In CHamoru culture many values are exhibited in daily life. Geftao (generous, giving in the CHamoru language) is an example of a principle that conveys cultural mores through practice and lifestyle.
Geftao: Unselfishness Read Post »
Divorce. The earliest information known about the Ancient Chamorro/CHamoru style of divorce comes from the notes of Fray Juan Pobre de Zamora.
God of the underworld. Chaife was the god of the underworld, according to one Guam legend.
Folktale: Chaife’s Lost Soul Read Post »
Maga’låhi Yula (also spelled Hula or Yura) was a chief from the village of Apotguan in Hagåtña, who is best known for sparking a Chamorro/CHamoru uprising in the summer of 1684.
Maga’låhi Tolahi (also spelled Tetlaje or Torahi) was a chief from Tachuc (immediately south of Malesso), who fearlessly led the southern villages in resistance to Spanish rule. Tolahi believed that Chamorros/CHamorus were entitled to live freely as they had for millennia before the Spanish arrived.
Women today continue to maintain positions of authority in Chamorro/CHamoru society, both at home, in Chamorro families, and in professional careers whether they are Chamorro or of other ethnic backgrounds.
The story of the two lovers who tied their hair together and leapt to their death on Guam was first recorded by French researcher Louis Claude de Freycinet in 1819. Over the years various versions of the story have come to light.
Folktale: Puntan Dos Amantes Read Post »
Protectors and providers Mens’ role in societies have always been that of protector and provider. In the Mariana Islands, a change in the level of male authority was manifested with
In Spanish colonial times criollo referred to a full-blooded Spaniard born in the Spanish colonies in Asia and the Americas. It was a term mostly used to differentiate from the peninsulares (full-blooded Spaniards born in Spain) and mestizos (persons of both Spanish and Native American or Asian ancestry).
Kottot (pronounced koe-toot) is a rectangular basket made from the leaves of the åkgak (awhk-gak) tree, which is the Screw pine (pandanus tectorious). The kottot was used for a ceremonial presentation of gifts of rice as a type of chenchule’ (CHamoru system of exchange).
Kottot: Marriage Rituals Read Post »
