAN'T KISS THE NIÑO UNLESS YOU SPRAY IT FIRST WITH PAOPAO

We "kiss" with our noses, not our lips.  So making the niño smell nice with paopao (perfume, cologne) is essential.  We buy one bottle and use it just once a year.  Some bottles have lasted for 25 years; some go back to Governor Guerrero's administration.  It's perfume that is used just for the niño; nothing else.

HOW TO KISS THE NIÑO....THE CHAMORRO WAY

1. As you approach the niño, take a hold of at least the head or the foot; many hold on to both.
2. Put your nose to the head of the niño and take a big whiff, the more audible the better.
3. As the priest or tanores (altar boy) attempts to bring the niño back and away from you, thinking you are happy with one whiff, give him a menacing look.  He will offer you the niño again.
4. Put nose on niño's hands, knees and feet and take more whiffs.
5. Put your limosna (donation) in the basket.

NOBENAN NIÑO

The Nobenan Niño in Chamorro probably did not come about until the 1920s because, as Pale' Roman and others have said, Chamorros prayed mainly in Spanish until that time.  Prayer books in Chamorro were few in number until Pale' Roman started translating dozens and dozens of them.

This family puts up a huge belen in their carport.  Mom leads the nobena as techa.  The nobena is in Chamorro and the children can say the basic prayers in Chamorro.  Mom began praying the Nobenan Niño the very first year she was married, as her husband had bought a nativity set from Butler's for $50.  That's in 1958 dollar value.  Since then, especially as some pieces got chipped or broken, she has augmented her belen with new statues bought over the years from the Carmelite Nuns, who got them from Spain.  She has been tempted four times all these years to skip a Christmas novena, in order to travel to the mainland.  She has turned down those trips every time.  Her Nobenan Niño is a priority.

At her nobena, they sang "Si Jose yan si Maria" in the older melody.  Compare this with the other melody posted on December 13 : http://paleric.blogspot.com/2011/12/si-jose-yan-si-maria.html

WHEN DOES THE NOBENA START AND END?

That depends on the people holding it.  First you decide when you want to end the nobena (the finakpo).  Then you count nine days back.  Most people want to end it on December 25, so they start the nobena on December 17.  But others want to end it on January 1, or January 6 (Three Kings; Tres Reyes).  Other families end theirs on other days, too, for their own reasons.

WHY NINE DAYS OR NIGHTS?

On Ascension Thursday, Jesus told His Apostles to wait and pray and they would receive a great grace promised them - the Holy Spirit.  Nine full days exist between Ascension Thursday on the one hand and Pentecost Sunday on the other.  So the custom developed to pray nine days for a needed grace, in imitation of the Apostles waiting and praying in the Upper Room as Jesus instructed them to do.

PUSHING THE BOÑUELOS

Maria was frying the boñuelos dågo....

....while the young men promoting their consumption were racing from the kitchen to the crowd eagerly awaiting a fresh, hot batch from the frying pan.

Before the war, people didn't have maple syrup.

They used sugared water, tuba syrup or honey.

DÅGO

Every December in the Marianas, this...

DÅGO

turns into this...

dnj.com

BOÑUELOS DÅGO

The dågo, or yam, is harvested (uprooted; ma hålle') in the first week of December after being planted in March.  So, in December, the dågo is plentiful and is made into fritters or boñuelos.

I wanted to find out more about the root itself, so I interviewed this gentleman who grows dågo at his ranch in Mogfog, Dededo.

Listen to some pretty classy Chamorro about dågo, and other things.

HOLY CEMENT?

wpclipart.com

Såntos na Semento?

anundis.com

Såntos Nasimiento

There is a Chamorro Christmas carol in Saipan that uses a Spanish word in a Chamorro phrase : såntos nasimiento.  It means "holy birth."

Older Chamorros, more in touch with Spanish, probably had less trouble understanding that phrase, which is why it probably made it into a Chamorro song without notice.

But one woman in Saipan, with no Spanish language background, once asked me, "Påle', kao magåhet na guåha såntos na semento?"  "Father, is it true that there's such a thing as holy cement?"

To be funny, I answered, "Solo yanggen ma bendise."  "Only if the cement is blessed."

After she explained that the Christmas carol was the source of her confusion, I understood where she got the idea and was able to help her distinguish såntos nasimiento from såntos na semento; holy birth from holy cement.

En Español

Los ancianos conocían la palabra "nacimiento," pero los jóvenes hoy en día no la conocen y la confunden con la frase en chamorro "santos na semento," que quiere decir "cemento santo," que, por supuesto, no existe.

NA GUINAIYAYON

One of the best-loved Chamorro Christmas songs in all the islands of the Marianas. Here it is sung by a group in Saipan :

Lyrics :

Na guinaiyayon ennao na påtgon / sen mames, måhgong, yan ti kamten.

Hu fa' Yu'os-ho i Satbadot-ho / yan i pastot-ho giya Belen.

(How lovable is that child / very sweet, peaceful and still.

I acknowledge my Savior as my God / and my Shepherd in Bethlehem.)

I Patgon Yu'us hamamatkilo / kalan kinilo gi sagå-ña

gi liyan gå'ga' sen ti umugong / sa' gos mañungon yan manñaña'.

(The Child God is silent / like a lamb in its place

in a cave for animals he whimpers not / because he truly endures it and is tender.)

Låhen i Bithen ginen i langet / Rai i man ånghet yan i taotao.

Hu sen gofli'e yan hu dimuye / sa' hu hassuye nguminge' hao.

(Son of the Virgin, from heaven / King of the angels and people.

I truly love and kneel before you / because I intend to venerate you.)

Interesting words...

Kamten : it means "restless, constantly moving, quick to move or act."  The word kalamten (to move, stir about) is related to it.  Unfortunately, the word kamten has come to exclusively mean in recent years "someone always on the move romantically."   A philanderer certainly cannot stay still, but kamten means "quick to act, constantly moving" in more than one way.  Kamten kanai-ña means someone has a quick hand, like a thief.  More knowledgeable speakers of Chamorro don't have to smirk every time kamten is used in a sentence. 

Måhgong : don't confuse with mågong.  Måhgong means "peace, peaceful."  Mågong means "healed, recovered." 

Kinilo : lamb.  But there aren't any lambs in the Marianas.  Where did we get the word?  It's a Chamorro pronunciation of the Spanish word for lamb, "cordero."  We avoid the "r" so it would first come out as kotdelo.  But that's still a little hard on our tongues so we soften it to kinilo.

Hamamatkilo.  Mamatkilo is to "be quiet, say nothing."  Putting the prefix ha before an adjective or verb means "always" or "frequently."  Hamalango means "always sick."  Hamaleffa means "habitually forgetful."  Make sure you put the stress on the ha.  HA-maleffa.  Not hama-LEF-fa.

Original Song

Pale' Román says that the Spanish original from which this song is taken is "Niño Divino," but I haven't been able to find it.

TODAY IN HISTORY

MÅTAI SI BISHOP BAUMGARTNER

Died on December 18, 1970

If you go (or went) to Father Dueñas, the Academy and several other Catholic schools; if you read the church weekly, the Umatuna si Yu'us; if you were ordained a diocesan priest between 1950 and 1970; if you attend Mass at the Cathedral - you have Bishop Baumgartner to thank for it.

He arrived in 1945 with a gargantuan task - to lay the foundations for a diocese on an island devastated by war; where almost everything had to be shipped in; without a huge population with enough local money to pay for it all; with one Chamorro priest at the time; no Chamorro sisters; where the Navy had to be appeased at almost every turn to get the necessary permissions.

What he had going for him was the strong Catholic faith of the majority; his network of mainland friends and contacts; and a robust Capuchin province in Detroit and then New York that could send missionaries and cover part of the expenses.  The friars manned almost all the parishes, which included the Northern Marianas after the war.  The Stigmatines came to staff Father Dueñas.  A minor seminary was opened and young Chamorro men began priestly training.  The Mercy Sisters came, followed by the Notre Dame Sisters, and staffed the parochial schools and recruited Chamorro sisters.  The church newspaper was founded; a Catholic clinic eventually came about.  By 1965, we became a diocese.

Baumgartner was burdened with hypertension since the day, more or less, he arrived.  Some of his letters in the 1950s speak about his blood pressure being in the neighborhood of 190/120.  But his health did not seriously decline till the late 1960s.  On December 9, 1968, Baumgartner was relieved of his administrative responsibilities, which were transferred to Bishop Pearce of Fiji and then to Monsignor Felixberto Flores.  In May of 1970, Flores was consecrated a bishop, with Baumgartner remaining Bishop of Agaña while Flores managed the actual administration of the diocese.

He was a no-nonsense, stoic, administrator who was weak on the personal connection with people and even many clergy.  He never learned to speak Chamorro.  But he knew its value and would have Monsignor Calvo, and later Flores, follow his English remarks with a Chamorro summary.  He made sure Chamorro articles were put in the church weekly.  Like all the authorities at the time, including the civil and professional ones, he promoted the advance of English.  He wasn't the kind of bishop who went out among the people, not even among the elite.  When he wanted, he called you to his residence. 

But he got things done and the results of his efforts are still visible today.

U såga gi minahgong.

Requiescat in pace.

TODAY'S CHAMORRO WORD : FATÅ'CHONG

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Matåtå'chong i nene gi sofå.

The baby is sitting on the sofa.

FATÅ'CHONG : to sit

Tå'chong means "seat."  Fa' means "to make."  Fa' + tå'chong = fatå'chong.  To make something a seat by actually sitting on it!

Fatå'chong pot fabot!  Please sit down!  (When speaking to one or two people)

Fanmatå'chong pot fabot!  Please sit down!  (When speaking to three or more people)

Bai hu fatå'chong.  I will sit down.

Kao siña yo' matå'chong guennao?  Can I sit there?

Ti malago' matå'chong.  S/he doesn't want to sit.

O'son yo' matå'chong.  I am tired of sitting.

Matåtå'chong si Pedro gi halom kosina.  Pedro is sitting in the kitchen.

Manmatåtå'chong i estudiånte siha.  The students are sitting.

Na' fatå'chong.  To make sit.

Na' fatå'chong gue' gi sanhiyong.  Make him/her sit down outside.