MHC2: Art, Culture and Science

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Art, Culture and Science Two of Three



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2nd Marianas History Conference ! Arts, Culture and Science 


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Table of Contents Arts, Culture and Science

The Arts The Artist Paul Jacoulet in Micronesia ...............................................................1 By Don Rubinstein

Masters of Chamorro Tradition .........................................................................15 By Monica Okada Guzman

Dance to Unite All Chamorros .........................................................................31 By Sandy Flores Uslander

Chamorro Music................................................................................................51 By Maria Manglona Takai

A Colonial Perspective on the Music and Instruments of Guam .....................69 By Clement, M.R., Sr.

Giya Double A ...................................................................................................85 By Ana Leon Guerrero and Michael Clement, Jr., PhD

A Blue Bridge Between Us ................................................................................87 By Simeon Palomo

Culture Our Sakman Story ............................................................................................94 By Mario Borja

The Chalan Kanoa Kiosku ..............................................................................119 By William S. Torres, Ramon B. Camacho and Herman B. Cabrera

Living Languages and Indigenous Spaces .....................................................137 By Fermina Sablan

Across the Water in Time ................................................................................147 By Jillette Leon-Guerrero

Family Arkives .................................................................................................157 By si düko’ta alcantara-camacho


Brigido Hernandez ..........................................................................................159 By Victoria Guiao

A History of the Guam Farmer’s Market .........................................................161 By Elyssa Santos

I Mangaffa Siha ...............................................................................................163 By Lisa Linda Natividad

The Sapin Sapin Generation ..........................................................................173 By Tabitha Espina

Assessment of the Interacting Effects of Guamanian and Asian Cultures on the Youth ...............................................................................................................197 By Annette Kang

Survival of Traditional Healing on Guam .......................................................199 By Tricia Atoigue Lizama, PhD, LCSW

Stories of Survival ...........................................................................................209 By Camarin G. Meno

The Metaphysical Guåhan ...............................................................................211 By Nicholas J. Goetzfridt

Science A History of Guahan’s Flora ...........................................................................257 By Robert Bevacqua, PhD

Birth-Month Seasonality and the Secondary Sex Ratio in Guamanian Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Parkinsonism-Dementia Complex .........285 By Vince P. Diego, PhD and Frank A. Camacho, PhD

Peopling of the Marianas .................................................................................333 By Miguel G. Vilar



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The Arts 


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The Artist Paul Jacoulet in Micronesia

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By Don Rubinstein Professor of Anthropology and Public Health University of Guam rubinste@uguam.uog.edu

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Abstract: The Pacific has always held a special attraction for outside artists, travelers, and writers. Since the seminal work of art historian Bernard Smith (1960), we can appreciate how outside artists project their own complex vision of culture, nature, shared humanity, and ideals of beauty upon a Pacific canvas. This presentation focuses on one uniquely gifted and prolific artist, the Frenchman Paul Jacoulet, and his vision of Micronesia. Jacoulet first visited the Mariana Islands in 1929 and made several subsequent trips, in addition to spending time in other Micronesian ports of call, from Palau to Jaluit. He was predominantly a portraitist, and his several thousand pencil sketches, water color paintings, and published wood block prints provide a unique artistic vision of the Chamorros and Carolinians of the Mariana Islands whom Jacoulet befriended, as well as other islanders throughout the Japanese mandated territory during the prewar era. The Pacific has always held a special attraction for outside artists, travelers, and writers. Since the seminal work1 of art historian Bernard Smith, first published over 60 years ago, we can appreciate how outside artists project their own complex vision of culture, nature, shared humanity, and ideals of beauty upon a Pacific canvas. In this presentation I will focus on one uniquely gifted and prolific artist, the Frenchman Paul Jacoulet, and his vision of Micronesia (Fig. 1).

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Of all the outside artists who have visited Micronesia and portrayed the people and islands in their artwork, Jacoulet certainly produced the largest oeuvre and achieved the widest renown (Fig. 2). Jacoulet was wont to say, in his characteristically immodest way, “There are three Pauls: Paul Gauguin, Paul Cezanne, and Paul Jacoulet”.2 Especially in his “South Seas” voyages and visions, Jacoulet saw himself as an artistic kindred spirit of his admired Gauguin (Fig. 3).

First published in Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, v. XIII, nos.1-2, 1950, p.65-100. Later expanded and published as a monograph, European vision and the South Pacific, 1768-1850; a study in the history of art and ideas (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1960); a 2nd edition of the monograph was reissued in larger illustrated format: European vision and the South Pacific (New Haven, Yale University Press, 1985). ! Personal communication, Thérèse Inagaki, Feb. 2007. 2 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !1 ! 1


Yet Jacoulet was radically different from other European artists who have traveled the Pacific, not only in his personal biography but also in his preferred medium of expression. He is best known for having produced over 10,000 woodblock impressions of South Seas subjects, based on about 65 of his original compositions, using the technique of Japanese ukiyo-e block-printing on mulberry paper (Fig. 4). Recently, in addition, an extraordinary collection3 has come to light of over two thousand pencil sketches and watercolor paintings by Jacoulet, mostly produced in the islands during annual travels through Micronesia, and detailed compositions for woodblock prints that remained unfinished at the time of Jacoulet’s death in 1960 (Fig. 5).

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Paul Jacoulet’s singular artistic vision of Micronesia was shaped in part by his own personal history and his lifelong sense of cultural estrangement (Fig. 6). Jacoulet was born in Paris in 1896, but within a year or two of his birth, his father accepted a position as an instructor in French language and literature at the Japanese Imperial University, and the family relocated to Tokyo. Young Paul enjoyed a privileged life as the only child of a professional, expatriate French family, living beside the Imperial University near the French Embassy in Tokyo (Fig. 7). From the age of three, Jacoulet demonstrated a precocious talent in drawing, and his parents recognized and fostered his interest in art throughout his childhood and youth by hiring some of Japan’s most eminent artists as the boy’s private tutors. He attended Japanese schools and acquired native fluency in speaking Japanese, while also taking lessons in Japanese calligraphy, and pencil and charcoal drawing. He also received lessons in western-style painting and drawing from several eminent young Japanese painters who had studied art in France and who were leading figures in promoting western-style art in post-Meiji Japan (Fig. 8).

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This immersion in two cultural art worlds continued through Jacoulet’s adolescence. In 1907, he made the first of several trips to France with his father, who took him through galleries of paintings by Courbet, Millet, Matisse, Gauguin, and Picasso. These works made a lasting impression on Jacoulet, but back in Tokyo his interests turned increasingly towards Japanese traditional arts, especially the stage and theatre, and the techniques of wood-block printing. At one point during his teenage years, Jacoulet even imagined himself becoming a professional Japanese stage entertainer.

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collection recently has been donated to the Musée du quai Branly in Paris. See Christian Polak and Kyoko Sawatari (eds), Un artiste voyageur en Micronésie: L’univers flottant de Paul Jacoulet. Paris: Musée du quai Branly and Somogy Éditions D’Art, 2013. 2 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


Now we’ll jump forward almost 15 years to 1928 (Fig. 9). Jacoulet’s father has died from injuries sustained in the Battle of Verdun in World War I. His mother has left Japan and is remarried in Paris, and the great Kanto earthquake of 1923 has destroyed much of the theatre and art world that Jacoulet knew as a teenager, leaving him with a haunting sense of the impermanence of the world around him. At 32 years of age, he is still culturally leading a double life, working by day at an unfulfilling job as translator in the French Embassy, and at night enjoying Tokyo’s post-quake, reborn art and theatre world.

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It is at this point that Jacoulet makes the Gauguinesque decision to quit his office job, travel to the islands, and devote himself to art (Fig. 10). Over the next four years, from 1929 to 1932, Jacoulet made annual trips through Micronesia, spending up to half of each year in the islands. Unlike Gauguin, however, Jacoulet never fully abandoned himself to island life. He lived with part-European families—in Chuuk, the French trader Pierre Nedelic and the German-Fijian children of August Hartman; in Yap, the Russian émigré Alex Tretnoff; and in Saipan, the highly-educated and part-Spanish family of Gregorio Sablan. During these travels Jacoulet filled notebook upon notebook with field sketches and quick watercolor paintings of island people and scenes (Fig. 11).

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In his early trips through the islands, he showed a naturalist’s eye for the distinctive physiognomy of each island group, the exotic native flowers, and details of the landscape (Fig. 12). His field sketches and watercolor paintings capture the individuality and physicality of the islanders. Many of his compositions also hint at psychological undertones and tensions within his subjects. In a 1929 watercolor painting from Palau (Fig. 13a), one of Jacoulet’s first compositions in Micronesia, we see a young couple, whom Jacoulet has labeled “Santiago and Isabella.” Isabella is standing serene and proud, gazing off in the distance, and she appears pregnant. Santiago is kneeling beside her, staring up at her with a furrowed brow and cheeks flushed—with anger? with desire? Notice the bitter melon blossom in Isabella’s hair, and repeated in the pattern on her dress. Jacoulet often appears to use flowers in symbolic and suggestive ways. In this painting the background is rendered so accurately that today Palauans can place exactly where Jacoulet was standing when he painted this couple. This 1929 work is one of the field paintings that Jacoulet used as the basis for a wood-block print composition, which he completed in his Tokyo studio six years later (Fig. 13b). Look at the transformation from field painting to finished woodblock print. Santiago has vanished and the complex composition has become 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !3


simply a decorative portrait of Isabella, here presented as an unnamed Palauan beauty. The realistic background scenery also has vanished, replaced with a bouquet of exotic flowers, several of which do not grow in Palau.

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In another watercolor painting (Fig. 14), two well-attired Chamorro women, the Blanco sisters, sit framed within the arch of a window in Saipan. We can observe in this watercolor painting Jacoulet’s attention to the hidden emotions and tensions within relationships. The woman on the right has an arm thrust forward towards her sister, and she stares directly into into the other’s face. The woman on the left has partly turned away, her eyes cast down and sideways, avoiding her sister’s confrontational stance. Are we witnessing some argument or moment of anger here? Framing the composition on the left side and partly enveloping one woman, Jacoulet has placed a large, fruiting vine of bitter melon, again reinforcing through his use of flowers the psychological possibilities within the composition.

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In another watercolor composition (Fig. 15), two elegant young Yapese men are shown attired in all their finery, which Jacoulet has painted with ethographic precision—look at the necklaces and earrings with precious red Spondylus shell and heirloom blue glass beads, the two particular styles of wooden combs worn by high-ranking Yapese men, the red-dyed hibiscus fiber loincloths, and the golden turmeric powder on their cheeks and earlobes. Jacoulet’s attention to detail here is such that he even shows the traces of turmeric left on the fingertips after the powder has been applied to the face. Notice also how the two body tattoos occupy exactly complementary zones: the man on the right is tattooed from the neck down to the waist and elbows, and the man on the left is tattooed from elbow to wrist and from upper thigh to ankle—so that only when merged together would they form a full body tattoo. As a gay man, Jacoulet was particularly attentive to Micronesian male beauty, and in a letter4 written from Yap, he remarked on “my [Yapese] friends, with their large combs holding their splendid oiled hair, having their lips all reddened, and being covered in jewelry. Their fine sunburned bodies…were heavily perfumed, and the strong scent intoxicated me.” We can also note that to the left of this beautiful couple, and penetrating the space between them, is a spreading vine of purple passionflowers, which has been a symbol of male homosexuality in Japan since the early Tokugawa period.

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The idea that physical beauty is intoxicating—literally toxic and therefore dangerous— and ultimately transitory and disappearing, is a theme that runs through Jacoulet’s ! 4

Unpublished letter written by Paul Jacoulet, c. 1930, copy in possession of the author. 4 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


vision of Islanders, and often finds expression in Jacoulet’s pairing of portraits with flowers. These are mostly portraits of women. Note the wood-block print “Evening Flowers” in which a beautiful woman from Toloas in Chuuk stands on a veranda (Fig. 16). Behind her Jacoulet has drawn the exotic and imaginary “evening flowers” of the print’s title. The leaves and vine belong to the Manderilla, a plant found in East Asia, while the gigantic pink-and-white blossoms are from Nerium Oleander, a moderately toxic flower in the Dogbane family that is found in Micronesia. Reinforcing this theme of paired beauty and danger is the large silver spiderweb that dominates the dark background. The spiderweb is exquisite but is also, of course, designed to be a deadly trap.

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In another portrait, Jacoulet has painted a nude young woman from Chuuk in an unusual pose, crouching on her elbows and knees (Fig. 17). The flower in front of her appears to be Nicotiana, in the Nightshade family, which includes a number of toxic and addictive plants, mostly notably the tobacco plant. In addition to hinting here that Micronesian female beauty may be intoxicating to the point of addiction, Jacoulet may also be paying homage to Gauguin and Degas, who also painted women in similar poses.

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The transitory nature of Islanders’ beauty is a linked theme that runs through Jacoulet’s vision of Micronesia. In the woodblock print “Joaquina and her mother,” we see a beautiful young Chamorro woman, Joaquina, sitting in church in Rota with her mother (Fig. 18). In this composition, Jacoulet seems to be contemplating the effects of aging upon the Islanders, by contrasting the glowing beauty and youth of Joaquina with the dour matronly appearance of her mother. Joaquina seems almost floating lightly in air over her mother, who is seated heavily and firmly on the church bench. The plumeria blossoms in Joaquina’s hand and lying beside her may symbolize the fleeting loss of beauty and life; plumeria flowers wilt very quickly after being picked, and consequently in some Asian cultures plumeria is associated with death. Jacoulet occasionally depicts older Islanders with a single red leaf or blossom in the composition, as if to signal lost beauty and youth. In two watercolor paintings shown here (Figs. 19a, 19b), elderly women are staring off to the side, as if contemplating the single remaining blossom on a barren kapok tree, or a single red croton leaf lying on a mat. In another portrait—of an aging Carolinian man in Saipan, leaning back against an unseen support—Jacoulet suggests that the man is either exhausted or drunk: note the bloodshot eyes, the chin resting on his chest, and the loincloth coming undone (Fig. 20). The plant behind the man is an orchid, which Jacoulet nearly always shows in 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !5


full bloom. Here he paints the orchid atypically, shorn of its flowers, as if both the man and the plant have lost their bloom.

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Paul Jacoulet’s vision of Micronesia is uniquely positioned between two very different art traditions, one inspired by 20th century European painting, and the other rooted in 18th century Japanese print-making. In terms of technique, Jacoulet pushed the Japanese ukiyo-e printing to a degree of technical mastery few if any Japanese artists achieved. He experimented with a radical palette of pigments and colors, using rare materials such as powdered gold and silver and ground pearl shell and mica dust to produce unparalleled results. He posed and presented Islanders in provocative positions, conforming more to European artistic conventions than Micronesian standards of modesty, as in his woodblock portrait of a young Yapese woman Jacoulet entitled “First love” (Fig. 21). No proper Yapese woman would assume such a pose in public. Notice also in this composition the long string of white flowers the young woman is holding. The string of flowers disappears between her thighs and reemerges behind her grass skirt, like a long floral French tickler, which gives new meaning and double entendre to the title “First love.”

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We’ll end this brief introduction to Jacoulet’s vision of Micronesia with one of the artist’s most imaginative and alluring images. This woodblock print is entitled “The Mysterious Pacific,” and depicts a strange creature sitting on a seaweed-strewn rock in the middle of an intensely blue ocean (Fig. 22a). From the waist up, she is a beautiful woman with tawny orange hair and blue eyes, gazing wistfully into the distance. Below the waist, in place of human legs, are two enormous finned appendages, part fish tail, part octopus tentacle. Beside her, like a newborn baby, lies a small pink octopus with bulbous blue eyes. To western viewers, this image is evocative of mermaids, ancient mythic sea creatures whose seductive beauty and song mask their monstrous nature, and lure sailors to a watery death. To Japanese viewers, this image might call to mind Hokusai’s most famous erotic image “The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife” (1814), also set on a seaweed-strewn rock in mid-ocean, showing a naked woman swooning in the sexual embrace of a giant octopus, while a baby octopus kisses her gently on the lips (Fig. 22b).

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Paul Jacoulet’s vision of Micronesia is at once both Western and Asian, and alternatively both naturalistic and romanticized, studiously ethnographic and imaginatively mythologic. Jacoulet remains one of the most compelling and enigmatic of all outside artists who have engaged with Micronesians.
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Figures

Figure 1. Wives of Sagag and Gosse, Tarang, Yap. Watercolor, 1942. 57 x 44 cm

Figure 2. Chief of Woleai Watercolor, 1933. 51 x 38cm

Figure 3. Father of Giltamag of Yap Pencil on brown paper, undated. 33x 24 cm

Figure 4. Betel, Yap Woodblock print, 1940. 39 x 26 cm

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Figure 5. High class women at church, Saipan. Watercolor, 1930. 41 x 37 cm

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Figure 6. Tattooed woman from Falalap. Woodblock print, 1935. 39 x 26 cm

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Figure 8. Mrs. Luisa Ada, a wealthy woman of Saipan. Watercolor, 1930. 41 x 38 cm


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Figure 10. Santiago, young native of Yap. Watercolor, 1935. 28 x 30 cm Figure 9. A woman from Fais, Yap. Pencil, watercolor, silver ink on brown paper, 1935. 33 x 24 cm

Figure 12. Flowers of the Caroline and Mariana Islands. Watercolor, 1929. 24 x 33 cm Figure 11. Portraits from Caroline and Mariana Islands. Watercolor, 1930. 41 x 38 cm 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ăƒť !9


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Figure 13a. Santiago and Isabella, Palau. Watercolor, 1929. 37 x 30 cm

Figure 13b. Beauty of Palau. Woodblock print, 1935. 39 x 26 cm

Figure 14. The two Blanco Sisters (Chamorros from Guam). Watercolor, 1935. 39 x 50 cm

Figure 15. Runabai and Myo, elegant men from Rull in Yap. Watercolor, 1942. 44 x 57 cm

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! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !   Figure 17. Margarita, young woman from Truk. Watercolor, 1934. 40 x 51 cm

Figure 16. Evening flowers, Truk. Woodblock print, 1941. 39 x 26 cm

Figure 18. Joaquina and her mother, Rota, Marianas. Woodblock print, 1947. 39 x 26 cm

Figure 19a. The mother of Rogopes, Saipan. Watercolor, 1930. 41 x 38 cm 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ăƒť !11


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Figure 19b. Rufina Pangelinan, Chamorro seamstress from Saipan. Watercolor, 1930. 41 x 38 cm

Figure 20. Tattooed native from Oleai, Saipan. Watercolor, 1931. 36 x 26 cm.

Figure 21. First love, Yap. Woodblock print, 1937. 39 x 26 cm

Figure 22. The mysterious Pacific. Woodblock print, 1951. 39 x 26 cm 12 ! ăƒť 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


Figure 22b. The dream of the fisher man’s wife. Woodblock print by Hokusai, 1814. 16 x 22 cm

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--Don Rubinstein holds degrees in anthropology (PhD, Stanford, 1979) and International Public Health (MPH, Hawaii, 1983). He has been on the faculty of the Micronesian Area Research Center at UOG since 1988. He teaches graduate courses in the Micronesian Studies Program, and he has conducted research and published on a wide range of topics in Micronesia, including social organization and socialization, adolescent suicide, medical anthropology, and indigenous arts. He has also curated several exhibitions at the University of Guam and University of Hawai`i on the arts of the Pacific and Southeast Asia, focusing especially on textile arts.

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Masters of Chamorro Tradition

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By Monica Okada Guzman Board Chair Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency monicaguzman@galaidegroup.com

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Abstract: In 1998, artist Ron Castro documented the life traditions of many of Guam folk and traditional practitioners who, in a Poster Series and coffee table book, were bestowed the title of “Master.” Since then, no additional cultural practitioners have been recognized and only a dozen of those “living treasures” remain with us today. The depository of the Chamorro heritage is in the minds of these cultural practitioners whose bodies are the vehicles through which the knowledge and skills of their traditions are manifested and performed. Reinstating the Masters program will give due recognition to these practitioners, while also safeguarding their traditional artistry through the continued practice of their craft within the community. The Masters Recognition Award guarantees the continuity of our cultural traditions, leaving a legacy for our children. Providing support of these Masters through apprenticeship programs is also key to the survival of these skills and artistry. Hafa Adai and Good Afternoon!

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Before I begin today, I would like to congratulate the University of Guam, the Guam Preservation Trust, Guampedia, the Northern Marianas Humanities Council and all the individuals who helped organize this important conference. Having attended the first Marianas History Conference in Saipan last year, I am pleased that we are continuing this important dialogue.

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I am here to share a little bit of what we are doing at the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities – CAHA, to help preserve and perpetuate our cultural heritage through our Masters Recognition Program…something that I, our Board of Directors and staff are very passionate about.

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In our society, there are things that we regard as important to preserve for future generations. Things that strike a certain emotion within each of us and make us feel as though we belong to something – a tradition or a way of life. They might be buildings or sacred sites, or songs that can be sung and stories that can be told. Whatever shape

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they take, they are a part of our heritage, and require our active participation and support in order to safeguard it.

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If art is the signature of civilizations, then it stands to reason that our cultural heritage is the signature of who we are as an indigenous people. The customs we inherit from our sainas – our language, oral traditions, social practices, rituals, festive events, traditional knowledge, arts and crafts are the living signatures of our culture and uniqueness. These precious gifts represent where we have been, provide us with perspective on where we are today and, if properly embraced, can give us guidance on where we might go in the future.

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So why is Cultural Heritage so important? Because it is how we safeguard and share our cultural expressions and traditions that have been passed from one generation to another – it is our touchstone of how we have evolved in response to our changing environment and contributes to maintaining our sense of identity and continuity as an indigenous people.

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In 2003, the General Conference of UNESCO, convened in Paris, to address the issue of cultural heritage. The convention defined two categories of cultural heritage:

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Tangible cultural heritage is manifested by monuments, buildings or sites representing historical events, groups or individuals that helped shape a community.

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Intangible cultural heritage is transmitted from generation to generation and is constantly re-created by communities or groups…and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.

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The convention emphasized the importance of safeguarding cultural heritage through identification, documentation, research, preservation, protection, promotion, enhancement and constant revitalization.

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Unfortunately, our own cultural heritage is at risk of being trivialized – as something meant to lure tourists to our shores rather than an essential element of our social cohesion and identity as an indigenous people of the Marianas. New advancements in 16 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


communications from smart phones to apps such as Twitter and Facebook are replacing the personal interaction and human engagement that has been the very foundation of our cultural traditions. Don’t get me wrong…I am just as dependent on my smart phone as the next person…but somehow as we become more connected technologically we seem to become less connected culturally.

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CAHA is focused on doing all we can to preserve and perpetuate our local traditions and our cultural practitioners despite this challenge.

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We are funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and Cultural Heritage is a major component of the overall NEA mission.

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In 1967, the NEA’s first cultural heritage grant was awarded to the National Folk Festival held annually in Washington, DC. This event joins hundreds of ethnically diverse delegations from across America to share their traditions and cultures – similar to the Festival of the Pacific Arts, but on a much smaller scale.

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By 1978, an official Folk and Traditional Arts Program was established in the NEA providing grants to support traditional arts in the states and territories. In the past, CAHA has applied for and received these grants to support our local cultural practitioners.

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In 1982, the NEA established the National Heritage Fellowship award. This is the highest honor of its type in the US and was established to recognize the recipient’s artistic excellence and support their continuing contributions to the nation’s traditional arts heritage.

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We should all be very proud that in 1996, Joaquin “Tun Jack” Lujan, Master Blacksmith, was recognized as a National Heritage Fellow by the NEA and is listed as one of our national treasures.

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In 1994, Ron Castro with the help of Judy Flores received a CAHA grant to document Guam’s Masters of Chamorro Tradition through a series of posters and interviews with 33 practitioners. A second series of posters was commissioned in 1998 to Jen Sablan identifying another 35 practitioners.

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CAHA then published their collections in a book titled “ A Journey with the Masters of Chamorro Tradition” in 2000.

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These efforts brought much needed focus on our traditional arts and cultural practices. However, this only represented a fleeting interest to our community at a time when these traditional skills were being lost with the passing of each master.

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I remember Ron calling me every time a Master passed...and how sad he was. And the hope he had that in some small way he contributed to the preservation of their craft. Their work, artistry and skillsmanship which were a part of their daily lives and a part to our cultural heritage must be preserved. From the tieras pugua of Tun Jack to the intricate weaving of Tan Lucia, these skills are on the verge of being lost.

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So in 2010, CAHA worked with the 30th Guam Legislature to develop a true Masters of Traditional Arts Recognition Award Program. Public Law 30-139 titled the “Guam Masters Award Act” was created to give recognition to local practitioners who were considered Masters of Guam’s folk and traditional arts.

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The law laid out specific criteria that has to be met in order to be considered a Master ranging from • Exemplary and active practice of a traditional art form to • Participation in one's art form via practicing or teaching, and • Artistic excellence to name a few. Up to 4 Masters would be recognized every 4 years and CAHA was given the responsibility to develop guidelines for the nomination and selection process which include: • Developing the packets and outreach for nominations • Convening an Independent Panel Review • Consultation with a Recognized Master • Interviewing the Nominees • And finally, Board Approval

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In 2011, the first call out for Masters was made and 10 nominations were received. Following a prescribed process, 4 awardees received the Master’s recognition including: • Tan Pai Certeza – Sainan Suruhana or Master Healer • Frank Lizama – Sainan Hereru or Master Blacksmith • Greg Pangelinan – Sainan Lalasgue or Master Carver, and, • Eileen Meno – Sainan Bailan Chamorro or Master of Chamorro Dance Each of these Masters were honored individually by the Governor and the Legislature at their homes while surrounded by close family and friends.

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Certificates and Resolutions were presented to the awardees along with a tribute by Master of Chamorro Dance Frank Rabon. Having been to each of these presentations, I can tell you, they were all touching and quite a surprise to the recipients.

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This summer another call-out was made and those nominations are currently under review.

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The process is not an easy one by any stretch. Reaching out to the various practitioners, the quality of the nomination submissions, and ensuring that all the criteria are met is very important to ensure that the honor and prestigious title is appropriately bestowed. Believe me there are varied perspectives on what constitutes a Master and who should be awarded. That is why CAHA is focusing on increasing awareness of the program, its process, intent and meaning.

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The best news is that our local community is responding to the program. For the last three years, Louis Vuitton has featured presentations of our Masters in their main store at the Tumon Sands Plaza and the reception has been great. The funding received from LV has been used for apprenticeship programs with our Masters.

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Our local government is also participating by featuring the Masters poster series in public offices and more attention is being paid to our Masters by our elected officials. During the Annual Guam Micronesia Island Fair, the Guam hut features our Masters alongside our neighbor islands.

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We are pursuing grants for apprenticeship programs and through our outreach we are working hard to engage our community at large through the media and other avenues.

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In conclusion, the Guam Masters Recognition program meets all the criteria defined in the UNESCO Convention.

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But more importantly, it meets our needs as a unique archipelago by: • Perpetuating our traditional folk arts • Sustainment and advancement of our cultural identity and continuity as an indigenous people • Instilling pride in our cultural traditions, history and heritage • And reaffirming our collective sense of place. Put uttimo, responsapbelidåt-ta kumu manaotao tåno’ hit na para ta cho’gue todu nina’siñå-ta put gine’te yan inadahen tradision, lengguåhi yan irensian kottura.

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Este siha mumåtka hit na taotåogues ya debi di ta na’siguru na manma kåtga guatu gi i man mamaila’ na hinirasion siha.

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In the end it is our individual and collective responsibility as an indigenous people to do everything we can to perpetuate and preserve our traditions, language and cultural heritage. They represent who we are and it is on all of us to ensure that they are carried on for the coming generations.

! Rest assured that at CAHA we are doing our part, and I for one am doing mine. ! Thank you and Si Yu'os Ma'ase!

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Presentation Slides

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--Monica Guzman is currently serving her second term as Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities. As a long-time supporter of arts and culture, she has volunteered her time and resources to organizations that serve to perpetuate the unique Chamorro culture and art of Guam. She is a member of the 2016 FestPac Coordinating Committee, as well as a member of the Boards of Para I Probechun I Taotao-ta PIPIT, GUMA Guam Unique Merchandise and Art, and TASI. Guzman is the CEO of Galaide Group and is married to Clifford Guzman with 3 daughters. 

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Dance to Unite All Chamorros As Uno Hit – We Are One

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By Sandy Flores Uslander Board Member CHE’LU, San Diego sandyuslander@gmail.com

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Abstract: The Chamorro culture that is practiced in stateside communities tends to reflect the time period in which their members migrated. Since the cultural resurgence of the 1980s, pride in the indigenous identity of Chamorros has been prevalent on the islands, leading to increased practices of Chamorro indigenous dance, indigenous inspired adornment, and ancient language. Yet these phenomena are not understood by most stateside Chamorros, pointing to differences in practice and concept that create disparities between Chamorros on Guam and those who have moved to the US mainland, including their children and grandchildren. This is significant because an estimated 60% of Chamorros are reported to live outside of the Chamorro islands. Can the cultural resurgence experienced in the Marianas since the 1980s be brought to stateside Chamorros? Introduction This presentation is to discuss the issue of a diverging identity for stateside Chamorros as compared to Chamorros in the Marianas and especially Guam. It will also discuss how a Chamorro dance program could close this gap. Let us examine the history that created the differences in concepts and practices. Let us evaluate this divergence. Let us explore how a Chamorro dance program could bridge this gap. Allow me to provide some background for you in the context of this presentation.

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Historical Background The tiny Pacific Islands of the Marianas have been home to the Chamorro people for more than 4,000 years. The first documented visit from Europe was by Magellan in 1521, and the Mariana Islands have experienced significant colonial government since that time. Three hundred years of Spanish rule was responsible for the loss of much of the indigenous culture, including the dance culture. (Rabon, 5) In 1898 the United States gained the largest Mariana island of Guam from Spain as a result of the Spanish American War. But it wasn’t until after the military importance of Guam 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !31


became clear during World War II that Americans brought significant money, policies and influence into the lives of the Chamorro people.

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The experience of being brutally occupied by the Japanese during World War II made Chamorros appreciative of the post-war American government. The United States divided lands, constructed military bases, established American policies and an American school system on Guam to help the natives ‘get ahead’ in the post war era. One example is that children were punished for speaking the Chamorro language in school with the belief that it would help them learn better English. (Auyong)

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A Cultural Resurgence on Guam Fast forward to 1980, when the impacts of American influence and policies were recognized. The public schools run by the Government of Guam created a Chamorro arts program. The popularity of this program led to community based groups; especially dance groups, around the island. A Chamorro dance culture emerged and indigenous dance was developed and taught for the first time. It led to a cultural resurgence that could be seen in the prevalence of the dance performances, and the adoption of ancient Chamorro language, practices and adornment, especially by the youth. The new focus on indigenous culture was informed by new research, archaeological finds, and witness to the decline of the language and cultural practices on Guam.

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In 1979 a beachside construction project unearthed a burial known as “The Princess of Ipao” with significant related artifacts, including beads worked from the orange Spondylus shell. (Flores 22) Since this discovery, the use of this shell for women’s jewelry has become popular, as it never was prior to 1980. Another artifact found in burials is the Tridacna sinahi, carved from the thick hinge portion of the giant him clam. Chamorro men have worn this shell as a sign of indigenous identity since the 1980s. (Flores, 25)

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In response to the decline in the use of the Chamorro language, Guam has had both public and private Chamorro language programs in existence for many years. The University of Guam now holds an annual Chamorro language contest. This focus has brought an awareness of what is indigenous language and what is taken from the Spanish colonizers. According to Guam Professor and activist, Miguet Bevacqua, although the current cultural climate does not resolve the dire situation of our

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language, “The shift to public acceptability of Chamorro language and culture has paved the way for a number of exciting creative gestures of indigenous incorporation”.

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Probably the most visible evidence of the cultural resurgence is the hundreds of youth on Guam who now perform the Chamorro dance genre under the umbrella organization of Pa’a Taotao Tano. Their spirited ancient dances, performed in palm skirts and wraps are widely popular. The song “Saina”, meaning ancient one, is sung at reverent ceremonies around the island. The Inetnon Gefpa’go dance group alone will in one month perform at a traditional fiesta, a youth festival, a bridal show, and a memorial service in addition to their regular hotel show for the tourists.

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A Time Capsule Now let us compare that to Chamorros that have lived in the mainland United States since before these archeological finds, since before the language education, and since before the Chamorro cultural arts programs. The stateside communities that have formed since then are largely isolated from the island culture and its relatively recent revitalization. This isolation has caused a time capsule effect, resulting in differences in cultural practices as well as concepts that create a disparity between the Chamorros on Guam and the Chamorros who have moved to the US mainland, their children and grandchildren. This is significant because about 60% of Chamorros are reported to live outside of the Chamorro islands. The number of Chamorros on the most populated islands of Guam and Saipan are estimated at a total of 87,000. The 2010 Census recorded more than 147,000 Chamorros or Guamanians living in the United States. Chamorros are the most widely scattered of all US Pacific Islanders. (Guam PDN)

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The problem that has become evident is that Chamorros in the diaspora lack knowledge about their indigenous heritage. Following is evidence of the differences arising amongst the stateside Chamorro communities as a result.

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When Guam’s Inetnon Gefpa’go dance group has performed at the Sons and Daughters of Guam Club (SDGC) for the manamko’ (seniors), they have purposely not performed the ancient dances because they are aware that the elders would not understand them. The counting of “Hatsa, Hugua, Tulo” would be unfamiliar. The significance of the Spondylus shell and the sinahi used in their costumes would be lost. While presenting to a recent SDGC leadership meeting, one of the attendees asked me “We have Chamorro dance? I thought our dance was the batsu.”

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While Arizona has a younger active Chamorro population, they have no way to learn Chamorro dance and have often joined Polynesian groups as an alternative. Arizona resident, and accomplished Hula dancer, Rebecca Reyes has committed to study and teach Chamorro dance with the Uno Hit project and lead an Arizona group. In her statement, she says,

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It wasn’t until my brother-in-law, Vince, [Inetnon Gefpa’go Director] started to share all his teachings/lessons that he was learning about our culture, that I realized what I was doing was filling a void in my life…the void of not being connected to my own culture… I knew I had to start following my dream of when I was a little girl. My hope is to one day be able to inspire and teach those that wish to perpetuate the Chamorro culture, language and customs.

Despite the difficulty of hosting a visiting dance group, the organizers of Arizona’s Easter picnic have committed to having Chamorro dance rather than Polynesian dance at their annual event.

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The Washington, D.C., Guam Society has welcomed the Kutturan Chamoru Foundation from California, one of only two stateside-based Chamorro dance groups, to perform and hold workshops with their youth. At their public events, especially the Congressional reception held each July, they insist upon having Chamorro dance represented, as opposed to the more available Polynesian dance. The DC community assists the California dance group with expenses and provides space and promotion for the workshops and performances. Former GSA President, Teresita Guevara Smith learned of the Uno Hit program during a visit to California, and has since been the lead in committing people and resources to bring Uno Hit to the Washington, D.C., area. A letter from the current President of the Washington, D.C., based Guam Society of America, states,

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…We look forward to the establishment of a Chamorro performing arts program that will fill a gap that is real across the country – that is, a sustained and recurring education program with classes and events that focus on the traditional Chamorro dances and chants that reflect the island of Guam’s rich cultural heritage.

Creating a Chamorro dance program could bridge this cultural and generational gap and instill pride in the indigenous Chamorro heritage across generations. It could also be a meaningful way to attract the youth. It is a tool to unite us in space and time, a tool that we call Uno Hit, meaning, “we are one.”

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A Telling Response to Workshops and Performances The Chamorro youth in stateside communities have little to engage them in their culture. The youth generally come to the fiestas after the religious rituals are complete to eat and to dance. The most popular dances are the Latin cha-cha, and the country line dances. The Sons and Daughter of Guam Club (SDGC) President, Jess Cruz in a recent interview stated that his biggest challenge is to engage the youth.

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With this goal in mind, President Cruz made the SDGC clubhouse and pavilion available at no charge to the Uno Hit dance workshop in March 2013. The event was a success, bringing 25 dance students and 108 who signed in for the performance that followed. Said Heidi Quenga who recruited the workshop participants in San Diego, “I have six dancers who are already asking for the [rehearsal] schedule. They want to get started”.

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In Phoenix, Arizona, the Chamorro community fed and housed the 12-member IGP traveling group for their 5-day stay in March 2012 and March 2013. Workshop space and publicity was provided to put on a dance workshop for 30 local Chamorro youth. Two performances were held. One performance was at a local church to about 80. A second performance was at the annual Chamorro Easter picnic to an audience of 300-400.

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With this response, myself, as a Che’lu board member in San Diego who helped to coordinate both years of Inetnon Gefpa’go workshops and performances, recognized that the dance tours uncovered the lack of indigenous knowledge among stateside Chamorro groups and the desire to learn. I began to explore ways to bring the Chamorro dance program and the concept of Uno Hit to stateside communities in an effective way. The program had proven success in educating the youth on Guam, and showed the ability to engage and educate across generations. In consultation with supporters in San Diego, Long Beach, Arizona and Washington, D.C., the Uno Hit project was conceived. Inetnon Gefpa’go Cultural Arts Program (IGP) was asked to lead the project because of its 12 years of International travel experience, and its established relationships with stateside Chamorro communities. IGP agreed that their organization was developed enough to take on this project given adequate financial support. Other support is also welcomed.

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A Community of Support Initially, the Uno Hit project will serve communities in the areas of southern California (Los Angeles and San Diego), Phoenix, Arizona, and Washington, D.C., that have demonstrated commitment and support for a Chamorro performing arts program. To demonstrate its importance and reach, allow me to introduce you to the major supporting organizations: • The Sons and Daughters of Guam Club (SDGC) is a 60-year old institution in East San Diego that has a steady schedule of annual events for its members and the Chamorro community at large. • The Piti Village Group, with close ties to SDGC has just concluding their second year of a language program supported by the Administration for Native Americans. They have committed to support the Uno Hit project. • The Chamorro education focused non-profit, Chamorro Hands in Education Links Unity also known as Che’lu. They have recently committed to forming a local youth group and conducting monthly education workshops. It has adopted Uno Hit as an organization project. • The above San Diego institutions support the largest population of Chamorros outside of the Mariana Islands, estimated at 17,000. Additional support comes from: • The Kutturan Chamoru Foundation, the most well known Chamorro performing arts group in the mainland US. They have been in existence for 20 years. KCF has performed in most of the largest Chamorro communities, conducting workshops whenever they have been given the opportunity. Executive Director, Heidi Quenga, has submitted a statement to outline their goals and needs and how they intend to work with the Uno Hit Project. We are happy to announce that she will kick off Uno Hit with twice a month dance instruction in San Diego beginning in September. • Arizona has a scattered Chamorro community with its greatest concentration in the Phoenix area. Their largest gathering is the annual Easter picnic sponsored by individuals, Paul and Lisa Merrill for the last 12 years. Each year they bring together about 500 attendees to the picnic. There is a dedicated core of support there, including Rebecca Sablan Reyes who has committed to lead a dance group in her area. • The Guam Society of America (GSA) was the first official Chamorro organization in the mainland US, established just over 60 years ago in the Washington, D.C., area. They have supported visiting Chamorro artists in the past, providing promotion, workshop space and lodging. President, 36 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


Mike Blas stated in a recent interview that GSA would like to bring more cultural artists to conduct workshops in their area. Supporting organizations include the following entities on Guam: • The Guam Visitors Bureau (GVB) seeks to attract the large stateside Chamorro population to visit “home” as evidenced by their consistent presence at US travel shows. They understand the appeal of the unique cultural aspects of the island, and have worked with organizations that promote Chamorro culture in the past, including IGP, the Che’lu organization, and Kutturan Chamoru. They intend to work with the Uno Hit program in the same way. • The Guam Council for the Arts and Humanities Agency (CAHA) is the government agency overseeing culture and art programs on the island. CAHA has committed to making the Uno Hit groups eligible to be listed in the CAHA Artists Directory, as a resource for Guam cultural arts. • FestPac Guam 2016 Committee is tasked with preparing for Guam’s hosting of the Festival of Pacific Arts. The Festpac organizing committee wants to include the Chamorro diaspora as part of the Guam hosting delegation, further promoting the idea of Uno Hit. FestPac has provided a letter supporting and inviting the Uno Hit participating groups to come home and help host our Pacific brothers and sisters in 2016. • Related to this, a small presence at the 2014 Festival is currently being considered by the, FestPac organizing committee. FestPac will depend heavily on having stateside Chamorro groups represent Guam at this festival, thus saving thousands of dollars in travel costs. Conclusion The overarching goal of Uno Hit is to create an infrastructure for duplicable Chamorro dance programs across the US. We would develop dancers to educate our youth and to represent our culture in regional and national performances. We would develop area dance groups. We would train local Chamorro dance leaders and put them on a path to qualify as fafana’gue to perpetuate the culture in these communities.

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This project will create a schedule of trainings and performances that will give our youth a sense of authority and pride in their cultural heritage. It will give dance leaders the template for a successful organization involving participant incentives and awards, an active parent organization and successful fundraising. The project will create regular cultural activities in each participating geographic community and opportunities to network with other Chamorros outside of their communities. 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !37


The youth involvement will shore up the interest in Chamorro community groups whose regular activities do not attract the younger generation. The older generation will be exposed to the new genre of Chamorro expression through their children and grandchildren, instilling pride in the indigenous Chamorro identity across the ocean and across generations.

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References Auyong, Marie A. 2013 ‘Education After WWII’, referenced 20 August, © 2009 Guampedia™, URL: http:// guampedia.com/post-war-education

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Bevacqua, Michael Lujan 2013 ‘The State of Chamorro Language’, referenced 20 August, © 2009 Guampedia™, URL: http://minagahet.blogspot.com/2006/09/state-of-chamorro-language.html

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Farrell, Don 2011 History of the Mariana Islands to Partition. First Edition.Saipan: Public School System, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 2011.

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Flores, Judith Selk 2011 Estorian Inalahan, Irensia Publications.

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Rabon, Francisco B. 2007 Chamorro Dances, Costumes Songs & Chants, Irensia Publishing.

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Guam Pacific Daily News 2012 “Chamorros most dispersed of US Pacific Islanders”, URL: http://www.guampdn.com/ article/20120511/NEWS01/205110312/

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--Sandy Flores Uslander is a board member of the CHE’LU organization in San Diego working with events and programs to educate about the Chamorro culture. Born and raised in the village of Inalahan, Guam, she graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in Anthropology with a focus on cultural anthropology. She currently writes a column in the Guam Pacific Daily News on Chamorro activities in San Diego and the US. This and other writing on her blog, GoIsland.net, is her effort to connect Chamorros wherever they may live in the world.

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Chamorro Music Through the Heart of Alexandro “The Colonel” Sablan

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By Maria Manglona Takai Instructor for Chamorro and Carolinian Language and Heritage Studies San Vicente School, Saipan maria.takai@cnmipss.org

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Abstract: Chamorro music is a form of art used by Chamorro musicians to express their feelings and emotions while also telling the stories of many of life’s events. Chamorro music, however, is often ignored and left out of historical research. One popular Chamorro recording artist, Saipan’s Alexandro “The Colonel” Sablan, has released 14 CDs with a number of songs that speak to some aspects of history and culture. This paper focuses on the Colonel’s life as a musician and as a commentary on cultural heritage. The 70s and 80s were times of tremendous change in the NMI. Politically, our island went through the transformations of being a United Nations Trust Territory to being a US Commonwealth. There were lots of changes that took place in the NMI. For example, social and economic changes.

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These changes are well described in books such as Don Farrell’s History of the Northern Marianas Islands. What is missing from the historical research, however, is attention to the everyday impact on Chamorro culture, and especially our identity as a people in this time of change.

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It can be said that music is the heart of a people and so understanding the music enjoyed by a society can give us a window into the thoughts, values, and experiences of ordinary people. These experiences of everyday people are usually left out of traditional history books that focus more on events surrounding politics and the economy. Research into Chamorro music, therefore, has the potential to tell us stories that are usually ignored in historical textbooks.

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Chamorro music is enjoyed by numerous people across the Marianas. People of different ages and even those from different races and backgrounds dance to the rhythms of the many different Chamorro songs. Music is a form of art, and musicians have the ability to express their feelings and emotions through their songs, while others showcase their cultural heritage in the same way. Since the 1970s, Chamorro 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !51


musicians have begun recording their music for sale to the public, thus popularizing their art form and spreading their messages to larger audiences. A historical study of Chamorro music can open doors to a greater understanding of issues facing the Chamorro people. One well-known Chamorro singer, Alexandro “The Colonel” Sablan, who has recorded 14 Chamorro music albums, has many songs that express his love of the Chamorro language and culture, as well as the devastations of war. The importance of the Colonel’s music among the Chamorro has even been recognized by CNMI Legislature who in April 2013 issued a Resolution that recognizes the contributions that the Colonel has made in the art of music within the CNMI.

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This paper focuses on the “The Colonel” and some of his songs relating to Chamorro culture and the devastations of war. These also emphasize the importance of family ties in direct relation to the preservation of the Chamorro language and culture. His profound love for music has led him to gain the attention of many people across the Marianas and through The Colonel, many have acquired an enjoyable way of acknowledging Chamorro cultural values, above all, through the art of music.

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The history of Chamorro music goes back about 4,000 years, when the Mariana Islands were first settled. It is evident that much information during these times are lost, however European visitors to the islands during the 16th and 17th centuries were able to note the importance of music during these centuries. The Chamorrita or Kantan Chamorrita was a common type of chant or song during the ancient Chamorro times. It is a call-and-response type of competitive singing. Among the two competitors, one wins when the other can no longer come up with a response. The use of this art served a number of reasons, such as playful teasing or the instigation of war. Most Chamorro musicians have adapted and implemented different musical genres into their songs. Although Chamorro music today is influenced by outside cultural influences, contemporary Chamorro musicians continue a cultural practice that evolved from ancient times.

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Music, itself, is an art that eases the mind in ways that are beyond imaginable. Ease is often perceived as calm and serene. In my opinion, this is a mistake that is often made. Some people do enjoy the serenity of melodious music, while others enjoy the fast beat of disco or the pleasant beat of reggae.

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Whereas some people enjoy simply listening to music, others find their mind’s ease by expressing their feelings and emotions through writing songs, and even singing. Some artists simply write songs and have others sing their songs. Many others write and sing 52 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


their own songs. The variety of music genres differentiate the emotions that are being expressed. We listen to love songs, and many of us wonder if the singer actually went through the experience that is being sung. Ironically, this is not always the case. In some cases, the singer writes or sings a love song because of an inspiration by someone else’s love story.

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In a dissertation written by Michael R. Clement Jr., entitled “Kustumbre, Modernity and Resistance. The Subaltern Narrative in Chamorro Language Music,” he studies a variety of Chamorro musicians, their lives, and the paths they took to achieve their goals in the music industry. In addition, he decodes the meaning of the songs in an in depth manner. His dissertation was written primarily as a requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History.

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Specifically, Clement writes about the historical roots of Kustumbren Chamorro music traditions, Guamanian identity and the marginalization of Chamorro music, Johnny Sablan and the birth of the recording industry, and music across the Marianas. His work argues that “the revival of Chamorro music traditions in post-war Guam is demonstrated to be a significant cultural movement that has largely gone unnoticed by scholars in fields that deal with issues of history, culture, colonialism, and music” (Clements ii).

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Moreover, the Guampedia website also gives some information on Chamorro musicians and their work. The entry on Chamorro Music, also written by Dr. Michael Clement, is divided into several topics to give a more explicit description of Chamorro Music. These topics include Chamorro music being a key element in Guam; Chamorro music today, ancient Chamorro music; music of the Chamorro custom, music during World War II; music after World War II; and neo-traditional Chamorro music. The website also includes two Chamorro music video samples and images of various Chamorro artists.

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In addition to Michael Clement’s dissertation and the Guampedia website, the research for this paper also comes from the NMI History by Don Farrell, the wtv-zone website, the fourteen albums written by “The Colonel”, the song lyrics of all his songs, and his resolution signed by the CNMI Legislature. The main source of my paper is an interview with “The Colonel” himself.

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I conducted an interview with the Colonel in June 2013, at his residence in Dandan village, Saipan. The interview lasted for approximately three hours. Because I 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !53


personally know the Colonel, speaking with him about his life and his music has always been a comfortable and interesting subject.

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Alexandro “The Colonel” Sablan was born on July 08, 1958 on the island of Saipan, CNMI. He came from a family of eleven siblings, including four sisters and seven brothers. His parents are the late Eulogio T. Sablan and Antonia P. Sablan. The Colonel is happily married to Romila Sablan for 28 years and counting. They are blessed with two wonderful sons, Lyrics and Alexandro Jr.

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During the Colonel’s elementary school years, he attended William S. Reyes Elementary School and San Antonio Elementary School. He then moved on to Hopwood Junior High School, and finally to Marianas High School where he graduated in 1976. He moved on to attend college at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. There he was able to obtain an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts, and avail himself of college music courses. Throughout his stay in Utah, the Colonel worked at various agencies that provided help for youths at risk. One of his experiences included a youth outreach program called the University Year for Action, UYA, at Ogden Community Action Agency. Another experience was working at Ogden County Sheriff’s Office with the Intervention Program.

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Through these experiences, he returned to his hometown and worked for various agencies that provided help to the community. A couple of these jobs included working as a program coordinator at the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, and working as a counselor at the Vocational Rehabilitation Office. Although he enjoyed working in the various social service jobs, he discovered that working for these agencies did not give him the joy that music did.

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After he decided to concentrate on his music career and his life as a musician, his parents completely opposed his decision. Like most parents, they wanted their son to be a successful doctor or a lawyer. But this was not what the Colonel wanted. He went against his parents’ wishes and continued his career as a musician.

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The Colonel’s life was a real challenge between the years of 1990-2002. He was unfortunately involved in drugs, and reached out for help through his songs. He wanted to give up his addiction badly. Astoundingly, his will to stop was strong enough to enable him to give up drugs altogether in 2002.

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The Colonel’s love for music has been with him throughout his entire life. His ability to transform ordinary life events into spectacular songs is part of his natural talent. Through this, he earned a well-deserved house resolution that was signed on April 18, 2013. This resolution was introduced by Representative Antonio P. Sablan of Precinct One. The resolution, which was signed by the Eighteenth Legislature of the CNMI, applauds and recognizes him for his many accomplishments, most especially in his music career.

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The Colonel discovered his love for music when he was only 11 years old. He was particularly fond of country, western, and rock and roll music. He started recording his songs in high school and throughout college. In 1974, he and his band started playing for high school dances and parties, and officially produced his first song in 1978 called “Hagu yan Guahu.” He eventually moved on and played on his own without a band.

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I chose a few of the Colonel’s many songs focus on the Chamorro culture, language, and custom. These songs include Man Chamorro, Down to Earth Chamorro, and Lina’la’ Chamorro. In addition, I would also like to focus on one of his songs that gears toward a war story and its sad outcome. This song is Båtkun Gera.

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The Colonel wrote the song Man Chamorro to tell about his experience while he and all of his siblings lived in Tinian, with family members, for 4 months. During their stay in Tinian, they spent their days farming and cleaning around the farm. They enjoyed the lives of the old Chamorro way.

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Man Chamorro Gigun mananana, insigidas kahulo’ yu’ Hun pribiniyi yu’ para i diha Bai hu sera fine’nina ginen i san lichen Yan bai hu fangguåssan gi hålum fanggualu’an

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Koru: Bai hu sera gi san lichen, ya un fofo’na gi san kattan Man bråbu ham na lancheru, sa’ estagui’ i hagas Na kustumbrin man Chamorro

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The Chamorro People At the break of dawn, I immediately awake I prepared myself for the day I will start from the south And I will pull grass within the farm

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Chorus: I will start from the south, and you start from the north We are active farmers, because this is the old Custom of the Chamorro people

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The Colonel refers to the “old custom”. His implication to the listeners is to be proud of our heritage and never to forget it. He is indirectly attempting to preserve the culture through sharing his experience and, in his singing of it, the listener feels his pride in his heritage.

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Another cultural song written by the Colonel is called Down to Earth Chamorro, which is written using a combination of both English and Chamorro. The Colonel wrote this song when he was a Chamorro Bilingual teacher at Hopwood Junior High School in 1990 and 1991. During this time, the Public School System held music competitions wherein the different public schools competed.

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For this reason, the Colonel shared this song with his students. He and his students performed it as well. The remarkable beat of this song and the words that expressed their demonstration of pride for being Chamorro people landed them First Place in the competition.

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Down to Earth Chamorro I am very proud of being born Chamorro Sa’ ennåo gue’ magahit nai na raså-hu Ya Marianas shall forever be my island Of coconut fronds and where Chamorro songs are sung Here, people meet just for being friendly Ennåo gue’ na todus hit man agofli’e’ Where the breath of a Hafa Adai says my friend, how do you do? Ilek-mu brådda, it’s you, you’re a down to earth ole buddy Chamorro Once upon a time there was a Chamorrita Anåkku’ gaput ilu-ña na ma akekeyu 56 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


I say I lika brown-eyed girl morena Then there was this cutie pretty Chamorrita When lovers meet in the land of Chamorro Umaguaiya para todu i tiempu Friends for lovers A it’s ok, friends for friends all the way Man agofli’e’ hit todu in the down to earth land of the Chamorro

! The complete English translation of this song is as follows: ! Down to Earth Chamorro I am very proud of being born Chamorro Because that is my true race Yes Marianas shall forever be my island

Of coconut fronds and where Chamorro songs are sung Here, people meet just for being friendly This is why we all get along Where the breath of a Hello says my friend, how do you do? You say, brother, it’s you, you’re a down to earth ole buddy Chamorro Once upon a time there was a Chamorrita With long hair affixed in a bun style I say I like a brown-eyed girl, brown-skinned Then there was this cutie pretty Chamorrita When lovers meet in the land of Chamorro They make love forever more Friends for lovers A it’s ok, friends for friends all the way We all get along in the down to earth land of the Chamorro

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The Colonel expresses his pride of being a “down to earth Chamorro”. He further elaborates on the hospitality of the Chamorro people.

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Thirdly, the Colonel wrote Lina’la’ Chamorro, inspired by his grandparents who taught him how to farm from the time he was about in the 2nd grade. He and his cousins would wake early in the morning, and have breakfast then head out right to the farm. The Colonel remembers their daily meals because of the fresh meat, eggs, and vegetables that they ate. This, to him, was a great reward before and after a fun day at the farm.

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Lina’la Chamorro Anai dokku’ i atdåo, umessalåo si nåna fangahulo’ I fusiñus gi un kånnai, i otru i machete gagu’i Maolekña un huyung, ya un fangguåssan Estague’ un litråtu put estorian lina’la’ man Chamorro

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Koru: I kustumbre, Esta Ombre, I lina’la’ Man Chamorro, Mås pairi no-o

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Otru asuntu put esti i lina’la’ man Chamorro Dia’ esta maleffa håo na ta såkki tuban Ta’Iku I maneska yan i chesa, estague’ i låñan måkinan man Chamorro

! The translation of this song is as follows: !

Lives of the Chamorro People When the sun rose, grandmother yelled for us to wake up The hoe in one hand and the machete in the other, be lazy It’s best if you get out and pull grass Here is one picture of a story of the lives of the Chamorro people

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Chorus: The custom, Yes it is, the lives of the Chamorro people, is the best, ye-es

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Another chapter of the lives of the Chamorro people You have probably forgotten that we stole Ta’Iku’s coconut wine The liquor and the chaser, this is the oil of the Chamorro machine

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In this song, the Colonel emphasizes that fun of working at the farm early in the morning. He also reminisces on the mischievous acts he did as a child, like stealing Ta’Iku’s coconut wine.

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The song Båtkun Gera is originally an English song written and sung by Arthur Q. Smith in the early 1950s. The song talks about a prisoner of war who was presumed dead. After a successful escape from his captors, the soldier returned home, only to discover that his wife had remarried.

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As a child, one of the Colonel’s ambitions, along with being a musician, was to enlist in the military and become an actual colonel. This drive led him to discover this song. His thought for this song explains that the story behind the song can possibly happen to any soldier. A dear friend of his, Tun Joaquin Katmelo, translated this song to Chamorro for the Colonel to sing.

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Båtkun Gera Atan ha’ i Båtkun Gera Huyung sa’ gof hihut Atan siha i sindålu Sigi di manunuk

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Låo solu guåhu ha’ nai dimålas Kana’ yu’ sen matai Sa’ ha danchi yu’ i bala Guihi gi kåntun unai

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Pues mayute’ yu’ nai namaisa Nu i manggachochong-hu Mafa’ yu’ i presun gera Guihi gi hassosson-hu

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Låo si Yu’us ha’ nai ga’chong-hu Metgut yan man hulat Sa’ ha pipit yu’ nai huyung Esta i hiyung kollat

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Pues un diha yu’ nai humånåo Para i hagas saga-hu Sa’ mahålang yu’ nai mampus Nu i asaguå-hu

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Ya anai hu baba i petta Hu li’e’ i litråtu Eståba gue’ i asaguå-hu Na umasagua yan otru

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Pues hu chiku nai i litråtu Ya ilek-hu Adios Ti tumunuk i lago’-hu Låo piniti yu’ mampus

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Pues hu sodda’ nai i katta Ya sigi di hu taitai Na ilek-ña “missing in action” pine’lun-ñiha yu’ na måtai Na ilek-ña “missing in action” pine’lun-ñiha yu’ na måtai

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I magagu-ña nai i nobia Ai sumen sa’-ña Sa’ megahit na kabålis Ayu mås kululo’-ña

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Låo hu tungo’ ha’ nai na maguf Gi hålum korason-ña Sa’ pine’lo-ña yu’ nai na måtai På’gu i asaguå-ña

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Pues bai kuenta na taiguennåo Sa’ håfa yu’ bai hu cho’gue Na ni hu kasa håo ni gufetma Para tulanochi

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Låo i katta yu’ nai lumåmin Sa’ sigi di mataitai Na ilek-ña “missing in action” mapo’lu yu’ na måtai Na ilek-ña “missing in action” mapo’lu yu’ na måtai

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Atan ha’i kuentus tåotåo Yanggin machalapun Mafababa i asaguå-hu Sumen magåhit agun

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Sa’ i “missing in action” Måfattu ha’ ta’lu

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Låo solu måtai nai gi gera Na bai hu honggi dialu Sa’ i “missing in action” Måfattu ha’ ta’lu

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Sa’ i “missing in action” Måfattu ha’ ta’lu

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The Colonel particularly likes this song because of his prior ambition of being enlisted in the army. He believes that any ordinary individuals can relate or even experience such misfortune.

! The Original English Version is as follows: !

Missing In Action By: Arthur Q. Smith The warship had landed and I came ashore The fighting was over for me evermore For I had been wounded, they left me for dead With a stone for my pillow and snow for my bed

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The enemy found me and took me away And made me a prisoner of war so they say But God in his mercy was with me one day The gate was left open and I ran away

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I returned to my old home, my sweet wife to see The home I had built for my darling and me The door was left open and there on the stand I saw a picture of her and a man

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The clothes she was wearing told me a sad tale My darling was wearing a new bridal veil I found a letter and these words I read 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !61


“Missing in Action” – she thought I was dead

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So I kissed her picture and whispered good-bye My poor heart was broken but my eyes were dry I knew it was too late for her now to learn I knew she must never know I had returned

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A vagabond dreamer forever I’ll roam Because there was no one to welcome me home The face of my darling no more will I see For “Missing in Action” forever I’ll be

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In conclusion, my paper demonstrates the value of the messages being expressed through Chamorro music. The importance of Chamorro music had been ignored by many people for too long. A change of heart by these people will help them understand that music is a majestic way to express one’s feelings on a variety of stories, life’s events, and even true political circumstances.

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I chose this topic because I understand that many musicians tell their stories and want to be heard through their music. Specifically, the Colonel’s many songs were inspired by true life events. His songs range from a variety of genres, to include cultural songs, war songs, love songs, religious songs, and even humorous songs.

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I believe that there should be more research done on all Chamorro musicians. This will be a good way to understand their points of views through their music. The popularity of their music also tells us that their messages are shared by many other Chamorro people and so it is evidence of the emotions and issues that Chamorro people are dealing with at this time in history. Realistically, we can all get resolution ideas from many songs that can help us cope with many of life’s ordeals.

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Presentation Slides

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References Farrell, Don A., and Phyllis Koontz 1991 History of the Northern Mariana Islands. [Saipan?]: Public.

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School System 1991 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Print.

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Clements, Michael R., Jr. 2011 Kustumbre, Modernity and Resistance: The Subaltern Narrative in Chamorro Language Music. (Doctor of Philosophy in History) N.p.: n.p. Print.

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“Missing In Action (The Moonshiners) with Lyrics and Video.” 2013 Missing In Action (The Moonshiners) with Lyrics and Video. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 June.

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“Guampedia.” 2013 Guampedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 June.

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Eighteenth Legislature of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 2013 House Resolution 18-13.

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Sablan, Alexandro 2013a Personal Interview. 25 June. 2013b Chamorro Music Collectable. 2013c “The Colonel’s” lyrics collection.

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Maria Manglona Takai is a certified instructor for the Chamorro and Carolinian Language and Heritage Studies program at San Vicente School on Saipan. She obtained an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts at Northern Marianas College on Saipan in May of 2013. Presently, she is working towards a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education, with an emphasis on Special Education and would like to continue towards a Master’s Degree in Education with an emphasis on Marianas History. She is married to Michael Takai, a retired firefighter, and has two daughters, Breyandel and Deltona Takai.

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A Colonial Perspective on the Music and Instruments of Guam

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By Clement, M.R., Sr. Music Instructor George Washington High School google@guam.net

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Abstract: This is a presentation of the instruments introduced in Guam by Padre Sanvitores, c. 1668. Commentary explains his motives for choosing certain instruments related to Las Danzas de Moros y Cristianos as they were performed in Spain since the 1300s and in its colonies in South America and the Pacific. It addresses how these instruments functioned in the processes of missionization and evangelization in Guam, both in the Church and in public performance. It builds on the Music on Mainstreet presentation (2007) of the Guam Humanities Council by identifying and explaining the instruments of Sanvitores: the pito and tambour, chirimias, gaita, harp, clarion and others. The teaching goals of the Jesuits are connected to the Quadrivium and musarithmetic through the construction of string instruments and men-sural notation. When I first thought about what to say in this paper, it seemed pretty clear and straightforward: it would be an update of my research on colonial instruments introduced to the Mariana Islands via Guam, the site of La reduccion and SpanishCatholic conquest. I wanted to give it a special twist by approaching it through certain instruments that Padre Sanvitores requested that reflected his passion to introduce the Aztec Tocotin to the Chamorros as a dance of Christian conquest and an extension of the 350 year-old Spanish tradition of Las Danzas de Moros y Cristianos. These instruments were typically used in renditions of these dances in Mexico and Guatemala and became identified with the execution of the dances.

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In the process of preparing papers for other presentations I have further updated the scope of this subject to include a broader statement about colonial influence on the music of the Chamorros. This includes the impact of the Law of the Indies on missionary musical activity and more detailed information on instruments that Padre Sanvitores requested. My aim is to show the breath of knowledge, philosophy, cultural richness and musical skill the Jesuits brought with them and what they imparted directly or indirectly to the Chamorros of 1668. 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ăƒť !69


The Law of the Indies The law of the Indies put under the rule of law how missions should be organized, including the layout of buildings and their relationship to each other: the Church, the schools, the soldiers quarters, the Spanish governor’s palace and other buildings. Much of this was determined by musical considerations; e.g., “bajo la campana” meant the distance the sound of the church bell could be heard to signal the time of day and the singing of masses throughout the day. In Europe, the bell-range determined the limits of the Christian area of a town or city, assuming that there was also a Jewish or Islamic temple in the area with the same sort of sonic reach with its call to prayer. The village layout and architecture also included a plaza for large gatherings between the Church, the school and the Governor’s palace so that the people could gather for events and performances between these architectural pillars of Spanish-Catholic government, with the militia on-hand for any eventuality.

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David Irving, in Colonial Counterpoint, states that music policy had the force of law and, in fact, was the most practical law for regulating peoples behavior. Thus, the law of the Indies was specific about what kind of music could be played at a fiesta. Music equates with morals. Without appropriate music approved by the church, the natives’ code of behavior could disintegrate rapidly into immoral behavior. Music structured the day and what people were to do to fulfill their obligations to the Church. To deviate from this behavior was to break the law.

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In Manila, e.g., the Royal instructions of 1573 … extended to music, mandating that if missionaries “wished to inspire greater admiration and attention amongst the infidels, and if it were convenient to do so, they could use music performed by singers and instrumentalists (playing low and high wind instruments) in order to join in and use them.” Shaping the culture of the inhabitants seemed as important to Felipe II and his advisors as molding the physical structure of the urban space. Such approaches of musical coercion were adopted in Manila in the final decades of the sixteenth century. The primary differences between the Manila in the Philippines and the Mariana Islands was geography, ethnic and language diversity, population size and distribution, and the force of Spanish culture as determined by the number and social cohesion of the Spanish community. By comparison, in the reduced-Marianas-Guam context, there were fewer natural inhabitants for the mestizo- Hispanic culture to impact, and they were drastically confined (on a small island) compared to the expanse of Manila, not to mention the wealth Manila had to invest in Spanish religious commodities. Other than 70 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


these factors, both missions operated under the same instructions from the King of Spain. In addition, in Magellan’s time, the Mariana Islands were thought geologically to be part of the Philippine archipelago. The Church was established in the Philippines in the mid-sixteenth century. It took another one hundred years before the Guam mission was founded and placed under the control of the archbishop of Cebu. (David Atienza questions to what extent the Jesuits were obedient to rules from the outside).

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These factors help to explain the strong influence the first Filipinos had on the Chamorro population. When the Pampangans arrived in 1660s, as well as the Mexican criollos, both were steeped in Hispanic culture and the religious music culture of the Church.

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The Jesuits and Education As for the knowledge and approach to teaching that the Jesuit missionaries introduced in El Collegio de San Juan de Letran, they were highly qualified. During the 1600s, the Society of Jesus had reached its height of influence in Europe and this spilled over into all of its overseas missions. Jesuitenstil e.g., referred to the distinctive design Jesuits used for their churches; it was so prominent that some scholars at the time argued that Jesuitenstil was synonymous with the term Baroque. A distinctive feature was the design of two side chapels facing the altar and the open eaves on the sides of the church. The Jesuits were pioneers in founding universities in Europe and their philosophies and scholarship were applied to establishing curriculums that would guarantee a humanistic education. The Quadrivium, as it was called, identified the four basic elements of education: mathematics, geometry, astronomy and music. This philosophy was introduced in Manila in 1654, just fourteen years before the Marianas were missionized. The specific tool was the Musurgia Universalis of Athanasius Kircher.

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Kircher’s Musurgia Universalis was readily received by the intellectual community in Manila. … It enjoyed a worldwide distribution that was unprecedented, the breadth of diffusion was due to the global network of the Jesuit enterprise. … In the Philippine missions [and therefore Guam] where the Musurgia was taught publically, the Musurgia – containing information on music theory, history, ethnography, organology, and practice – would have been considered a vital tool (Irving, 2010, 49). 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !71


Kircher’s Musarithmetic Ark was a part of this (Murata, 1999, 201). It was a compact box of cards that taught every aspect of music theory.

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This global Jesuit network included the 800 collegios and their missions, of which el Collegio de San Juan de Letran was one. The first Chamorro students in Guam were the sons of the elite Chamorros; of those men closest to the church and who participated in building the mission in Guam.

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The study of the Musurgia was a “global missionary endeavor.” A young Jesuit father, Juan Montiel, brought the first copy of the Musurgia to Manila in 1654…and it was studied in great detail (Irving, 2010, 48-49). This is the strongest indication of how the Jesuit fathers taught music theory to young Chamorro boys at the Collegio de San Juan de Letran in Hagåtña, beginning in 1668. Music theory provided the context for scientific study and mathematics and also extended to musical instrument making and notating in Guam.

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A practical outcome of this type of knowledge and skill on both the teachers’ and students’ part is the documentation, in musical notation, of the ancient Chamorro ceremonial song that goes by the incipit “Hasgon gof dya” (Clement, 2001).

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The First Choral Music of the Mass. As for choral influence, when Padre Sanvitores came to the Marianas, in 1668, he brought three Filipino musicians as his assistants. They were schooled in Jesuit music theory and practice and, as in Manila, they knew how to use European music in their evangelic work. Irving gives the names and positions of these musicians in the church in Hagåtña: 72 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


Juan de Santiago, cantor Felipe Toscan, cantor Andres de la Cruz, nino tiple, boy treble, (boy soprano) (Irving, 2010, 59).

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Benefits for musicians in working for the church • Increased individual mobility through the missionary enterprise’s channels of transportation. • The prospect of elevated social status through collaboration with the relatively small but powerful groups of missionaries. • The opportunity for migration with the promise of employment (Irving, 2010, 125). Musicians were also exempt from paying tribute to the Spanish Crown and received free rations of rice … a significant benefit.

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One of the above cantors presumably would have been the first maestro de capilla of the Hagåtña Cathedral in 1668. He would have been in charge of organizing all of the music, singers and instrumentalists for the Church and would have supervised the music used in fiestas and any other celebration.

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Evangelistic Work of the Padres The missionaries of the Society of Jesus mentioned “church doctrine” repeatedly as they reported the progress of their evangelical efforts. They reported how easily the children learned the doctrine through poetic competitions between villages. Doctrina Christiana, 1593, became the first catechism book printed in the Philippines. It contained:
 • Lord’s Prayer

• 5 commandments of the church

• Ave Maria

• 7 sacraments

• The Creed

• The 7 spiritual and corporal acts of mercy

• The Salve Regina • 14 articles of faith

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• 10 commandments of God

• The act of contrition and a catechism proper consisting of 33 questions and answers (Irving, 2010, 76).

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The Christian Dove I include this seventeenth century image of the dove to show how it was used evangelically and to establish that the dove referred to in the “An gumupu si Paluma” lyric was a product of the missionary teachings and Christianization. The dove is a metaphor for the two lovers in the extemporaneous song debate known (and spelled) traditionally as “tsamorita” singing and today, known “colonially” as Kantan Chamorrita.

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(In this paper, I am not addressing ancient or indigenous themes, but I do maintain that, from a research and historical perspective, when names of items such as this are changed to a colonial form, such as Kantan Chamorrita, with its Spanish spelling of the root Chamor (tsamor), the pronunciation link to the past is severed.)

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The Jesuits were sensitive to indigenous music forms, but their policy was to replace anything that was against their teaching with the Christian form. This Christian dove replacement for the ancient Tottot is a good example.

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“The Holie-Ghost, that nestles like a Dove, betwixt the Father and the Son alone, Is flown from Heaven to seek a mate below. A Virgin chaste, pure Dove, as white as snow (Bailey,1999, 38).

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Padre Sanvitores asked that such an image not be sent to Guam because of the pagan symbolism of the ancient Tottot.

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May your reverence send us again some images which are great preachers of the divine mysteries … the image of the dove is not appropriate for the explaining of the holy spirit (Levesque, Vol 5, 143). He felt that its totemic connections would conflict with the Dove’s Christian message. After years of Christian indoctrination, the dove image and symbol acquired its Christian meaning of chastity, purity and love and became the central motif of the tsamorita song poets.

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The Jesuit impact on narrative vocal practices such as the tsamorita song debate was significant and mirrored missionary attitudes in Manila. “Narrative vocal practices, ingrained within the Filipino society, were thus identified as a crucial foundation on which law and order functioned (Irving, 2010, 88).“In Guam, school children learned to debate elements of the Doctrina Cristiana and paraded their skills through the villages, making it an important part of daily life.

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As for the musical origins of tsamorita singing, Irving cites how Colin linked the indigenous extemporaneous poetry talent of the Filipinos to the Spanish villancico and this influence came through Mexico. In this respect, Chamorros mirrored the Filipinos in talent. What the Society of Jesus did not know in its day was that extemporaneous poetic debates were a core characteristic of Southeast Asian (SEAN) cultures.

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Colin described responsorial vocal music, in which one or two people sang and the rest of the gathered Filipinos answered asserting that most of these songs were legends and fables. He therefore established the existence of verse-refrain compositional structures that were later described by other Jesuits as being analogous to Spanish genres such as the villancico (ibid,88).

! (The music researcher should not be misled by interpreting “responsorial” as “calland-response” which is a specific work song genre wherein one person clearly calls out to coordinate the work of a group, such as in the sea chantey. Responsorial more aptly refers to a congregation replying to the priest during mass. This is different from tsamorita singing wherein some of the audience might sing along with the key singers on the final cadence of a verse. Nor would trading couplets le tsamorita singing qualify as call and response; it is not a clear direct answer or separate repeated refrain.)

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The Jesuits were noted for creating dictionaries of newly discovered languages. The Missionary orders set rules for including native words; one such rule was from two to twelve people (Chamorros) had to agree on the meaning and definition of the word. This partly explains how the term lalai was defined as “chant.” A comparison is made with the Pampangan language: “In 1732, Diego Bergano translated the Castillian solfear (to solmizate) and the composite term [for rhythm and pitch] “compass solfa” as galai in Kampanpangan” (ibid, 103).

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The Pampangans who arrived in Guam in 1660s would have used and shared this term with Chamorros. For the Jesuits, “solmizate meant to sing the notes from Ut to sol, or Do to Sol … five notes. In the 18th century missionary linguists translated or identified the term for harmony or consonance in a variety of languages (ibid, 103). This closely approximates the sound and shape of the ancient Chamorro “Hasgnon gof dya” melody (Clement, 2001, 58).

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It is difficult, if not impossible, to verify whether the Jesuits in Guam followed these rules precisely, nevertheless, the Law of the Indies existed and would have been difficult to ignore.

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Church Instruments Thus far, I have described the Jesuit impact on building the church and community, how the force of law was addressed by music in the church and community, the role of the Musiarithmetic Ark in 17-18th century education in Guam, the relation of the Spanish (Mexican) villancico to tsamorita song debate, the introduction of the Dove as a Christian song metaphor and the process for agreeing on Spanish dictionary definitions for Chamorro words, e.g. the corroboration of pampangan galai and Chamorro lalai. Next, I will explain some of the instruments requested by Padre Sanvitores for use in the church and others that I will refer to as evangelical instruments, for their significance in the history of the Holy Roman Church.

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Of first importance was the shawm. It was a Medieval/Renaissance double reed instrument and had a shrill, nazal sound like the modern oboe. A member of the shawm family is the chirimia which Padre Sanvitores requested for the Guam mission. Although it might be expected that the first instrument was of a keyboard type, the chirimia was the first accompaniment to singing in the church. The next most common instrument in Manila was the sackbut, the Medieval/Renaissance trombone. It may

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have been one of the brass instruments, along with the trumpet, that were sent in response to Padre Sanvitores request.

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Since Padre Sanvitores requested this instrument after his arrival, it is possible that either he or his three assistants brought similar instruments with them.

The chirimias is a double reed instrument and has the nazal sound of the modern oboe.

The following quote from Mesoweb.com indicates that in 1523, Hernan Cortez used the chirimias and sackbut to entertain Canek, the King of Petan-itsa. “ … they came in canoes to the camp of Cortes, where [the Canek] was celebrated with musical accompaniment of chirimas y sacabuches.”

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Harp In the mid-eighteenth century, harp was identified by Murillo Velarde as the most popular instrument of Filipinos in Manila and its environs. Bowed instruments are commonplace as well (Irving, 2010, 108). In Guam, Padre Sanvitores requested a harp in 1670 and it was received. Hipolito de la Cruz, of the Visayas, was mentioned as playing it in the church of Buena Vista Mariana, out of devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. He also instructed young boys and attracted them to attend divine worship (Higgins, 1985, 369).

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Gaita

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The most important instrument for the missionaries was actually the keyboard. A Seventeenth century instrument with a one-octave keyboard (not visible) was the gaita. Actually, it had many names amongst the different European languages. In English it was called the Hurdy Gurdy. It was also called the wheel violin. Although it appears to be a stringed instrument, it had a one octave keyboard to finger the notes and show the scale.

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Padre Sanvitores requested this instrument but it is not certain when he received it. (Omaira Brunal-Perry, RFT-MARC commented after this presentation, that the gaita was one of the instruments in the Jesuits inventory in 1769.) A version of the bagpipe 78 ! ăƒť 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


also went by the name “gaita,” but Levesque confirms that Sanvitores’ gaita was of the keyboard type shown above. It is instructive to show the instrument to better understand what Padre Sanvitores had in mind for the church and the schools. The “keyboard” gaita would have more clearly demonstrated musarithmetic principles than the bagpipe.

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The gaita produced a drone sound by turning a wheel that scraped against two bass strings. In effect, this produced a constant bass harmony. It had higher pitched strings on which the melody was played when the strings were depressed through the action of a small keyboard. The instrument was made of wood and was light weight and portable. Instruments such as this were carried on shipboard by the missionary who would play them and therefore they might not show up on a manifest.

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Cascabelles and Their Symbolism Padre Sanvitores also requested cascabelles (small bells), pitos (whistles), and the tambour (drum).

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The cascabelles are like jingle bells and usually attached to costumes. They are part of the identity of Santiago (Saint James) and they are intricately part of the costume of the Moor (or Muslim) in Europe in his role in the moresco (Las Danzas de Moros y Cristianos.) The origin may go back to early Arabic music history. For example:

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Cascabel is used in the mojiganga costumes such as those of the harlequin, peasants, masked or grotesque persons and they can be of various sizes.

! … in a history of the southern islands of Mindanao, Jolo and neighboring regions, Jesuit Francisco

Combes (1620-1665) described “dances to the sound of their bells and tabors … stepping to the sound of bells and Moorish dulcynas [sic].” To Combes and many others, Muslims in these islands thus assumed a familiar guise as Moors from northern Africa (Irving, 2010, 89). 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !79


Pito y Tambour After the cascabelles, the pito and tambour are the most significant instruments that Padre Sanvitores requested and surely received. These instruments were essential in renaissance and baroque music ensembles in Europe and also in Las Danzas de Moros y Cristianos in Spain, specifically the moresca, the dance of the converted Moor. Missionaries introduced these instruments to Mexico and Latin America and they played a distinctive role in the dances of Christian conquest.

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Pito y tambour. The pito is a whistle, like a modern recorder. The tambour is an older name for drum. Note that the drums are double headed. The Chamorro drums were of similar construction.

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Padre Sanvitores introduced the pito and tambour to the Chamorros because of these instruments’ symbolic connection to the moresca, In Mexico, Guatamala and Honduras, the sound of the pito signified the beginnings and endings of different sections of Las Danzas with the tambour providing the rhythms for the dance. These dances were formally introduced in Mexico by the missionaries but the Aztecs created their own dance of defeat called the tocotin. It was a dance pantomime that depicted every step of Montezuma’s defeat by Hernan Cortez. It might be more accurately called a surrogate dance of Las Danzas. The missionaries used it to show how indigenous peoples accepted and adapted to the conquest by integrating the story into their own culture’s dance. In this sense, the tocotin was truly a dance of Christian conquest and this is how it was introduced in Guam and the Philippines.

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Dressed in masks to personify deposed Emperor Motecuhzoma II (c. 1466-1520), the Mexican tocotin was first danced by children (probably Filipino) to the accompaniment of ayacastles (sonajas or rattles)(Irving, 2010,122).

The dance assumed different forms in Europe. • It was reenactment of a battle in which the Christians win back the town castle from the Moors. • At the head of a procession, Santiago led the “fool” and the “Betsy” in a round dance, symbolizing the converted Moors. • In an outdoor play reenacting the sword fight between Christians and Moors. • Formal European court entertainment depicting the same (Clement, 2005).

! Conclusion My main theme of research for years has been the Chamorro Dance of Montezuma and second to that I have been fascinated by the relationship between music and mathematics. I am amused that both themes come together in this paper about the impact of the Society of Jesus on early colonial Chamorro music culture. Padre Sanvitores brought Montezuma costumes from Mexico to reenact these dances with the Chamorros. It is curious that a major performance of these dances wasn’t made public until 1820, on the occasion of De Freycinet’s visit and then, nine years later for Dumont D’Urville. There is an explanation for this. As for the mathematics, my readings about the Society of Jesus led me to the Musurgia Universalis and the musarithmetic ark. Earlier readings informed me about the Jesuit penchant for using play acting in teaching church doctrine but I didn’t have enough details that tied together the mojiganga, Dance of Montezuma, Danzas de Moros y Cristianos, European Comedia, Philippines Komedya and the Moro Moro. All of these religious productions bore down on early Chamorro religious culture in their own way. I have described the instruments Padre Sanvitores brought to Guam, the cantors of the church, the maestro de capilla and the Law of the Indies. To greater or lesser degrees, all of these affected early and mid-colonial culture on Guam. The first instruments used in the church were the chirimias, or shawm, and the evangelistic secular instruments were the pito and tambour. Filipino musicians may have “modeled” how to play these first instruments. As concerns verbal arts, the Jesuits had forbid ancient song and avoided using the image of the Dove in Christian indoctrination. This indicates that tsamorita singing based on the “An gumupu si paluma” lyrics took years to evolve under Mexican 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !81


criollo influence. Spanish-Chamorro word correspondences such as lalai were negotiated before being added to a dictionary. Pampangan word meaning helped in this process. A final word to remember: If most instruction was disseminated through El Collegio de San Juan de Letran, then it predominantly benefitted the Chamorro elite in Hagåtña. More research might explain how this influence and knowledge did or did not trickle down to the average Chamorro. Overall, the Society of Jesus was armed with broad knowledge and experience that helps us to understand the strong impact they made in early Guam.

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Reference Clement, M.R. 2001 The ancient origins of Chamorro music. A masters thesis in Micronesian studies. Mangilao, 2005 Accumulated research on the Dance of Montezuma. Prepared for “Toward a Common Future:” A program for cultural cooperation between the Ministry of Education Culture and Sports of Spain and universities in the Philippines and the Pacific Islands.

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Bailey, G.A. 1999 ‘Le style jesuite n’existe pas’: Jesuit corporate culture and the visual arts. In J. W. O’Malley, S. J., G. A. Bailey, S. J. Harris, T. F. Kennedy, S. J., (Eds.).(1999) . The Jesuits: Cultures, sciences and the arts, 1540-1773 ((pp. 39-89). Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.

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Murata, M. 1999 Music history in the Musurgia universalis of Athanasius Kircher. In J. W. O’Malley, S. J., G. A. Bailey, S. J. Harris, T. F. Kennedy, S. J., (Eds.).(1999) The Jesuits: Cultures, sciences and the arts, 1540-1773 ((pp. 39-89). Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.

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Bainton, R.H. 1964 The Horizon History of Christianity. Ed. Davidson, M.B., New York: The American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc.

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De Freycinet, L.C. 1824 Voyage au tour de monde: Paris: A L’Imprimerie Royal, Chez-Pillet, Imprimeur-Libraire

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Higgins, M. 1985 The life and martyrdom of Padre Luis de Sanvitores, first missionary to the Mariana islands, and the happenings in these islands, from the year 1668 until the year 1681. English translation. Mangilao: R.F.T-MARC

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Irving, D.R.M. 2010 Colonial Counterpoint: Music in early modern Manila. New York: Oxford University Press

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Levesque, R. 1995a (ed). History of Micronesia. Vol.4, Religious conquest, 1638-1670, Quebec, Canada: Levesque Publications. 1995b (ed). History of the Micronesia. Vol.5, Focus on the Marianas mission. Quebec, Canada: Levesque Publications

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Maler, Teobert 2005 ‘The Conquistador’s Horse: Lake Peten Itza’, referenced October 21, 2013, © Teobert Maler, URL: http://www.mesoweb.com/maler/conquistador.html

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McDonough, S.J., J.A. 2004 Ed. The Life and Martyrdom of Diego Luis de San Vitores, S.J. Mangilao Guam: Richard F. Taitano Micronesian Area Research center. University of Guam

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Reed, John 2013 ‘Cumbia Music Instruments’, referenced October 21, 2013, © 1999-2013 Demand Media, Inc., URL: http://www.ehow.com/list_6364894_cumbia-music-instruments.html

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--Michael Clement, Sr. graduated from Eastman School of Music in 1963 and worked for 14 years in music therapy, orchestra, chamber music and classical recording, under Rudolf Serkin, Pablo Casals, Budapest String Quartet, Marlboro Music Festival, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and George H. Mendelssohn, with whom he pioneered classical music marketing. In 2001, he earned his Master’s Degree in Micronesian Studies at UOG and is a member of the International Council of Traditional Music, as well as a contributor to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Oxford University Press. His website is www.chamorroweb.com, and he currently teaches music appreciation at George Washington High School.

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Giya Double A Tracing the Development of the 1980s Chamorro Music Nightclub Scene

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By Ana Leon Guerrero1 and Michael Clement, Jr., PhD2 1Chamorro Teacher, Pedro Camacho Lujan Elementary School 2Assistant Professor of History and Micronesian Studies, University of Guam leonguerreroana@gmail.com

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Abstract: Nightclubs emerged on Guam after WWII to attract the business of Military and Civil service personnel. They were English speaking establishments that featured English language entertainment. However, as Chamorros began to adapt to the culture of the nightclub, they also adapted the nightclub to their own culture. In the 1970s and 1980s, clubs such as Joe and Flo’s, Cheap Charlie’s, Major Mangos, Yvonne’s, and Amantes Inn catered specifically to Chamorro audiences by offering Chamorro music, language and food. These clubs became a counter-hegemonic force in Guam’s English dominated public sphere. The club “Double A” became the center of the Chamorro music scene from the mid 1980s to the early 1990s. In this presentation, owner Ana Leon Guerrero shares the history of “Double A” and reflects on the subculture that developed among its patrons. Editor’s Note: This paper, presented at the Marianas History Conference, was not made available for publication.

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--Ana Leon Guerrero was born and raised on Guam. She is currently a senior at UOG, majoring in Elementary Education, Chamorro Language. She has been employed for more than 25 years in the public and private sectors, primarily at Astumbo Elementary as a Chamorro teacher. Leon Guerrero currently teaches at Pedro Camacho Lujan Elementary School.

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Michael Clement, Jr. is Assistant Professor of History and Micronesian Studies at the University of Guam. Clement’s work has generally focused on cultural history in post-World War II Guam. His dissertation: “Kustumbre, Modernity and Resistance: The Subaltern Narrative in Chamorro Language Music” (2011) examines working class Chamorro history through the lens of Chamorro language songs.

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A Poster Presentation, 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 Guam

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A Blue Bridge Between Us

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By Simeon Palomo Author tropical art, GUAM paletaguam@yahoo.com

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Abstract: The “Saina” poster is in recognition of the 2009 voyage of a sakman, named “Saina”, that travelled between Guam and Luta, a feat that has not been accomplished for over 300 years. The “Saina” sakman is housed with the Traditions About Seafaring Islands (TASI) at the Paseo grounds. In designing the poster, Simeon used a model of the “Saina” by Guam artist Ron Castro, surrounding it with native plants – nanasu, niyok, and lada. The poster’s outcome produced a close up of the sakman model, with the nanasu leaves mimicking the strong waves of the Luta Channel. Simeon added, in the poster, quotes from TASI’s Frank Cruz, who was in the 2009 voyage, and Chamorro historian Toni Ramirez, to emphasize the personal and historical significance of the journey of the “Saina” to the Chamorro people. The poster is now on display at the Guam Museum.

! ! --Simeon Palomo has created “tropical art” for over 20 years, culminating with the publication of the book, “tropical art, GUAM” in November 2011. Tropical art is an art form that uses plant materials and/or cultural icons in an arrangement and then photograph the still image.

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Our Sakman Story One Sentence In History

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By Mario Borja Master Carver Chamorro Hands in Education Links Unity (CHE’LU) mborja49@cox.net

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Abstract: This is a story of what one observer, Sir George Anson, the British Commander of the HMS Centurion, witnessed and documented about our Chamorros back in 1742 and which has given our Chamorro history a reprieve for ancestral identity. It is a story about our Chamorros and their “simple” invention of ingenuity, the flying proa, which established a speed record back then and was unmatched for another century. It is a story of a simple scaled drawing presented with such engineering detail unique to the sakman, our Chamorro single outrigger sailing canoe. It is a story of the resolve of a small group of Chamorros to rebuild this sacred vessel of old, fueled solely by very words of this one observers account. It is a story that echoes the same account in the very language of our ancestors. It is a story honoring them for this legacy.

If we search our written history, peruse all the history books on the shelves, or even query the Internet, can we find one sentence that can tell us a story about our

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ancestors? Can we find one sentence that can tell us who we were centuries ago? Or can we find one that captured our identity as a people and even bring pride back to our Chamorros? Can we find just one sentence? The purpose of this Sakman Story is to share this one sentence in history that can do all these. In a few minutes we will be reading this one sentence in history together.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Introduction My name is Mariano Reyes Borja. I am from the Budoki, Family of Palau and Toliok Family of Saipan. I am a native son, born in Chalan Kanoa, Saipan. I am the son of a carpenter and a fisherman

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Today we are going to talk story, specifically, our sakman story. This is a story that has been the fire and focus of our Sakman Chamorro Project back in San Diego, California. This story stems from this one illusive sentence in history.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Our San Diego Community I am here representing CHE’LU - Chamorro Hands in Education Links Unity, and the Sons and Daughters of Guam Community of San Diego. We are a non-profit community with a simple common mission to preserve, promote, and sustain our Chamorro culture and language through education.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Culture Begets Language. Language Begets Culture

We contend that culture begets language and that language begets culture. If we enhance one, the other follows; but if we neglect one, the other will also follow.

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This story is about what we are doing as a community back in San Diego to indeed preserve, promote, and sustain our Chamorro culture and language with our sakman outrigger canoe.
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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Three Chapters Our Sakman Story contains three chapters. In our First Chapter we look at the building of the canoe, the labor and the product of our hands. Our Second Chapter is all about the passion that is behind this project, this one sentence in history. Then we take a few minutes in the Third Chapter to pay tribute to our ancestors for the legacy they have given us. We will do this in the vernacular, gi “fino Chamorro”.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Our Canoes of Old Our ancestors build canoe of various size and purpose. The galaide was our smallest canoe, designed for fishing within the reef. It is a paddling canoe without a sail. There were the other larger canoes like the panga, the duduli, the duding and the leklek – all equipped with sails for sailing beyond the reef and inter island travel. But the largest of these was the Sakman. It was designed for voyaging longer distances as well as deep-sea fishing.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Building The Sakman Our Sakman Chamorro Project started with a dream and plan. Here is the dreamer. Señot Carlos Pangelinan Taitano. He comes from the Familian Kueto. He was my mentor. When Uncle Carlos saw the 12-ft galaide I build in San Diego back in 1995, he felt convinced I could build the 40-ft Sakman. I did not even know what a sakman was then, but Uncle Carlos would make sure all that would change. Uncle Carlos said to me, “Mario, “Na la’la i taotao tano. Hatsa i

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Sakman. Hagu i kanai-ta. Ay mohon ya sina gi tiempo-ku. Let live the people of the land. Build the Sakman. You are our hands. Oh, if it could only be during my lifetime.”

From that day on, Uncle Carlos made sure I had all the information on what the sakman is all about. He sent me this drawing – the Anson Drawing of 1742.

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THE ANSON DRAWING: Our First Look At The Flying Proa

This is the first complete picture we have of our sakman found back in 1742. This picture, this engineering drawing, shows the front view, the side view, and the top view of the canoe our ancestors built centuries ago . And it is even made more complete with the scaling data. With this data we have the dimensions of the canoe our ancestors once built. Now anyone can rebuild the sakman outrigger, larger or smaller, given the resources available.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Learning From A Master Canoe Builder

Starting our project first required real hands-on training. In June of 2008 I spent two intense weeks in Maui Hawaii working under master canoe builder, Chief Bruno Tharngan of the island of Yap, learning the art of building outrigger canoes. This 23foot canoe was my primer course on canoe building. The dream was becoming more real, but i was still not ready to build the sakman. This required a structured step-bystep approach. This is the plan. 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ăƒť !97


OUR SAKMAN STORY: Our Step-By-Step Plan In building the sakman here in San Diego, we wanted to start small first so we can understand on a small scale what this whole construction is all about. This is our plan: Build small model. Study it carefully. Test it out in the water. Note what we have learned by building the smaller scale, and apply it to build a bigger “small-scale” model. We built a 2-ft model, a 4-ft model, a 5-foot model, even a 6-ft model and, finally, a large 8-ft model.

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We started small so we could better identify scaling concerns, get a comfortable feel for the unique asymmetrical hull design of the canoe, identify the tools we would need, and muster the craftsmanship required of us.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: 8-Foot Model

This is the 8-ft model my brother, Tony, and I finally built after completing several smaller scaled models. And it tested well beyond expectation.

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Building small models was a great learning experience for us. Not only did we learn the critical parameters of scaling, but we also gained the needed confidence to build the full-scale sakman.

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This 8-foot model you see here is named “Señot Katlos” in honor of Uncle Carlos P. Taitano, the dreamer and my mentor, who passed away on 25 March 2009. This one is for you, Uncle Carlos. Saina Ma’ase.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Wood = Canoe An Inuit elder once said: “If you want to build a canoe, you need wood”. How true this is, even for our people in the islands. My primo, Pete Perez, well aware of this wise man’s advice presented me with this challenge: He said, ‘Mario, if I got you the wood, would you build our sakman canoe? And I answered with loud affirmation, ‘Yes, a thousand times yes, I will.” History would soon tell the rest of this story.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Si Yu’us Ma’ase, Emma & Pete Perez Having a dream is necessary indeed. Making it come true requires commitment, sacrifice, and collaboration with others. Collaboration is sharing the dream. This is what we did. These two wonderful people gave us the means to get the wood to build the sakman … for this was their dream as well. Thank you, Emma and Pete.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: The Redwood Forest And for the wood for our sakman canoe, our path led us into the National Sequoia Forest in Mendocino, California.

! Here it is: A redwood tree. 125 feet tall. ! !

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: The Log = The Keel

This is a 33-foot section of the tree. It would serve as the keel of our sakman. The rest became our bow, our stern, the belly and sides of the canoe.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: The Log Blessing: 15 Aug 2009

We hauled the logs down to El Cajon, California, where we set up our canoe shop. And before we began work, we gathered and prayed as a community giving thanks and asking for blessings and guidance and a miracle.

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Part of our log blessing is spreading sand over the log as a symbol of its destiny as a canoe: Finding landfall … the beach … the sand.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Our Construction Team

These are the many hands which started this project. They believed in the project from the get-go: (left to right) Ray LG “Baut” Sablan, Mario R. Borja (myself), Greg “Galaide” Diaz, Robert “Gualu” Goldkamp, and George “Bonik” Santos. Not shown here are carvers Tony R. Borja and Vince “Bonik” Santos.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Construction Start: 26 Mar 2010

We began construction on 26 March 2010. We used tools of old (the adze, the higam) so we can appreciate the rigors of building the sakman as our ancestors did centuries ago. We also used hand-held power tools to facilitate construction. Our ancestors certainly would have if they had it.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Tools Of Our Trade

Here are the basic tools we used. None of us were really canoe builders when we started. But just look at what we have built.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Setting The Bows

Setting the bow was the trickiest due to the tight alignment tolerances from one bow to the other. With a simple string and a plumb bob we found the center ‌ exactly the same procedure used centuries ago by boat builders of old.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Work In Progress

Seven months later and here we are. We wanted to show our community how far we have come. Many in our community could not believe the progress we have made. Neither did we believe the work we have done to date.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Just One Year Later

Who would have known that a year after we made our first cut …we would actually finish the canoe. We did it. 25 March 2011…………here it is. This picture was taken as we assembled the Sakman outrigger in preparation for its first taste of the Pacific Ocean.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Shelter Island, San Diego CA

Building the sakman was indeed a major challenge for us. Yet, it was sailing the sakman that required much more preparation and training. We are not sailors‌yet. We know so well that building a canoe does not make a sailor.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Maritime Museum, San Diego CA

This was our first official presence in San Diego Bay. At the San Diego Maritime Museum, adjacent to the HMS Surprise, a replica of a British ship. This picture is very significant in that it could very well be the last image of the Sakman back 270 years ago, when Sir George Anson, aboard the HMS Centurion, lured our Sakman in close by deception.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Spanish Landing, San Diego CA

This picture shows our sakman alone at Spanish Landing in San Diego. Its unique configuration makes it a misfit among the rest of the sailing vessels shown in the background. It is an anomaly, for sure, but the Sakman feels right at home in San Diego. Chamorros live here. Indeed, we are very proud of what we have built in San Diego. The real story is WHY we built it.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Tinian - October 1742

Before we get to this one illusive sentence in history, i must set the stage. Knowing the circumstances when it was written adds full appreciation to the story.

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Location: Tinian, October 1742. Main character: George Anson aboard the HMS Centurion. 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ăƒť !105


OUR SAKMAN STORY: HMS Centurion

On his voyage around the world, Sir George Anson met near disaster. His ship, the HMS Centurion, severely crippled and heavily damaged, his crew nearly decimated by disease and hunger, Tinian was a blessing in the horizon. Tinian was his only refuge of safety.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Estimated Speed Of 20 Knots

There he saw this canoe in the horizon. He was fascinated by its agility and performance. There he saw this canoe effortlessly skipping from wave tip to wave tip at an estimated speed of 20 knots, a speed unheard of by European standards. This is equal to 23 miles per hour in land measure. This was a speed unmatched until the mid 19th century. He aptly referred to this vessel as the “flying proa”. 106 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


OUR SAKMAN STORY: One Sentence In History

Although in awe of what he saw, he felt fear for it was a canoe flying a Spanish flag. It was the enemy. He was the enemy. He had to capture the canoe for fear that if he was sighted the canoe could easily return to where it came from to report his presence. And by deception he did just this. He raised a Spanish flag and lured the canoe in close. From his own log we find that he destroyed the proa.

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But not just yet. Sir George Anson knew that a vessel that could perform like this was something remarkable that he needed to document and tell the world about. It was his discovery. His duty. This he did. And this is why we are here today.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Anson Drawing, 1742

George Anson had his draftsman, Mr. Piercy Brett, prepare this engineering drawing as part of his documentation. This is known as the Anson Drawing of 1742. No where in the rest of Micronesia, all of Melanesia and Polynesia can you find such a detailed drawing of a canoe. This is our Chamorro flying proa, our Sakman.

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We are indeed blessed with this data, for our Sakman now lives immortal. This I contend is the greatest gift the British gave our Chamorro people. And there is more … the ships’ log.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: George Anson Article, “One Sentence In History” Written: October 1742 Published: 1748

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As our story continues, we now look at our passion to build the Sakman … this one sentence in history. This is the sentence Sir George Anson wrote in his ship’s log 270 years ago. This is the focus of our story … the fuel in our blood, … the fire within our hearts. Yes, it is but one sentence long; a sentence tucked in one paragraph among the many pages in his book; a sentence written in terms rich in meaning and purpose; a sentence that draws out our passion., a sentence and has inspired the work we have done since.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY:

The Fuel In Our Blood
 The Fire In Our Hearts

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Here is this one sentence in history.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: One Sentence In History

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"These Indians are no ways defective in understanding, for their flying proas in particular, which during ages past have been the only vessels employed by them, are so singular and extraordinary an invention that it would do honour to any nation, however dexterous and acute, since if we consider the aptitude of this proa to the navigation of these islands, which lying all of them nearly under the same meridian, and with the limits of the trade wind, require the vessels made use of in passing from one to the other to be particularly fitted for sailing with the wind upon the beam; or if we examine the uncommon simplicity and ingenuity of its fabric and contrivance, or the extraordinary velocity with which it moves, we shall in each of these articles, find it worthy of our admiration, and deserving a place amongst the mechanical productions of the most civilised nations where arts and sciences have most eminently flourished.” Sir George Anson

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October 1742

OUR SAKMAN STORY:
 Passion In Our Hearts
 Pride In Our Work
 Confirmation Of Identity I must admit that when I first read this sentence I did not understand it fully. I had to read it several times with an Oxford dictionary by my side so I may understand the very words Sir Anson wrote. I know this one sentence has captured the very essence of our passion, infused pride in our work, and reconfirmed our identity. Let me now speak in simpler terms to understand it best. What did words mean then? Singular? Fabric and Contrivance? Aptitude? Dexterous and Acute? Wind upon the beam? 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !109


OUR SAKMAN STORY: Heartfelt Emotion Unconditional Respect Humble Admiration

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This story is about what happened back in 1742, back in the island of Tinian, just a few miles from where we sit today. This is a story about what one observer wrote on what he witnessed then; a story of the fascination he had of a canoe’s agility, speed and performance; a story that captured his heartfelt emotions, his unconditional respect and his admiration of a simple invention.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Our Sakman Chamorro Flying Proa This is a story that tells about who we were as Chamorros, 270 years ago. This is a story of a canoe, our Sakman Chamorro flying proa. And yes, we were gifted canoe builders, and the sakman was our largest sailing canoe. And yes, we sailed with purpose with the wind upon the beam. And yes, we used the heavens, the wind, the ocean, and flight of birds to find our way.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY: Honor To Our Nation

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This is a story that highlights the work of our hands, our understanding of nature, and our determination as a people. This is a story that gives credit to our ancestors for the simple gift that they gave us. This is a story that indeed gives honor to our nation, our Chamorro people.

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SAKMAN STORY: One Sentence … A Full Story This is but one sentence in history, yet it tells us a full story. This is a story written about us 270 years ago, yet, was never intended for us to read until now. This is Our Sakman Story.

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OUR SAKMAN STORY The Fire In Our Hearts
 Our Passion
 Our Drive Our Fire And as we read this one sentence in history together, did you not feel changes within yourselves?

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For sure, whenever my crew and I read this every sentence, our chests pushed out, our heads swelled up, even our okolies got bigger, and we indeed stood taller. And yes, our emotions overwhelmed us, and we shed tears of joy.

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Yes, we cried for we were filled with cultural pride. Yes, we are very proud of what our ancestors accomplished centuries ago.

! So what can we do today? What can we do now? I know what I have to do. ! OUR SAKMAN STORY: Chapter 3 Honoring our Ancestors

We must now pause with solemn respect to address our ancestral spirits, i man-naina’-ta antigu, so we may share with them these very words of Sir George Anson in the very language they understand, so they too can hear what was written about them and the simplicity and ingenuity of their invention, this sakman story, this one sentence in history. We do this so we can now give them the credit and the honor they have so rightly earned but have never been extended them. Today we will. We will let them know what we understand Sir George Anson wrote and meant gi “fino-Chamorro.

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TINIGE SEÑOT GEORGE ANSON:
 Hita I TaoTao Haya
 Hita I TaoTao Islas Marianas Manaina-hu …nana antigu yan tata antigu Ma’ase Saina. Saina Ma’ase.

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Ha-tugi si Señot George Anson gi leblon batkon-ña tati gi mit siete siento kaurenta i dos na sakkan gi i finatoña magi gi isla-ta Tinian, esti na palabras. Ha-tugi na hita, hita, i taotao haya, hita, i taotao Islas Marianas, …

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TINIGE SEÑOT GEORGE ANSON:
 Hita I Man-Chamorro
 Hamyu Yan Guahu
 Na Ti Man-Difekto Hit Gi Kinomprende

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… hita, i taotao, Guahan, Luta, Tinian. Hita i taotao Saipan. Hita, i man-Chamoru, hamyu yan guahu, na ti man-difektu hit, ti man-difektu hit gi kinomprende. …

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TINIGE SEÑOT GEORGE ANSON:
 I Sakman-Ta, Hagas Ha Ta-U’usa, Sa’sajñge Tai’parejo, Paire, Mas Ki Otdinariu

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… sa, atan ha esti i sakman-ta ha’, espisia’tmente, ni duranten mapos na tiempo siha, antes ki i fina’tun taotao otro tano, esti ha na såhyan hagas ha ta- fati’tinas, hagas ha ta-ha’hatsa, yan hagas ha ta-u’usa, sa’sajñge, ta’iparejo, paire, yan mas ki-otdinario na nina-juyoñg-ta, …

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TINIGE SEÑOT GEORGE ANSON:
 Na U Nina Onra Kuatkiet Na Nasion … na u nina onra kuatkiet na nasion, ya, hunggan, ni na o’onra hit i taotao Islas Marianas, entretanto man-gai minalåte’ hit, yan hunggan, gof-maolek esti i fina’tinas kanai-ta, …

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! TINIGE SEÑOT GEORGE ANSON:
 I Ninasinian Esti I Sakman-ta

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… mientras, yanggen ta-konsidera i ninasiñian esti i sakman-ta, para ta-fan-mane’ja entra esti siha na islastano’ta, giya Guahan, Luta, Tinian, Saipan, … hulo Anatahan, Sarigan, Alamagan, Pagan yan hulo mas, ni todo, hagas ha ta-tungu, na-man-la’lailai gi papa i mismo na meti’dian, …

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TINIGE SEÑOT GEORGE ANSON:
 I Chin Finala’gun I Manglo … yan ta’lo, sainan-mame, yanggen ta konsidera i chin finala’gun i mañglo ginen ka’katan. nina-sesi’ta na esti na sahyan-ta siha , yanggen para ta-aprobecha maolek i hinanao-ta, hulo yan papa gi islas tano’-ta siha, …

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TINIGE SEÑOT GEORGE ANSON:
 Layak Maolek Yan I Mañglo

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… na gi magahit, ufan gof-ma’ok, yan hita lokkue, i taotao i sakman, na tafan mala’te para ta-fan layak maolek yan i mañglo ni malo’lo’fan ta’lo’lo hilo i lucha halom; …

! ! ! ! ! TINIGE SEÑOT GEORGE ANSON:
 Chinadek Finala’gugun-Ña

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… pat yanggen ta gof-atan maolek taimano i simplikao i finatinas-ta, yan i minalåte na hinaso’-ta gi halom esti i na nina-huyongta, pat i mas ki-otdinario na china’dek finala’gugun-ña gi halom hanum,

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TINIGE SEÑOT GEORGE ANSON:
 Minaresi Ni Atmirasion-niha … estague, na gi halom kada uno na atikulos na tinige’-niha, ma-sodda ni i taotao Engles na esti i sakman chamorro, esti i finatinas kanai-ta, minaresi ni atmirasion-niha, …

! ! ! ! TINIGE SEÑOT GEORGE ANSON:
 I Kinalamten I ‘Arts Yan Sciences

… yan lokkue, nina-minaresi un lugat… tatkilo, un lugat suma’saonao yan i otro siha na fina’tinas tinemtum gi otro siha na ta’no, ni man gof-respetao yan manmo’fo’na na nasion siha, anai gof-la’la i man gof-tomtum na tiniñgo gi halom i kinalamten i ‘arts yan sciences’ .“

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Pinila Señot Mariano Reyes Borja ginen I tinige Señot George Anson, Jan 2013

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HUNGGAN, MAGAHIT
 I SAKMAN.

! Yes, the Sakman is True.

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OUR SAKMAN CHAMORRO: Our Ancestral Legacy, Our Sacred Duty To Pass It On

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Sir George Anson has given us a glimpse of our own Chamorro history, 270 years ago, through his eyes, in his words, with this story, this one sentence in history. As we end this particular story, we actually begin another chapter that will tell of the many journeys we will be making with this sakman. We have been given this legacy. It is indeed our sacred duty as a people to pass it on.

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NEED MORE INFORMATION? PLEASE CONTACT US USING THE FOLLOWING: • OUR WEBSITE: WWW.CHELUSD.ORG • FACEBOOK PAGE: SAKMAN CHAMORRO • GOOGLE: SAKMAN CHAMORRO SAN DIEGO • EMAIL: mborja49@cox.net “We greatly appreciate your generous support.” SAINA, MA’ASE. MA’ASE, SAINA.

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--Mario Reyes Borja was born in Chalan Kanoa, Saipan, but grew up on Guam where he attended Father Dueñas Memorial High School. He is a retired military officer with 23 years of service in the United States Air Force in the avionics and space surveillance fields of technology. He resides in San Diego, California, with his wife, JoJo, where they actively promote Chamorro culture and language. Mario is a certified court Chamorro language interpreter-translator. He recently led a team in building a 47-ft replica of the sakman sailing canoe, per ancient drawings found in a British journal.

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The Chalan Kanoa Kiosku A Living Memorial in Local Leadership

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By William S. Torres1, Ramon B. Camacho2 and Herman B. Cabrera3 1Board of Regents, Northern Marianas College, Susupe, Saipan 2Chairman, 12th Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council 3President and Principal, Herman B. Cabrera and Associates, Saipan asterlaje2@gmail.com

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Abstract: This presentation will focus on the historical significance of the Saipan and Northern Islanders Leadership Kiosku project, located across from the US Post Office on Saipan, that was inaugurated last year on Saipan. This power point presentation shares an approach inspired by the Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council to recapture in symbols, forms, and narratives the role of local leaders in the transformative change of an island nation and people from occupation to sovereign status and self expression as co-equal sovereigns in achieving political selfdetermination. The Kiosku narrative is told through the lenses of people of Northern Marianas descent (NMD) in their own terms about their island nation, a story missing in mainstream pages of history. The project represents the embodiment of actions and deeds resulting in milestone achievements and major turning points in local leadership through the decolonization of the Northern Marianas. Editor’s Note: This paper, presented at the Marianas History Conference, was not made available for publication.

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Presentation slides begin on the following page.

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! ! --
 William S. Torres is a member of the Board of Regents of the Northern Marianas College, the former Commissioner of Education at the CNMI Public School System, a former Member of the CNMI House of Representatives, a former Delegate to the 2nd CNMI Constitutional Convention, Chairman of CNMI Forestry Advisory Council, and private at large grant writer / events coordination and consulting. He has extensive involvement in public education, island beautification, heritage asset rehabilitation, grant writing, public and private sector consulting, among other private works.

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Ramon B. Camacho, Chairman of the 12th Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council, is a former police officer and a chief proponent of the Saipan Neighborhood Watch project. Mr. Camacho and fellow members in the 10th and 11th Councils were prime movers for the restoration and development of the historic Kiosku in Chalan Kanoa. Council Chair Camacho has also been a coordinator of the Agricultural Fair, an advocate of the farmers cooperative and a coordinator and advocate of a long slate of cultural and public safety activities in the CNMI. Chairman Camacho and Antonia M. Tudela, Vice Chairwoman of the 12th council, former banker and council chairwoman, have teamed up for the implementation of this humanities project.

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Herman B. Cabrera is President and Principal of Herman B. Cabrera and Associates (AIA), a member of CNMI Professional Licensing Board, a member of Northern Marianas Trades Institute Board, a member of a private economic development research group, a presenter at the 1st Northern Frontier Summit on Saipan, a former capital improvement project (CIP) project manager for CNMI Public School System, a Cultural Informant, and a prime designer and construction manager of the Chalan Kanoa Kiosku Project.

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Living Languages and Indigenous Spaces

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By Fermina Sablan Program Specialist Guam Community College fermina.sablan@guamcc.edu

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Abstract: The last 100 years have seen the accelerated deterioration of the native Chamorro language. Unfortunately, we are not alone in this tragedy of language loss. If the Chamorro language is not given spaces for conversations and visibility within our communities, it will become a statistic along with tribal languages that have been lost as the last speaker dies. At this juncture in our native history, there is a resurgence for the revitalization of the native Chamorro language. Based on previous language surveys, the Chamorro language is in danger of continued deterioration. As Chamorro people, we need to have a “Unified Approach” towards language restoration and viability. We have to be strategic, purposeful, intentional, committed, and unified in our efforts to restore the “spoken Chamorro language” within our private and public spaces. We have to build collaborative networks for viable sustainability. The last 100 years have seen the accelerated deterioration of the native Chamorro language. Unfortunately, we are not alone in this tragedy of language loss. If the Chamorro language is not alive within us and given spaces for conversations and visibility within our homes and our communities, it will become a statistic along with many tribal languages that have been lost as the last speaker dies. At this juncture in our native history, there are concerted efforts for the revitalization of the native Chamorro language. As Chamorro people, we need to have a “Unified Approach” towards language restoration, vitality, viability, and sustainability. We have to be strategic, purposeful, intentional, committed, and unified in our efforts to restore the “spoken Chamorro language” within our private and public spaces. We have to build collaborative networks for viable sustainability.

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Based on previous language surveys, the Chamorro language is in danger of continued deterioration.

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Let us imagine what it would be like if we could hear ourselves once again in the sounds of our language, the Chamorro language, the language of this homeland. When I hear the spoken language, it is like music to my ears. 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !137


The ancient Chamorro people arrived in the Mariana Archipelago thousands of years ago and lived on this beautiful chain of islands called the Gåni Islands. For thousands of years, the Chamorro language was alive and healthy as the people before us transmitted knowledge of the land through the spoken language. Language and culture was inhaled and exhaled through the sights and sounds of daily experiences within the Mariana Archipelago. Our language DNA of communication appropriated to our native people is the Chamorro language and it has not changed.

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Generations lived and died while the language and culture carried with it the history, knowledge, and experiences of intertwined lives of island peoples. Knowledge of the environment and its secrets were deeply entrenched within the native peoples’ lives.

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In order for our language to survive in the Gåni Islands (Mariana Islands), we as Chamorro people must take ownership in tangible and intangible ways. There are many layers within our society; environment and communities that need to come together in intentional unity in order for the Chamorro language to breathe life and to have spaces within the Mariana Islands. We may have our differences; however, we need to be of one mind when it comes to awakening and breathing life back into the Chamorro language.

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How can the native Chamorro language prosper? It is likened to an infant who is when well nurtured in body, soul, and spirit grows to be a well rounded adult who is alive and prosperous. For the Chamorro language to prosper and be well nurtured and sustainable, we have to be intentional in restoring our self-identity as peoples of this land given to us by our Creator. We have to be committed not only in words, but in action for restoring our spoken Chamorro language. Our language and culture are deeply rooted to this land that we walk on; where thousands of years before us, our ancestors walked on, and their bones and stories are buried throughout this indigenous spaces called the Gåni Islands, but the one thing that is passed on rooted at the heart and breathe of every indigenous person is language. Breathe of language is life, without it the language continuity stops.

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It is quite amazing that our language is still alive, but at the same token is sleeping in us. It is time to wake it up. So how can we bring it back to a prosperous space?

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We first must have intentionality of purpose. In being purposeful, we have to own it ourselves and we have to ask for help from each other and help each other get to that 138 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


prosperous language space. We have to care for and love the language back to a prosperous life as like an infant child.

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There are tangible and intangible actions that need to happen for the native language to have its indigenous spaces in order to prosper again.

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A prosperous language is in all spaces beginning with the home where it is nurtured and grows. And as that language grows it is given opportunities for usability in other spaces; it is a language for communication with friends, communities, other native people, gatherings, and the public.

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Usability also is present in visibility through the eye in what is seen; in signs, pictures, architecture, arts, music, names, etc. Usability must have its way interactively. It must have reciprocity as one communicates in a native language. The measure of how fully alive a language is in its usability within all indigenous spaces.

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For the Chamorro language to be fully alive it must be used with intentionality: • It must be seen, there must be signs in Chamorro language in public buildings and public spaces, including street names. • It must be heard, intentionally spoken actively in as many settings in private and public spaces and domains. • It must be intentionally appropriated spaces and opportunities for engaging conversations. • It must be taught in daycares, immersion schools, academic institutions of higher learning. • It must be made available through learning resources that are readily accessible to all learners. • It must be funded with purpose and commitment without compromise. • It must be supported by both native indigenous peoples and the public. • It prospers in many spaces. Just imagine Chamorro language daycares throughout the island – the east, north, south, and west; infants learning their languages, and as they grow, they are given opportunities to use their languages; understanding that it is just as important as the dominant language of today.

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The indigenous space where language begins to live again is within one’s self. If one does not own it in that space, then it does not have a space anymore.

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Fermina “Mina” Sablan is a native Chamorro language and culture advocate. She is a native of Luta in the Northern Marianas and graduated with a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Guam, as well as a BBA in International Tourism, Human Resources Management, and a minor in Sociology. She is a fluent Chamorro speaker and writer. One of her projects was the Fino’Haya language project at the Guam Community College, funded with a language grant from the Administration for Native Americans. This project’s language DVDs can be viewed at www.youtube.com/user/finohaya. She is also part of the Lina’la’ Lusong film project of the Pacific Islands in Communications.

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Across the Water in Time Establishing a connection between Guam and Hawaii

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By Jillette Leon-Guerrero President Guamology Inc. info@acrossthewaterintime.com

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Abstract: John Paris died in Honolulu in 1928. He is buried next to his wife on the grounds of Oahu’s Kawaiaha`o Church, the same church in which John married his wife Pauelua in 1877. It would take over 80 years for a descendant to start looking for the origins of John Paris, her greatgrandfather. With no knowledge of his life beyond the Hawaiian Islands, Yolanda Paris Sugimoto reached out to a researcher on Guam to help learn about the roots of her ancestor. The ensuing research would take the two on a journey across the ocean and back in time and yield surprising results that neither could have anticipated. The project Across the Water in Time attempts to establish the Guam roots of John Paris through genealogical research. Introduction Finding genealogical evidence for ancestors born in 19th century Guam is challenging. A gap in Guam’s historical record exists between the years 1757 and 1897. The dearth of data during this period is due mainly to the destruction of the main repository of vital records during the WWII bombing of the capital city of Hagåtña.1

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When individuals change their surnames, numerous spellings of names are found, and individuals migrate to an island thousands of miles away, the researcher is presented with additional challenges. Thus is the case in the search for the Guam origins of the descendants of John Paris.

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John Paris is believed to have been born “Demetrio Perez” in Guam during abt. 1842.2 The first historical record we find him in is the marriage register for Kawaiahao Church in 1877 when he married Pauelua on the island of Oahu, in the Kingdom of

! 1

O.R. Lodge, “Attack Preparations,” The Recapture of Guam, (Fredericksburg: Awani Press Inc., 1998), 33. Paris Sugimoto, San Diego, California, to author, e-mail, 11 June, 2011. Yolanda is the great grand daughter of John Paris. 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !147

! Yolanda 2


Hawaii.3 We next find John in the 1890 Kingdom of Hawaii census for the island of Kauai.4 Thereafter he is found in US census records for the island of Kauai for the years 1900 [John Paries], 1910 [John Paris] and 1920 [John Perica].5 John and his wife both died in 1928 and are buried alongside each other in the same church where they married.6

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Family oral history tells us that John came to Hawaii from Guam in the mid to late 1800s, that he was of Spanish origin and had changed his name from Demetrio Perez to John Paris. Descendants remember being told they were part “Guamanian” but they never knew anything about the Guam origins of their family. 7

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Objective The goal of this study is to provide evidence that John Perez, John Paris, John Peres, John Perica and Demetrio Perez are the same person. Find a connection between John Paris and Guam. Another goal is to determine the year he immigrated to Hawaii.

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Identity The logical place to start the research was with the earliest known record for the ancestor. Looking at the marriage register of John Perez and Pauelua tells us that John Perez was in Hawaii in 1877, married in the first Protestant Church in Hawaii and little else.8 The next record, a transcription of the 1890 Kauai census reveals much more

“Hawaii, Marriages, 1826-1922,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FW8K-135 : accessed 18 Sep 2012), John Perez and Pauelua, 15 Sept. 1877. Also, Kawaiahao Church (Honolulu, Hawaii), “O’ahu Marriages: Book 5, 1865-1896” p. 41-42; digital image, Yolanda Paris Sugimoto to author, email 19 Sept. 2012. ! 1890 Kingdom of Hawaii census, Kauai census, Kauai, district, Lihue, [no page number], line 16, John 4 Perez; Family History Library, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1010685. 5 ! 1900 US Census, Kauai, Hawaii Territory, population schedule, p. 45A (penned), dwell. 583, fam. 605, John Paries; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.Ancesty.com : accessed 18 September 2012); citing National Archives microfilm publication T623, roll 1837. Also, 1910 US Census, Kauai, Hawaii, population schedule, p. 9A dwell. 66, fam. 128, John Paris; digital image, Ancestry. com (http:// www.Ancesty.com : accessed 18 September 2012); citing National Archives microfilm publication T624, roll 1752. Also, 1920 US Census, Kauai, Hawaii, population schedule, p. 31A, dwell. 391, fam. 398, John Perica; digital image, Ancestry. com (http://www.Ancesty.com : accessed 18 September 2012); citing National Archives microfilm publication T625, roll 2038. ! 3

1920 US Census, Kauai, Hi., pop. sch. p. 31A, dwell. 391, fam. 398, John Perica. Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, digital image (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 21 October 2012), photograph, “gravestone for John and Kiainiu Paris (1842 -1928), Memorial No. 80272642, Records of the Kawaiahao Church Cemetery, Honolulu, Hawaii;” photograph William Foley. ! Yolanda Paris Sugimoto, San Diego, California, to author, email, 25 Sept. 2012. 7 ! O’ahu Marriages, Kawaiahao Church. 8 148 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 5 6 !


about the ancestor.9 According to this record, 48 year-old John Perez, is now living in Lihue, Kauai along with his wife, 25 year-old Pauelua, and their children: Henry (15), Paulina (10), and Sawla (5). Another known son, Thomas (1) is not enumerated with the rest of the family but is grouped with the Guerrero family further up on the page. Because this is a transcription, this could be the result of the transcriber not putting the names in the original order, or it could be as the family conjectures, that the Guerrero family was looking after young Thomas when the enumerators recorded the information. The census has no indication separating individual households and it is not known if the arrangement of the names on the page has any significance. Sugar plantations on Kauai during this period are known to have grouped workers by ethnic groups.10 John’s occupation is listed as “Luna” meaning “boss” or “Foreman” in Hawaiian.11 In addition to John Perez, Thomas Paymes, a 29 year-old “Masin Farmer” is also recorded as being born in Guam. Although all members of the Guerrero family are listed on the census as being born in Hawaii it is possible that the Guerrero family has Guam origins. It appears that the Guerrero family is headed by Maria I. Guerrero, a 34 year-old widow and native Hawaiian. Maria C. Guerrero (15) and Juan L. Guerrero (3) are listed along with Maria I. and are listed as “Hapa-Haole” or “half-caste” meaning they are part Hawaiian.12 It is very possible that Maria’s late husband was born in Guam. The only other individuals who are part Hawaiian on this page of the census transcription are Lydia Kekumu (17) and 10 month-old Cordilia Halemanu. Cordilia appears to be the child of native Hawaiian John U. Halemanu and Lydia Kekumu. Kekumu is not a name that is associated with Guam and there is no indication of Lydia’s parentage so no connection to Guam can be made from this information.

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Unfortunately the 1890 census provided no information on the date of John’s immigration to Hawaii. A search through online databases and finding aids for John Perez revealed two other documents that matched our ancestor. A directory listing for John Peres in the 1890 Honolulu, Hawaii Directory listed him as a Luna with the Grove Farm Plantation in Lihue, Kauai.13 He is found again in the 1892 Honolulu

1890 US census, Kauai, Hawaii, John Perez. Cassie Wallace, “Community and Revolt on the Hawaiian Plantation System” webpage, (http:// www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/cwallac1/hawaii.html : accessed 30 Oct. 2012). 11 ! www.free-dictionary-translation.com; HTLM, Hawaiian-English (http://www.free-dictionarytranslation.com/hawaiian-english/start-entry-5640.html : accessed 30 Oct. 2012), “Luna”. ! Urban Dictionary; HTML, (http://www.urbandictionary.com : accessed 1 Nov. 2012), “Hapa Haole”. 12 ! Honolulu, Hawaii Directory, 1890, Ancestry.com database (http://www.Ancesty.com accessed 18 13 September 2012); Provo, Utah (The Generations Network, Inc., 2000) “John Peres”. 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !149 ! 9

10 !


Directory, again with his location listed at Lihue, Kauai.14 The Ancestry.com record lists his residence as “Honolulu” but the image clearly shows his residence as Lihue, Kauai. A search of Hawaii State Archives indexes for marriage, obituaries, passenger manifests and naturalization records for John Perez [Paries, Paris, Peres] for the years prior to 1890 yielded no results.15 The only 19th century Hawaii census returns prior to the 1890 census that have survived to date are the 1866 and 1878 census. Neither is complete or indexed. To access these documents one must travel to Hawaii and view them at the Hawaii State Archives. Because of this, these documents have not yet been reviewed.

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Hawaii became a Territory of the United States in 1898. The first US census in Hawaii took place in 1900.16 John is found in the Koloa, Kauai census and is listed as John Paires along with his wife who is listed as Kiainiu. In earlier documents his wife’s name

is listed as Pauelua. Cursory research into Hawaiian naming patterns revealed that native Hawaiians had many names.17 While they usually used one name for legal documents it was not always the case. It is possible that Pauelua and Kiainiu were two names that John’s wife was known by. This theory is supported by evidence in the census, which indicated that the John and Kiainiu were married 23 years. This matches the marriage year of 1877 recorded in the marriage registry of John Perez and Pauelua. The couple’s son Thomas, aged 2 in the 1890 census, is now 12 year-old Tom. Paulina, who was 10 years old in 1890, is now recorded as 19 year-old, Pauline. Another son 8 year-old John, has joined the family. Son, Henry whose age was recorded, as 15 in the 1890 census and daughter Sawela, who was 5 years of age in the earlier census, are no longer listed with the family. If the age listed in the 1890 census for Henry were accurate, he would have been old enough to have married and moved out of the family home. The absence of Sawela may be attributed to her death but no records were found to indicate this.

US City Directories, 1821-1989, Ancestry.com database (http://www.Ancesty.com accessed 18 September 2012) Provo, Utah (Ancestry.com Operations, In., 20011) “John Peres”. 15 ! Ju Sun Yi, Honolulu, Hawaii, e-mail to author, 20 Sept. 2012. Ju Sun is an archivist, Hawaii State Archives. ! 1900 US Census, Koloa, Kauai, Hawaii Territory, populations schedule, enumeration district (ED) 81, 16 Page 45A (penned), dwelling 583, family 605, John Paries Ancestry.com database (http:// www.Ancesty.com accessed 18 September 2012; FHL microfilm: 1241835). ! Christine Hitt, Hawaiian Roots: Genealogy for Hawaiians, web (http://www.hawaiian-roots.com/ 17 namingproblems.htm : accessed 1 Nov. 2012) “Naming Practices”. 150 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 14 !


Throughout the documents in this study John’s surname is spelled alternately as Perez, Paris, Peres, Perica, and Paries. Most of these alternate spellings may be the result of how the name is pronounced and spelled by the recorder. It is easy to see that in many cases the name is spelled phonetically. John’s surname was listed as Perez in the earliest Hawaiian documents and it is a common name in Guam. Since John was born in Guam it is apparent that “Perez” is the original spelling of his surname. Today the family goes by the surname “Paris” which is how the name is pronounced phonetically in Guam. This may be the reason the family changed the spelling. English speakers many times pronounce Perez as “Pur-rez.”

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John’s birthplace in the 1900 and 1910 census is listed as “Spain” yet in the 1890 and 1920 census it is listed as “Guam.” This can be explained by the fact that Guam was part of the Kingdom of Spain at the time of his birth. That could be the reason the 1900 and 1910 census listed “Spain.” It is also possible that the census enumerators were more familiar with Spain than the tiny island of Guam. Regardless of this, technically Guam was a part of the Kingdom of Spain and the listing of Spain, as his birthplace could be considered correct.

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In 1900 the family is included in the 1900 census district of Koloa. Koloa is only 7 miles south of Lihue, Kauai. A 1903 map of Kauai shows the location of the Grove Farm Plantation between Lihue to the north and Koloa to the south.18 Because the Kingdom of Hawaii conducted the 1890 census and the US government conducted the 1900 census, the boundaries of these enumeration districts may have changed. The specific location of the family’s residence in 1890 is not known, neither is the boundary of the district. This makes it unclear if the family actually moved from one location to the other.

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The sum of the correlation of evidence presented below makes it apparent that John Perez, John Paris, John Peres, John Paries and John Perica are the same person.

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“Kauai, Hawaiian Islands/ Walter E. Wall, surveyor; compiled by John M. Don,” published 1903; Hawaii Territory Survey, American Geographical Society Library, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !151


Name John Perez

Document Marriage Register

Year

Age

Birthplace

1877

NA

NA

Guam

Residence

Spouse

Honolulu, Hawaii

Children

Pauelua

NA

Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii

Pauelua

Henry (15) Paulina (10) Sawela (5) Thomas (1)

John Perez

Hawaii census

1890

48

John Peres

Honolulu City Directory

1890

NA

NA

Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii

NA

NA

John Peres

Honolulu City Directory

1892

NA

NA

Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii

NA

NA

Kiainiu

Pauline (19) Tom (12) John (8)

John Paries

US Census

1900

58

Spain

Koloa, Kauai, Hawaii

John Paris

US Census

1910

67

Spain

Koloa, Kauai, Hawaii

Kiainiu

Henry (8) (Grandson)

John Perica

US Census

1920

79

Guam

Koloa, Kauai, Hawaii

Kiar Nin

None

John Paris

Certificate of Death

1928

Honolulu, Hawaii

Kiahiniu

Abt. 73 Guam

! Immigration Year

The 1900 census offers 1857 as John’s year of immigration to Hawaii. If this date were correct, it would indicate that John was about 15 years old at the time of immigration. This date appears to be too early for a young man to travel to Hawaii from Guam. The age of majority in Guam at the time was 25 years old.19 Five years earlier in 1852, Father Vicente Acosta wrote a report to Antonio Urbiztondo, Captain General and Vice Royal Patron of the Philippine Islands who was the the Governor General of the Philippines, of which Guam was a province. In the report Father Acosta requested that men be restricted from departing Guam on whaling ships.20 At the time, Guam was struggling with de-population and a declining labor pool. According to Father Acosta between 1849 and 1852, forty of the island’s strongest and most robust men had departed on whaling ships and were now settled in Hawaii “living a life that is foreign, unbefitting, and degrading to their Christian Catholic character.”21 As a result of this report, on 8 June 1853, a decree from the Superior Philippine Government commissioning Felipe de la Corte as Governor of Guam included instructions that restricted anyone 17 years of age and from departing the island on foreign boats or

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Omaira Brunal-Perry, Mangilao, Guam, e-mail to author, 7 Nov. 2012. Omaira is the curator, Spanish Documents collection at the Micronesian Area Research Center, University of Guam. ! Marjorie Driver and Omaira Brunal-Perry, “The Memoria of Father Vicente Acosta, O.A.R., Manila, 20 1852,” Reports Concerning The Mariana Islands: The Memorias of 1844-1852, (Mangilao: Micronesian Area Research Center, University of Guam, 1996), 195-197. ! Ibid. 21 152 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


whalers.22 In addition, the directive required formal employment contracts between crewmen from Guam and the Captain of the ship they were to be employed by.23 A search of judicial records revealed no contract between anyone with the surname “Perez’’ and a ships captain. This does not mean that one does not exist, but it is unlikely. In addition to these restrictions another event significantly impacted the population of the island around this time. A smallpox epidemic in 1856 reduced the population by more than half. This epidemic was responsible for 4,573 deaths reducing Guam’s population from 8,207 to 3,644.24 With a dwindling population, a Catholic clergy and government opposed to young men departing the island, it is highly unlikely that 15 year-old would depart Guam for Hawaii at this time.

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Because of the lack of earlier census records, and in order to find an alternate immigration date for John, a review was made of later census records. John was found in the 1910 Koloa, Kauai census along with his wife Kiainan and grandson Henry (8).25 He now owns his own business as a harness maker on homestead land. The year of immigration to Hawaii listed on this census is 1867, 10 years later than the earlier census reported. It is possible that the enumerator misheard 1857 for 1867 in the earlier census. 1867 is a more a more likely date for his immigration. He would have been about 24 years old. The 1920 Koloa, Kauai census does not report an immigration year for John although it does record his birthplace as Guam.26

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According to the family, John and Kiahiniu moved to Honolulu from Kauai around 1926 to live with their daughter, Pauline.27 A year and a half later they both died within months of each other. John’s death certificate does not reveal the names of his parents.28 It does indicate that he was born in Guam but gives no accurate birthdate.

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Felipe de la Corte y Ruano Calderon, “Descriptive and Historical Report on the Mariana Islands and Others Surrounding them Related with them and Their Present Organization: Analytic study of all their physical, moral and political factors and proposal for reforms in all branches to raise them to their corresponding degree of prosperity” unpublished translation (Micronesian Area Research Center, University of Guam, Mangilao), p. 510, “Instructions which the commissioned head ordered to the Mariana Islands should abide by: Government, Political and Administrative Part.” 23 ! Ibid. ! Nick Goetzfridt, “Spanish Response to Chamorro Depopulation”, webpage, Guampedia.com (http:// 24 guampedia.com/spanish-response-to-chamorro-depopulation : accessed 8 Nov. 2012) ! 1910 US Census, Kauai, Hi., pop. sch. p. 9A. 25 26 ! 1920 US Census, Kauai, Hi., pop. sch. p. 31A. ! Yolanda Paris Sugimoto, San Diego, Ca., e-mail 7 Nov. 2012. 27 ! Hawaii Department of Health, Honolulu, Hawaii, Standard Certificate of Death #3923, John Paris. 28 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !153


Guam Records Perhaps because of the dearth of records for this period of Guam history, not a single record was found that mentions a John Perez or a Juan Perez (the Spanish version of John) of the age of our ancestor and for the period that could match our John Perez.29

Because family oral history indicates that John changed his name to Demetrio, a search was then conducted for Demetrio Perez. One record was found that mentions a person that could possibly be our ancestor. In 1897 Jose Blas y Asuncion petitions the court to register the ownership of a parcel of land in Agana he purchased from Demetrio Perez in 1868.30 Unfortunately he purchased the land from Demetrio “without the benefit of any inscribed title.”31 No other document is found in the judicial records for Demetrio Perez. It is possible that this Demetrio Perez is our ancestor. The date in the 1910 census indicates that John Paris immigrated to Hawaii in 1867. The court document that mentions Demetrio Perez indicates that he sold land in Guam in 1868. The proximity of these two dates makes it plausible that Demetrio Perez and John Paris could be the same person, but more evidence is required before a connection can be made.

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DNA Hitting a brick wall with traditional research, the descendants of John Paris tested their DNA to see if they could establish a link with a family from Guam. This testing yielded surprising results. Two individuals of the Paris family were tested and both revealed a match between them and a Guam family.32 A match was found between the

two Paris descendants, and two individuals of the Leon-Guerrero clan with a suggested relationship range from 2nd to 3rd cousins. This finding supports the theory that John Paris had Guam origins.

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Padron de Almas: Año de 1897, Guam, unpublished translation, Micronesian Area Research Center, University of Guam, 1984. Also, Omaira Brunal-Perry, Vital Statistics Registry for 1823, unpublished translation, e-mail to author, 10 April, 2012. Also, Majorie Driver, The Spanish Governors of the Mariana Islands and the saga of the Palacio, (Mangilao: Micronesian Area Research Center, University of Guam, 2005), Also Driver and Perry, Reports Concerning the Mariana Islands. Also, Driver, The Agustinian Recollect Friars. Also searched familysearch.org and Ancestry.com for Perez surname, birthdate about 1840, birthplace Guam. 30 ! Blaz y Asuncion, Jose, Venta de fincas, No. 352 Blaz-Perez, Caja 1A, 23 Nov. 1901, Index of Guam Judicial Records, Spanish Language 1807-1920; Micronesian Area Research Center, University of Guam ! Ibid. 31 ! 32

“Family Finder - Matches” and “Family Finder - Chromosome Browser,” database matches, Family Tree DNA (http://www.FamilyTreeDNA.com : accessed 24 October 2012), for kit 110403.

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Future Research Research to date reveals that John Paris lived in Hawaii from 1877 until his death in 1928. It has also been established that he had connections to Guam. These connections were known through his proximity to others born in Guam, the record of his birth in census records and through DNA testing. There is conflicting evidence about the year he immigrated to Hawaii and no concrete evidence to support the claim by family members he changed his name from Demetrio Perez to John Paris.

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Finding a year of immigration to Hawaii will help to move the research forward. This should be the focus of future research. A search should be made of Hawaii records of immigration, passenger lists and ships crews for John Perez, Juan Perez and Demetrio Perez.

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Future research should also focus on locating Thomas Paymes in Guam records. Thomas Paymes was listed as a neighbor of John Perez in the 1860 Hawaii census. There is a “Payne” family in Guam that traces their roots in Guam to the late 18th century. It is possible that “Paymes” is actually “Payne.” This connection should be researched.

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Investigations into Demetrio Perez found in the judicial records in Guam should also be expanded. The petition for ownership filed by Jose Blas y Asuncion states the subject property is bordered by land owned by a Francisco Perez. The proximity of this parcel of land could indicate that Francisco is related to Demetrio Perez. Further research into records for Jose Blas y Asuncion may turn up additional information about Demetrio. A search of records for Francisco Perez as a possible relative of Demetrio Perez is also in order.

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DNA evidence connecting the ancestor to a Guam family is compelling. These findings open up a whole new area of research. A search through the family trees of the Hawaii and Guam families should be conducted to establish if a correlation through traditional genealogical methods is found. If found, further testing of other individuals may be in order.

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--Jillette Leon-Guerrero holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Guam and an MA in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma. She also holds a certificate in Genealogical Research from the University of Boston. Jillette is the President of Guamology Inc., a Guam publishing company. She also provides consulting services, most recently for the War in the Pacific National Historical Park. Formerly the Executive Director of the Consortium for Pacific Arts and Cultures in Honolulu and the Guam Humanities Council in Guam, she is also an ongoing contributor to guampedia.com. 

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A Poster Presentation, 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 Guam

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Family Arkives

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By si dåko’ta alcantara-camacho ARKiologist Sovereign Schul of the ARKiology EDUtainment Network dakotacamacho@gmail.com

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Abstract: This poster represents family photos in shapes inspired by ancient forms of writing, both poetic and glyphic, therefore combing different forms of media to engage collage, the process and articulation of archiving, and indigenous poetics of sur-thrival. The poster draws connections between the diaspora-stories and OurStory of migration to demonstrate the potential in seeing ourselves as connected to our ‘ancient’ ancestors, never once or twice or ever removed. By finding new mediums to voice the stories of my grandparents, I hope to remember stories once foreclosed.

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photo Credit: ROJU

si dåko’ta is an extra-aqueous dragon flying through time to reconnect “ancient” traditions to a sustainable future. Dragon creates art, born in star maps, to draw connections between ancestral migrations, the crashing waves of colonialism, and the galactic climate shift of the coming day. With this map, dåko’ta sails alongside the ARKiologists, a Marianas based edutainment network of independent artist-educators uncovering who we are/ becoming, documenting the routes to our roots, and envisioning resilience through the flood of mainstream culture. dåko’ta prays to uncover the past to reveal a liberatory present-future weaving time like guåfak, the woven mats of the Chamoru people.

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Brigido Hernandez A Pre-War Chamoru Identity in the Context of Guam’s Developing Economy in the 1970s

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By Victoria Guiao Undergraduate in Education University of Guam victoriaroseguiao@gmail.com

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Abstract: Throughout the Spanish and Early American Era, Chamorus maintained a deep connection to land as their primary source of food and medicine, and as home to ancestral spirits. Histories present post-war Guam as a time when land was condemned, and Chamorus were forced into a cash economy dependent on imported goods. However, not all Chamorus experienced this break with the past in the same way. Some, like my grandfather Brigido Hernandez, refused to give up their connections to the land. This presentation describes his struggles to secure farmland, to find fishing opportunities, and to continue his reliance upon the jungle for medicines to keep him healthy. His ga’chong, an unusual phenomenon in Prewar, helped him with his work. He struggled with the realities of the post-war economy and the breakdown of the cultural traditions of his youth, but adapted without abandoning the old ways. This is his story. Editor’s Note: This paper, presented at the Marianas History Conference, was not made available for publication.

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--Victoria Guiao is an undergraduate student at the University of Guam. She is currently majoring in Education with a Chamorro Language and Culture Teaching Specialty. She is interested in learning more about the Chamoru culture and Guam’s History.

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A History of the Guam Farmer’s Market

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By Elyssa Santos Undergraduate in Chamorro Studies and History University of Guam elyssajsantos@gmail.com

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Abstract: This presentation examines the history of Guam farmers’ markets during the American Naval Era (1898-1949). Canonical histories generally present the development of markets as benevolent acts of American naval governors who sought to instill the capitalist value of profit among Chamorros. However, such descriptions mask the role of Chamorro agency in the development of these markets and pay little attention to how these markets were understood by the farmers on which they depended. This presentation situates these markets in the context of anthropologist Nicolas Thomas’ “colonial project,” a concept which allows for the exploration of the complex dynamics of cultural exchange and resistance that mark many such transformative colonial impositions. This presentation asserts that, despite the navy’s intentions to change the value system of the Chamorro farmer, Chamorro farmers utilized these markets in ways that were compatible with the value system known as kustumbren Chamorro. Editor’s Note: This paper, presented at the Marianas History Conference, was not made available for publication.

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--Elyssa Juline Santos, a Junior at the University of Guam, is pursuing a BA in Chamorro Studies and History under the Guam Merit Scholarship. She enjoys spending time at the Micronesian Area Research Center, searching through Spanish and American Naval Era archives. Eventually, she plans to pursue an MA in Micronesian Studies. Coming from a long line of educators, her dream is to become a curator at the Guam Museum, educating younger generations about Guam’s rich history.

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I Mangaffa Siha Late Colonial Conceptualizations of the Chamorro Family

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By Lisa Linda Natividad Associate Professor and Chair of the Division of Social Work University of Guam lisanati@yahoo.com

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Abstract: The family is often credited with being the rope that binds Chamorro society together. Nonetheless, present-day Chamorro families struggle with the role of the family system in the context of westernization and modernization. Maladaptive behavioral manifestations, such as family violence and drug and alcohol dependency, are often equated with being culturally “Chamorro.” In examining late colonial conceptualizations of the Chamorro family, an old paradigm is reintroduced that highlights the beauty of traditional Chamorro practices relative to gender roles in the family system, marital dynamics, and the parenting of children. In addition, practices around peacemaking and peace keeping in the family clan will be discussed to challenge the assumption that family violence and drug and alcohol dependency are cultural practices. Lastly, early accounts described the Chamorro family composition as transcending blood relations to include people who shared a special relationship with familial clans. These types of relationships will also be explored. Editor’s Note: This paper, presented at the Marianas History Conference, was not made available for publication.

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Presentation Slides

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--Lisa Linda Natividad is an Associate Professor and chair of the Division of Social Work at the University of Guam. She is also the President of the Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice. She has conducted research in the realms of cancer survivorship, health needs on Guahan, and the impacts of colonization and militarization on Chamorros. 

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The Sapin Sapin Generation Identity Formation of Second Generation Filipinas on Guam

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By Tabitha Espina Graduate Student in English University of Guam tabithaespina@gmail.com

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Abstract: Because the second generation of Filipinos on Guam have yet to be scholarly analyzed, I theorize a conceptual model of this generation’s identity formation, focusing specifically on Filipinas, using the term “Sapin Sapin generation.” Just as the sapin sapin dessert is characterized by distinct layers of color and flavors, this generation is characterized by “layers” of ethnic identity that remain distinct, yet interact to create an entirely new identity. The Sapin Sapin generation is a hybridized model that shows distinct identities integrated and interacting together in one person in the same way that the different flavors of the sapin sapin dessert are enjoyed together in one bite. I analyze the identity formation of the Sapin Sapin generation using personal narratives in a variety of modes of expression: the dissertation preface of Vivian Dames, the documentary film project of Bernie Schumann, and the songs of my mother, Alpha Espina. Editor’s Note: This paper, presented at the Marianas History Conference, was not made available for publication.

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--Tabitha Caser Espina is a graduate student at the University of Guam pursuing a Master of Arts degree in English under the Government of Guam Merit Graduate Scholarship. She graduated from UOG as the Fall 2011 Valedictorian, with a BA in Elementary Education. Her thesis research involves Filipina identity on Guam and auto-ethnographic research. 

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Assessment of the Interacting Effects of Guamanian and Asian Cultures on the Youth

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By Annette Kang High School Junior St. John’s School annettekang97@hotmail.com

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Abstract: Japan’s occupation on Guam during World War II had longlasting effects on the island community’s culture. During the Japanese occupation, many Koreans were brought to serve as part of the labor force. Since then, Korean culture has remained on the island and serves as a reminder of the island’s past. Over the years, the cultures have, in a sense, assimilated. The Asian and Western cultures are similar in as many ways as they are different. This paper will address the variations and correspondences between the two cultures and the ways in which they have influenced each other throughout the years. Specifically, it will address the impact of this cultural interaction on the island’s youth. Editor’s Note: This paper, presented at the Marianas History Conference, was not made available for publication.

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--Annette Kang is a high school junior at St. John’s School. She is involved in extracurricular activities such as Student Council, the Yearbook Committee, the Guam Symphony Society, President of the Tri-M Music Honor Society, Team Captain for SJS Service Club Interact, and Team Captain for the St. John’s Tennis Team. As a Korean-American born on Guam, she has been constantly exposed to both Asian and Western influences at school, home, and the community. Through her experiences and research, she has learned the challenges and expectations of both cultures.

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Survival of Traditional Healing on Guam

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By Tricia Atoigue Lizama, PhD, LCSW Assistant Professor of Social Work University of Guam tatoigue@gmail.com

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Abstract: Chamorro, the indigenous people of Guam, have a tradition of herbal medicine and therapeutic massage that predates the Spanish colonization of the 17th century and notably continues to be practiced in modern times. The purpose of this study was to describe how healers perpetuate and preserve traditional practices. Eleven in-depth interviews were conducted with suruhanu and suruhana healers. Analysis indicates that traditional healing practices are actively preserved despite centuries of colonization, cultural denigration, western modernization/militarization, and continuing encroachment on lands where native plants might be gathered for medicinal use. Further, interviews indicate that traditional healing is used by Chamorro and others seeking preventive and curative care, perhaps particularly among those lacking access to western bio-medicine or preferring more culturally responsive, holistic treatment. Findings provide considerations for influencing the development of more culturally responsive practices in conventional western health care and toward health policies that support the perpetuation of traditional alternatives. Editor’s Note: This paper, presented at the Marianas History Conference, was not made available for publication.

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--Tricia Atoigue Lizama, PhD, LCSW, hails from the beautiful village of Tutuhan (Agana Heights). She is an alumna of the University of Guam, receiving a double major in social work (BSW) and psychology in 1997. In 1999, she completed her Master’s in social work (MSW) from the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa, and, in 2011, she received her PhD in Human Services from Capella University. Tricia’s dissertation focused on the traditional healing practices of the suruhanu and suruhana. Tricia is married to Troy Lizama, and they have 5 beautiful children: Tobin, Thaddeus, Genesis, Gideon and Samuel.

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Stories of Survival Oral Histories of Coping and Resilience in Response to Domestic Violence in Guam

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By Camarin G. Meno Master of Science in Clinical Psychology Graduate Student University of Guam camarin_meno@yahoo.com

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Abstract: In recent years, Guam has had increasingly alarming rates of domestic violence among Chamorro women and girls. These high rates of violence in the current context contrast starkly with historical descriptions of ways in which Chamorro women were traditionally protected from such violence. Utilizing narrative and participatory action research methods, this study involves multigenerational life narrative interviews conducted with middle-aged Chamorro women, focusing on personal and familial experiences of violence and highlighting ways in which survivors, families, and communities responded to violence in prior generations. This presentation outlines the preliminary findings of the study, with a particular focus on the impact of modernity and colonialism on Chamorro women and the ways in which Chamorro styles of coping and resilience in response to domestic violence have changed throughout history and across generations. Editor’s Note: This paper, presented at the Marianas History Conference, was not made available for publication.

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--Camarin G. Meno is a graduate student in the Master of Science in Clinical Psychology Program at the University of Guam and currently serves as the Victim Services Coordinator at the University’s Violence Against Women Prevention Program. Her research interests focus primarily on sociocultural and historical perspectives on mental health and social issues in Guam, such as domestic violence and suicide.

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The Metaphysical Guåhan

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By Nicholas J. Goetzfridt Professor of Library Science and Micronesian Studies University of Guam ngoetzfr@gmail.com

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Abstract: This paper explores the metaphysical nature of historical inquiry into Guam’s past, particularly in terms of the impact of a scholar’s time and place within his or her own history and professional elements of identity. The paper discusses the nature of qualitative historical research, qualitative research traditions, and their contrast with shifting paradigms of quantitative research – both of which are metaphorical for the shifting nature of the standards, time, and context of historical research on Guam. Although there is no definitive expression of metaphysics, you can find definitions that are as good and functional as many others. If you simply input metaphysics into Wikipedia for example, you get the following take on it:

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“Metaphysics is a traditional branch of western philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms: • What is there? • What is it like? These two simple questions are sanctimonious to the quest of validity in both quantitative and qualitative analyses. History sometimes reveals a lost humanity of sorts upon which we draw messages of consequence. As such, history has a predominantly qualitative path of inquiry. Machiavelli’s recognition of the capacity of human beings to control at least part of their destinies, although within God’s grand design, is often given credit for helping to engender a humanistic age of inquiry. This slowly led to various traditions of methodology in the qualitative sciences and in paradigms for the natural sciences.

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of communication and verification. But these paradigms can also shift over time, given that a disciplinary matrix is, according to Kuhn, composed of “the entire constellation of beliefs, values, techniques and so on shared by members of a given community” (Hamilton, 1988, p. 114).

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But do traditions of research in the social sciences and in history shift as paradigms apparently do in the natural sciences? Is there an accumulation of knowledge – let’s say of Guam’s history – that begets a new movement over time along with new standards of validity that establish themselves through professional socialization, expectations, and complex matrixes of control over the means of communicating these new knowledges? Or are new traditions of inquiry and comprehension created spontaneously so that traditions don’t replace each other. Perhaps these traditions build upon the assets of what came before or methodically react to new hermeneutics of interpretation that are increasingly more prone to being influenced by social and political issues of the time?

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Some qualitative traditions of research are essentially disparate methods of inquiry ripe with discord and disharmony. And yet it may be that this discord is essential for the creation of new research traditions that are not beholding to changing paradigms. There is instead an innate sense of seeking essential grounding of knowledge and of knowing in the same way that hermeneutics and metaphysics find their place in worlds of senses, feeling, and belief.

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Immanuel Kant is also sometimes given credit for creating a model of research in which human impressions are an indelible part of results and their subsequent interpretation. Epistemologies that emerge in this research model accept and even celebrate the cognitive characteristics of the researcher. In Kant’s concept of “scientific reason,” the natural world studied by quantitative, scientific methods was strictly a world of causation. But what Kant referred to as “practical reason” found in applied social science research was “governed by autonomous principles which man prescribes to himself” (Hamilton, p. 117). While knowing and defining the causality of the natural world provided solid information, it was nevertheless theoretical in nature. This was because to act upon that knowledge in the human context required contemplations about truth and its humanistic nature as reflected in the decisions that human beings make. Given the presumption of human and moral freedom that such decisions necessitate, are these acts acts of conscious self determination within which nature separate from human nature can never be known? German philosopher 212 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


Wilhelm Dilthey rejected scientific empiricism in this context and believed that the consciousness inherent in human actions or decisions could be directly understood through methods of inquiry that we know today as qualitative research.

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What we experience and what we believe and what we see and what we feel occur not on their own and are certainly not known through methods of scientific empiricism but occur within every day social realities. These social realities are reflected in the social and cultural experiences that we frequently try on Guam to understand and sometimes through historical and external pressures, to create and maintain. These expressions of cultural attributes reflect Dilthey’s ideas of human freedom and, I think you could say, self-determination in the sense that one is free to respond to circumstances rather ‘from’ them. The social, historical, and cultural conditions that underwrite these actions can be known through social means of inquiry. These conditions can often be understood using epistemologies and hermeneutics that in themselves are socially and culturally based and influenced. Can we then ask: • How is Guam’s history there? • What is it like? While hermeneutics is concerned with the practice and theory of interpretation, an ontological way of looking at the world is more concerned with dealing directly with the nature of being and existence. Perhaps we could look at ontology as an applied metaphysics. We are linguistically and historically human beings. We do not exist and live out our time on earth simply through an abstract sense of this time but rather, we are that time and we are the history that that time produces. This makes the process of constructing meaning very much metaphysical in nature. No amount of empirical inquiry will solve this dilemma of understanding our past and thus our present. And that is why in social and cultural contexts, there are many disparate qualitative approaches to research with the elements of hermeneutics, epistemology, and ontology being merely aspects of certain approaches to knowing human culture and society.

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Efforts to understand the past have much larger questions at stake than simply which side of Guam Magellan landed on or whether the US government decided to simply abandon Guam to the Japanese at the beginning of America’s involvement in World War II or how many petitions for self-government and/or American citizenship were actually sent or attempted to be sent to the federal government. There is a metaphysical nature in attempts to understand Guam’s past (or the entire Marianas archipelago for that matter) that is imprecise by its very nature and through the human vehicle by which these attempts are made. These efforts to understand Guam’s 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !213


past have their periods of social and cultural influence that have changed over the course of time and thus necessitates larger questions of what impact this moving wall of time has on our comprehensions of this past today, keeping foremost in our minds, the subjectivities inherent in our human condition.

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Perhaps the impression of outside threats – from the very real threat of Chamorro land being taken for military purposes to the impending sense of cultural degradation through the powers of Americanization or the seemingly never ending nature of Guam’s unresolved political status – can significantly influence the metaphysical nature of our engagement with this history. The metaphysical struggle to understand and to feel and to subsequently comprehend is within the realm of the social and cultural phenomenon that qualitative research traditions attempt to deal with and express in ways that make sense to us – at least in the context of our present state of existence. Guam’s history ‘feels’ ‘like’ something that we are compelled to comprehend. There seems however to also be an absurdity in this effort in the sense that the idea of reaching an understanding is presuming a finality, an objective reached.

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It is certainly true that historical analysis can demonstrate, for example, that X number of political prisoners and convicts burdened the Marianas in the latter part of the Spanish rule of the island. But there always seems to be a shifting interest or need that reaffixes or resituates this particular event into or out of its place in an island’s history. Perhaps its position is fixed among the historically informed but its functional nature among the metaphysically searching public and even among we academics, renders this and any other determined historical “fact” as vulnerable to the whims of any human metaphysical experience.

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And we have to ask ourselves then, to what extent are historians a part of this reaffixing or this resituating that, as we look across the landscape of historical interpretation over the past several decades, sometimes reveal almost sky alighted signs of historical certainty with which we were once content? Are we willing to stand back and look upon the hermeneutics of that understanding? And perhaps even engage the vulnerability that such a, well, metaphysical experience and insight might reveal about our stances and approaches today? The fact that Carano and Sanchez’s book A Complete History of Guam was taught for decades in the public schools is not only a reflection of hermeneutical and metaphysical feelings about Guam’s place within the wider world as it occurred in a moment of time. It also speaks to how texts 214 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


have been understood and even felt in this history that was the island’s history as it was known within its very experience of its own time. Although the book is awash with notions of a sleepy island awaiting its place in the world – a place that was dependent upon its “discovery” by this world in the first place from which point it was engagingly ushered into the realm for which it so faithfully awaited – Carano and Sanchez’s book had as one of its widely acknowledged attributes, the first book published in English about the island of Guam. (The wide spread, acculturative impact of World War II perhaps relegated Evelyn and Frederick Nelson’s 1934 The Island of Guam to a curio text of the periphery with Paul and Ruth Searles’ 1937 manuscript A School History of Guam, published by the Naval Government Printing Shop, relegated to the edge.)

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It gave the people of Guam a sense of pride over this accumulation of events that composed Guam’s history up to the point of its publication in 1964. This was despite the fact that this history was largely driven by Europeans – some historically more significant than others – who sailed in and sailed out of its surrounding reefs even though, of course, events on the island had been ongoing for thousands of years. But for now, never mind. It was a history of the island written, as the authors described it, from what “little is known” about ancient Chamorros through to the state of education on Guam in 1960.

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This ancient Chamorro past is a rather mysterious phenomenon in this book – to some extent because of the substantial lack of archival and textual searchings and analysis that had yet to occur. But it is also a mystery perhaps because of the impact of outside forces at the time – particularly the characteristics of Americanization that assigned obscurity to this past, supported in return by occasional pieces in the Guam Recorder from 1924 to 1941 – that seem to have had an element of social and economic progress embedded in each piece. From what the texts of the time tell us, this obscurity was becoming less and less a phenomenon in the context of these outside forces. A way forward lay not only in embracing American influence but in also embracing the obscurity of this past. But if not embraced at some metaphysical age of the island, then rendered indefinably irrelevant in this movement forward. Imaginations of a long lost, dark historical night and the formation thereof in texts and in minds may very well have metaphysically swept across the island of Guam when those small pieces appeared in the Guam Recorder. Chamorro history in a March 1925 issue for example is referred to as “a secret” – or rather, “their history is a secret” within which ancestors are referred to in the context of Chamorro concepts of them as being simply “the living dead.” In writing that “their history is a secret,” it is not clear 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !215


if that means that such history is so far buried that it is unrecoverable for anyone or that the Chamorro person possesses a history which he or she is unwilling to reveal. But either way, such history is assigned an obscurity whose truth is made to be so natural in a text that it is of no consequence to the present.

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But here I am in 2013 standing in a large air-conditioned, well lighted room telling you these things. What presumptions are at my fingertips right now? I could point out that Carano and Sanchez, again and again, drilled into the minds of their young readers, – conflicting as we all know now with contemporary, post structural approaches to interpreting indigenous histories throughout the Pacific – that “the ancient Chamorro religion had no organized priesthood, no temples, no defined creed. It seemed primarily to be a religion of myths, superstitions, and ancestor worship.” And I could point accusingly at them for also telling these young readers that for “most of the 18th century Guam languished [languished!] as a quiet outpost for the Spanish-American dominion of New Spain” during which time “life for the islanders had become lazy and indolent” because “there was no need for them to work too hard.” They confidently described Chamorros, based on “early accounts” as “being compounded of playful friendliness mixed with stubborn persistence and violence.” And the authors wrote in a seemingly inspired crescendo that “in the hearts and minds of the Guamanian people, Ferdinand Magellan is an outstanding hero” – this for the man who under completely fortuitous circumstances “discovered” (yes, that is the word Carano and Sanchez use) Guam.

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It would be easy now, of course, to engage in a dialectical analysis of historical interpretations that would provide a clarifying contrast of the European driven narrative that Carano and Sanchez’s text embodied. However, what guarantee do we have that the contemporary texts and research we know about and discuss today will not undergo similar points of contention that the history of the next 30 or 40 years may give critical credence to? Perhaps the ongoing evolution of history itself, metaphysics, and the human limits of interpretation make this inevitable. But if we could engage in a hermeneutical examination of the young minds who read the Carano and Sanchez text, we might be surprised to find an evolving, gradual, clarifying sense of what narratives should reflect in the island’s history. This gradual change, in contrast to the changes that we can employ against Carano and Sanchez’s book today, would be indicative of a change in a public consciousness that is itself a reflection of the innate struggle to recover an identity or identities, both personal and public, from the innate progressions of cultural hegemony. 216 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


Antonio Gramsci, the imprisoned intellectual most often credited with the most penetrating explanations of this hegemony and its social consequences, wrote in his Prison Notebooks that “the starting-point of critical elaboration is the consciousness of what one really is, and is ‘knowing thyself’ as a product of the historical process to date, which has deposited in you an infinity of traces, without leaving an inventory.” The only solution to recovering one’s self from these historical processes, Gramsci argued, was to “compile such an inventory” at the very beginning of this effort at recovering. (Said, 1979, p. 25).

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In other words, in the realm of individual consciousness of the past and present, what are historical “truths” and what are representations of truth? Or perhaps better yet, what are these truths within a particular time in place, or within a distinguishable communal representation of a particular time? Said’s canonical study on features of the European creation and maintenance of the Orientalism of the so-called Orient examines the intellectual self justifications for this created fantasia of reality. As Edward Said wrote: “No one has ever devised a method for detaching the scholar from the circumstances of life, from the fact of his involvement (conscious or unconscious) with a class, a set of beliefs, a social position, or from the mere activity of being a member of a society. These continue to bear on what he does professionally, even though naturally enough his research and its fruits do attempt to reach a level of relative freedom from the inhibitions and the restrictions of brute, everyday existence.” (Said, p. 10)

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As such, ideas of history and especially discourse about a culture have, within themselves over the short period of history we ourselves have known, closely knitted efforts of narrative that potentially reflect our own metaphysical biases. These biases are not so much related to specific uses of historical materials but rather upon these levels of social position and the origins of one’s position in the world and the extent to which these maintain the socio-economic and political institutions of which we are a part. In examining the Orient or perhaps in our case, in examining the past of Guam and the Mariana Islands, Said would argue that we are first Europeans or Americans and individuals second. “In any society not totalitarian,” Said argues, “certain cultural forms predominate over others, just as certain ideas are more influential than others; the form of this cultural leadership is what Gramsci has identified as hegemony...It is hegemony, or rather the result of cultural hegemony at work, that gives Orientalism the durability and the strength” (Said, p. 7).

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The creation of history is both that culture which historians write about and the culture from which they write. If there are preferences of approach, they are grounded within the culture within which we live and upon the steps of the institutions from which we peer. And in peering and producing our own notions of history and the Chamorro culture within it, we often reflect not so much the form and the history of the culture we write about but rather the social, cultural and intellectual grounds from which, on this day of history, we stand. Texts have their own context even though at the time – within the sense of our own self-convincing control of time – it may seem that we have finally reached the historical moment of truth – the lynchpin of intellectual pursuit upon which later generations will depend. But we too have our own stories to tell from which our narratives will subsequently originate. This is not to say that the critical analyses of today that are so contrary to obligatory dependence upon European contexts from which Carano and Sanchez’s text so visibly depends are of themselves the Carano and Sanchezs of our time. But I do suggest that we remain conscious of our time, the limitations of what we know about that time and the metaphysical nature of our lives, our values and the subsequent thoughts from which we work.

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References Carano, P. & P.C. Sanchez 1964 A complete history of Guam. Rutland, VT: C. E. Tuttle.

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Hamilton, D. 1998 Traditions, preferences, and postures in applied qualitative research. In The landscape of qualitative research: Theories and issues, N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln, Eds. (pp.111-129). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

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Said, E.W. 1979 Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books.

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--Nicholas J. Goetzfridt has written articles and chapters concerned with information issues in Pacific communal and epistemological contexts and Pacific library history. He has also published several books including Guahan: A Bibliographic History, Pacific Ethnomathematics, Micronesian Histories, Indigenous Pacific Literature, and Indigenous Navigation and Voyaging in the Pacific. He serves as President of the University of Guam Faculty Senate and as Editor of the University of Guam’s Pacific Asia Inquiry Journal. He also served as Editor-in-Chief for Guampedia.com for many years and is currently its Humanities Scholar.

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A History of Guahan’s Flora

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By Robert Bevacqua, PhD Science Teacher Guam High School robert.bevacqua@pac.dodea.edu

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Abstract: Guahan’s history can be traced through its tropical vegetation. The first plants (endemic) developed in isolation on the uninhabited island. Then there were successive waves of plants arriving by natural means (indigenous), on board Chamorro voyaging canoes, Spanish sailing ships, American war vessels, and, most recently, airplanes. Some of the recent introductions have become invasive plant species that have the potential of dramatically changing the island landscape. This presentation will form the basis of a professional development opportunity for school teachers interested in expanding their lesson plans to include island flora and fauna in a historical perspective. The most distinguishing environmental feature of Guahan, formerly Guam, is its greenery1. The first impression of visitors is of the many vibrant shades of green. The lush island vegetation can be a tangle of trees, shrubs, and vines, but by looking closely at the individual plants that make up the tropical jungle, it is possible to trace the island’s history through the verdant flora. The first plants developed in isolation on the uninhabited island. Then there were successive waves of plants arriving by natural means, on board voyaging canoes, Spanish sailing ships, American war vessels, and, most recently, airplanes.

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Vocabulary There are terms that need to be defined before we can trace the island’s history through its plants:

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Endemic plants are those that developed in the Mariana Islands and are found nowhere else in the world (Table 1). Some of the wild orchids and the seeded breadfruit or dokdok are examples of endemic plants – ones are that unique to the Mariana Islands.

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Mick Subbert of Guam High School, a biology teacher with 25 years of experience in teaching about Guahan’s flora and fauna, provided much of the reference materials used in this article. 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !257


Indigenous plants are those that are naturally distributed in the region (Table 2). Their seeds were transported by birds or floated on the sea to the island. They became established before the arrival of humans. Beach mahogany or da’ok and iron wood or gagu are examples of indigenous trees that were naturally distributed among the islands of the Western Pacific before the arrival of humans.

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Introduced plants are those that were transported to the island by humans. These introductions can be classified into three historical eras: Chamorro (Table 3), Spanish (Table 4), and American (Table 5). Coconut palm or niyok, for example, was introduced by the ancient Chamorros, pineapple or pina by the Spanish, and tangantangan by the Americans.

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A special classification of introduced plants is the invasive species (Table 6). These are fast spreading weeds, recently introduced, that can threaten forests and farms. Chain of love or kadena de amor is an invasive vine that can smother entire trees.

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Endemic Plants Wild orchids, especially the endemic ones, are quick to capture the public’s interest. Thirty orchid species have been identified on Guahan and the neighboring Mariana Islands (Raulerson and Rinehart, 1992). Of these, half are found growing on the ground and half are found in trees. Four are considered endemic, seven are indigenous, and the remainder are introductions (Raulerson and Rinehart, 1992). Hikers entering the jungle are often keen to observe endemic orchids flowering in their natural habitat. They are sure to be disappointed. The native orchid plants are rare and difficult to find. But most disappointing are the orchid flowers. The blossoms are tiny in size, a bland white or yellow in color, bloom only seasonally and the flowers may stay open for less than a day. Thus the endemic orchids are a far cry from the showier, purple flowers introduced from Thailand and Hawaii.

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The seeded breadfruit or dokdok is endemic to the Mariana Islands and is generally found in limestone forests. The starchy fruit was a staple food for the old Chamorros and the wood was valued in boat building and house construction. The feature that distinguishes dokdok from lemmai, the breadfruit introduced by the Chamorros (Table 3) is the seeds or nuts found inside the large fruit. They can be roasted like chestnuts and eaten as a healthful, after-dinner snack. Dokdok is a fast growing tree that can be found in the wild and in home gardens.

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Indigenous Plants The large, sturdy trees with dark green foliage that line the sides of Marine Corps Drive in Old Hagåtña and Anigua are popularly known by their Chamorro name, da’ok. These indigenous trees (Table 3) are also know by their various English names, beach mahogany, mast wood, Alexandrian laurel; and their Hawaiian name, kamani (Elevitch, 2006). Like the water buffalo or carabao, the da’ok is a symbol of strength and perseverance. It is among the biggest trees on Guahan and is noted for its ability to withstand typhoons. It has been an important source of wood for handles, carving, construction, and boat building. Palauans, most notably, continue to use da’ok in carving story boards.

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Chamorro Introductions The ancient Chamorros have long been recognized as voyagers and settlers of the Mariana Islands, but they also deserve recognition as horticulturists or agriculturists who introduced an important collection of plants to Guahan (Table 3). On board their sailing canoes they transported mostly plants with edible roots or tubers and trees that yielded fruit or nuts (Table 3). The collection contained five important staples of the Pacific Islands: taro or suni, yam or dagu, breadfruit or lemmai, banana or chotda, and coconut or niyok. The last is regarded as the ‘staff of life’ by islanders.

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Rice or fa’i has a unique position among the plants (Table 3) introduced by these prehistoric navigators (Cunningham, 1992). It is a grain crop and is very unlike the other tree and root crops brought by the Chamorro colonists. This has sparked a scientific debate as it was previously assumed rice was introduced by Europeans to the Mariana Islands. Three forms of evidence, historical, linguistic, and archaeological, support the position that the ancient Chamorros produced rice on Guahan. Early European explorers were the first to report rice being grown on Guahan. Modern linguists contributed additional support when they found fa’i , the Chamorro work for rice in the field is very similar to the Indonesian word for field rice. In 1971, a Japanese archaeologist studying the ancient Chamorro on nearby Rota discovered the impression of a grain of rice in a piece of pottery. The archaeologist was able to date pottery as a type made long before Europeans came to the Marianas. Despite this evidence, the presence of rice on Guahan continues to be a controversial topic among scientists (Cunningham, 1992), because it would mean the ancient Chamorros were the only Pacific Islanders to cultivate rice in prehistoric times.

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Spanish Introductions The Spanish introduced many fruit and vegetable crops (Table 4) to Guahan. Of these, chile pepper or donne’ enjoys a special place in island culture, because it gives local cooking its distinctive flavor and heat. Columbus discovered this spice plant in the New World and carried the seed back to Europe. He confused it with black pepper, which explains why it has been mistakenly called ‘pepper’ ever since. This new pepper quickly spread to African and Asia, including Guahan, along Spain’s extensive trading routes. The shape, size, and color of chile peppers can vary greatly. On Guahan, the preferred chile pepper is donne’ pika. The fruit of which is small, red, and high in pungency or heat. It is commonly grown as a backyard crop and is the central ingredient in fina’denne, a popular condiment sauce made with soy sauce, vinegar, and lemon or lime juice. The role of chile pepper or donne’ in modern Chamorro life is celebrated each year with a festival in the village of Mangilao.

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American Introductions Tangantangan is the dominant vegetation on Guahan. It does not have a common English name. It is a small, fast growing tree native to Mexico and Central America. It was probably brought to Guahan early in the American administration, but it did not become widespread until after WW II. The fighting left large areas denuded. In an effort to quickly reforest the island, tangantangan seeds were broadcast from airplanes. The effort was successful and dense thickets formed. Unfortunately the effort was too successful, the thickets prevented the return of native plants. Now tangantangan is considered a highly invasive plant species on Guam and in many areas of the tropics. Tangantangan, on the positive side, is an important source of firewood, animal feed, and poles for constructing farm trellises and temporary structures.

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Invasive Species According to the Global Invasive Species Database at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, Guahan has the dubious distinction of having four of the world’s worst invasive plant species: (1) tangantangan, (2) chain of love or kadena de amor, (3) African tulip tree, which has no Chamorro name, and (4) Siam weed or masigsig (Table 6).

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Chain of love is a highly invasive species that is now widespread on Guahan. After tangantangan, it is the dominant vegetation on the island. Originally from the Philippines, chain of love is also known by its Spanish name kadena de amor. It is not known when it arrived on island, but is thought to have spread in the post WW II era. It can be recognized by its small pink flowers that are produced in clusters of dozens 260 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


to hundreds. Despite the beauty of the flowers, it is an aggressive vine or creeper that is capable of completely covering trees - smothering and killing large areas of forest. The death of the trees results in less food and habitat for wildlife, such as the island’s endangered native birds. Chain of love is a classic example of an invasive plant that poses a serious threat to all the island’s flora.

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Summary The history of Guahan can be summarized by the examples of the following plants. Endemic orchids and seeded breadfruit or dokdok were among the early and unique plants to develop on the island (Table 1). Birds and waves brought the seeds of indigenous plants, such as beach mahogany or da’ok and iron wood or gagu (Table 2). Chamorro voyagers carried taro or suni, yam or dagu, breadfruit or lemmai, banana or chotda, coconut or niyok, and, most intriguing, rice or fa’i to the island shores (Table 3). Spanish colonists introduced many fruits and vegetables, such as chile pepper or donne’ and pineapple or pina (Table 4). Americans brought in tangantangan to reforest the WW II battle fields, but is now a wide spread, invasive weed tree (Table 5). Chain of love or kadena de amor is an aggressive, invasive vine that now threatens many of the plants described in this paper.

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Tables Table 1. Endemic plants or plants unique to Guahan and neighboring Mariana Islands. COMMON

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CHAMORRO2

SCIENTIFIC3

seeded breadfruit

dokdok

Artocarpus mariannensis

torch wood

gaosali

Bikkia tetrandra

coral tree

gaogao

Erythrina variegata

pandanus

kafo’

Pandanus tectorius

wild orchid

siboyas halomtano

Bulbophyllum guamense

2 Topping 3

Raulerson

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Table 2. Indigenous plants or plants naturally distributed in the western Pacific Islands before the arrival of humans. COMMON

CHAMORRO4

SCIENTIFIC5

iron wood

gagu

Casuarina equisetifolia

beach hibiscus

pagu

Hibiscus tiliaceus

vesi

ifet

Intsia bijuga

Indian mulberry

ladda

Morinda citrifolia

tropical almond

talisai

Terminalia catappa

rosewood

banalu

Thespesia populnea

beach heliotrope

hunek

Tournefortia argentea

half flower

nanasu

Scaevola taccada

beach mahoganay

da’ok

Calophyllum inophyllum

banyan

nunu

Ficus prolix

4 Topping

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Elevitch

Table 3. Plants brought to Guahan by ancient Chamorro voyagers. COMMON

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CHAMORRO6

SCIENTIFIC78

coconut

niyok

Cocos nucifera

banana

chotda

Musa species

breadfruit

lemmai

Artocarpus altilis

taro

suni

Colocasia esculenta

yam

dagu

Dioscorea alata

rice

fa’i

Oryza sativa

sugar cane

tupu

Saccharum officinarum

betel nut

pugua’

Areca catechu

pepper leaf

pupulu

Piper betel

ginger

hasngot

Zingiber zerumbet

6 Topping 7 8

Falanruw Elevitch

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Table 4. Plants introduced to Guahan during the Spanish colonial ear. COMMON

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CHAMORRO9

SCIENTIFIC10

chile pepper

donne’

Capsicum annuum

corn

mai’es

Zea mays

pineapple

pina

Ananas comosus

papaya

papaya

Carica papaya

sweet potato

kamuti

Ipomea batatas

cassava

mendioka

Manihot esculenta

avocado

alageta

Persea Americana

lipstick plant

achoti

Bixa orellana

ylang-ylang

ilang ilang

Cananga odorata

watermelon

chandia

Citrullus lanatus

9 Topping 10

Falanruw

Table 5. Plants introduced to Guahan during the American administration. COMMON

CHAMORRO11

SCIENTIFIC12

monkey pod

tronkon mames

Samanea saman

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tangantangan

Leucaena leucocephala

11 Topping 12

Elevitch

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Table 6. Invasive plant species on Guahan. CHAMORRO13

COMMON

SCIENTIFIC14

chain of love

kadena de amor

Antigonon leptopus

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tangantangan

Leucaena leucocephala

beggar’s tick

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Bidens alba

wild or dwarf poinsettia

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Euphorbia heterophylla

sleeping grass

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Mimosa pudica

Jamaica vervain

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Stachytarpheta jamaicensis

African tulip tree

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Spathodea campanulata

Misson grass or fox tailed grass

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Pennisetum polystachion

guinea grass

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Panicum maximum

masigsig

Siam weed 13 Topping 14

Reddy

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References Cunningham, L.J. 1992 Ancient Chamorro Society. Honolulu, HI: The Bess Press.

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Elevitch, C.R.(ed.) 2006 Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry. Holualoa. HI: Permanent Agriculture Resourcces.

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Falanruw, M.C. 1976 Life on Guam: Savanna, Old Fields, Roadsides. Agana, GU: Guam Dept Education.

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Raulerson, L. and A. Rinehart 1991 Trees and Shrubs of the Northern Marianas Islands. Saipan, CNMI: Coastal Resources Management. 1992 Ferns and Orchids of the Mariana Islands. Agana, GU: Raulerson & Rinehart.

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Reddy, G.V.P. 2011 "Survey of invasive plants on Guam and identification of the 20 most widespread." Micronesica: 41(2):263-274.

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Topping, D.M., Ogo, P.M. and B.C. Dungca 1975 Chamorro-English Dictionary. Honolulu, HI: The University Press of Hawaii.

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Whistler, W.A. 1995 Wayside Plants of the Islands. Honolulu, HI: Isle Botanica.

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--Robert Bevacqua is a horticulturist with 20 years of experience, including five at UOG, working with tropical fruit and vegetable crops. His experience includes work with US-AID programs in Africa and Asia, the Hawaiian pineapple industry, and cooperative extension (agricultural) programs in Guam, Oregon, California, Virginia, and New Mexico. At present, Dr. Bevacqua is semi-retired and is employed as a science teacher at Guam High School where he teaches biology, chemistry, and marine biology and serves as an athletic coach. He is active in professional development programs for teachers. 

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Birth-Month Seasonality and the Secondary Sex Ratio in Guamanian Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Parkinsonism-Dementia Complex Implications for Infectious Disease and Environmental Etiologie

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By Vince P. Diego, PhD1 and Frank A. Camacho, PhD2 1Department

of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute Program, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Guam vdiego@txbiomedgenetics.org and dr.frank.camacho@gmail.com 2Biology

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Abstract: Guamanian amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinsonismdementia complex (ALS-PDC), which took place primarily over the period from 1950 to 1980, remains a mystery to this day. Incidence rates for the neurological syndrome by birth-year and birth-month were analyzed by periodic regression. The data were best fit by a yearly 2-phase periodicity model over the year (p < 0.0001 for the harmonic coefficients; R-squared = 0.12 and 0.25 for the first and second phases, respectively), which reasonably corresponds to two peaks in water availability on Guam. Data on the secondary sex ratio (SSR), defined as the ratio of male to female live births and considered to be an indicator of environmental stress, were also analyzed. The SSR mean for the affected cohort was found to be significantly higher than that for the unaffected cohort (p < 0.0001). Taken together, these findings point to an infectious disease or environ-mental toxin etiology. Introduction Shortly after World War II on Guam, there arose an epidemic of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) locally known as lytico (Koerner, 1952; Arnold et al., 1953; Tillema and Wijnberg, 1953; Kurland and Mulder, 1954a&b; Mulder et al., 1954). Shortly after that, there arose another epidemic that was a complex of Parkinson’s disease and dementia (Parkinson’s-dementia complex or PDC), locally known as bodig (Kurland et al., 1961; Hirano et al., 1961a&b; cf. the earlier observations in this regard in Mulder et al., 1954). Since the work of Kurland, Hirano and colleagues on the underlying neuropathology of these diseases (see also Elizan et al., 1966; Hirano et al., 1966; reviewed and updated in Garruto, 2012), the two diseases have been widely felt to constitute a single neurological syndrome, which is now known as Guamanian ALS-PDC (Galasko et al., 2000, 2002; Plato et al., 2002, 2003). Over the years, many hypotheses have been proposed to explain the epidemic but there is currently no consensus as to which, if any, provides the best overall explanation of all of the observed patterns. (In what 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !285


follows, we will use the phrase lytico and bodig to refer to Guamanian ALS-PDC as it is generally understood. Under this usage for example, when we speak of individuals who succumbed to lytico and bodig we mean individuals who have succumbed to ALS, PDC, or ALS-PDC as there were some individuals who contracted both diseases.) On the other hand, not one hypothesis has been refuted outright and so they all remain viable explanations, even if unsatisfactory. Rather than review these hypotheses (some of which have been reviewed by Garruto (2012) anyway), we will here focus on resurrecting one of the oldest hypotheses to explain lytico and bodig, namely the hypothesis of an infectious disease etiology, specifically the viral encephalitis hypothesis (Koerner, 1952; Arnold et al., 1953; Tillema and Wijnberg, 1953; Mulder et al., 1954). Since its initial proposal in the early years of the epidemic, the viral encephalitis hypothesis would resurface time and again (Gibbs and Gajdusek, 1972, 1982; Hudson, 1981, 1991, 1993; Miura et al., 1987; Shimura et al., 1987; Hudson and Rice, 1990; Underwood, 1992; Okumura et al., 1995), but apart from the circumstantial comparative neuropathological evidence provided by Hudson and the evidence on birth-month seasonality provided by Underwood, there has been as of yet little else to support the hypothesis. Here we bolster the viral encephalitis hypothesis by reanalyzing an up-to-date version of Underwood’s data, and, in addition, we will also provide some supporting historical evidence that have hitherto not been considered in this light. We reserve the more technical matters of our work to a forthcoming publication, and will focus on developing a generally accessible exposition

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Evidence from Seasonality and Secondary Sex Ratio of Guamanian ALS-PDC From Figure 1, we see that the major part of the epidemic ranges from about just after World War II (WWII) to about the mid-1980s. Given an age-of-onset of about 40 years for the syndrome, Underwood (1992) noted that this time frame for the major part of the epidemic would for the most part correspond to the birth cohort of those born in the interval 1901-1940. As alluded to earlier, Underwood (1992) found evidence of birth-month seasonality in Chamorros who were born in the interval from 1901 to 1940 and who eventually succumbed to lytico and bodig (cf. Underwood’s (1991) finding of birth-month seasonality in mortality for the general population). Some background on the specifics of her study is required here for a better understanding. First, she meticulously constructed a demographic database of Guamanian Chamorros starting with the 1897 census (Underwood, 1990) all the way through to 2011 (Anne K. Underwood, personal communication). From this demographic database, she isolated the individuals who died of lytico and bodig and grouped them according to their

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birth-month. She did this for Chamorros born in the interval from 1901 to 1940 because this birth-cohort

Figure 1. Sum of 5-year averages of annual incidences of Guamanian amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson’s-dementia complex (PDC). Data are from Plato et al., (2003). The curves are not meant to be analytic but mainly to portray the major features of the epidemic. Sum of ALS and PDC: Total (solid line); Males (long-dashed line); Females (dotted line).

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corresponds to the cohort of individuals who would come to manifest lytico and bodig in the peak phase of the epidemic (Figure 1). On comparing the observed annual distribution of births to the expected, she found by a chi-square test that there was significant evidence of birth-month seasonality (Figure 2A). Here seasonality simply refers to the statistically significant tendency for observations to be grouped around a certain part of the year more so than would be expected by chance. We found after analyzing her most recent dataset that the initial seasonality result did not hold up (Figure 2B). This may be due to a “tightening” of disease definitions and associated designation criteria for disease-affectation status as knowledge of the syndrome accrued over time and a consequent re-classification of borderline affected cases to the unaffected status. However, we cannot confirm this because Dr. Underwood was recently deceased. 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !287


Figure 2. Average monthly incidence of Guamanian amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson’s over the period 1901-1940 by birth-month. Observed and expected curves are in solid and dashed lines, respectively. A. Re-drawn from data obtained from graphical digital data extraction software applied to Underwood’s (1992) Figure 1. B. Computed from Underwood’s most up-to-date dataset as of 2011.

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Still, we felt that perhaps a more rigorous analysis might shed some light on this issue. For this reason, we performed a periodic regression analysis which essentially fits the terms of a Fourier expansion to the data. A Fourier expansion can be plotted as a periodic sine curve, hence the name periodic or trigonometric regression (Bliss, 1958; Fellman and Eriksson, 2000; Barnett and Dobson, 2010; Shumway and Stoffer, 2011). Because it is still a regression model, we were able to test for seasonality by way of the analysis of variance or ANOVA following Bliss (1958). We found that there was a significant interaction between years and a two-phase periodic regression model. This 288 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


result can be understood by referring to the yearly mortality profile of the birth cohort (Figure 3). We see that there are roughly two patterns. For about the first 25 years there was an elevated oscillatory level of mortality reminiscent of an infectious disease epidemic, and then for roughly the last 15 years there was a reduced level of mortality associated with an attenuated oscillation to eventual termination of the epidemic. If there was significant seasonality in the first part of this overall pattern and none in the second part, then it is understandable that we would indeed find an interaction between years and a seasonality signal.

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Figure 3. Mortality by birth-year for Guamanian amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson’s for the period 1901-1940.

Seasonality in the lytico and bodig mortality data implies some kind of “tracking” of an environmental factor such as rainfall. Thus, we analyzed the relationship between rainfall data for the interval 1909-1939 and the corresponding normalized incidence of lytico and bodig (Figures 4A-B). We found that there was a significant correlation between both the mean normalized incidence of lytico and bodig and a 3-year lag in total annual rainfall. Similar relationships were observed between total and mean daily rainfall and the mean normalized prevalence. We will have more to say about this result later on. Moreover, it is noteworthy that when broken up into two temporally 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !289


contiguous segments, the correlation between normalized mortality prevalence and rainfall for the first segment is higher than that for the second segment and the variance in normalized mortality prevalence is higher for the first segment than that for the second segment. These patterns are consistent with the periodic regression results. In turn, rainfall seasonality in the mortality data implies some etiological agent that in some way can be said to track rainfall. We suggest that there are at least three such potential etiological agents: 1) infectious disease, 2) minerals in the soil such as aluminum (Garruto, 2012), and 3) cyanobacterial-toxin-enhanced bioavailability of aluminum (Miller and Sanzolone, 2003). While these are equally viable hypotheses on the seasonality results alone, the historical data presented below would seem to favor the infectious disease hypothesis.

Figure 4. Mean normalized incidence of ALS and PD versus (A) total annual rainfall (mm) and (B) mean daily rainfall (mm) for the years 1908 - 1940. Statistical analyses were restricted to the years 1909 - 1939 as these years comprised the most complete records of the rainfall dataset for Guam. Rainfall data are from Kubota and Chan (2009). 290 ! ăƒť 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


A third line of evidence that would seem to support an infectious disease etiology comes from our analysis of the secondary sex ratio (SSR), here defined as the ratio of males to females at birth after Underwood (1994). The SSR can help us to better ascertain the probability of an environmental derived etiology because it is wellknown to be an indicator of environmental stress, especially as it relates to mortality and morbidity in early childhood (Mathews and Hamilton, 2005). From chi-square analysis of the SSR for affected and unaffected individuals (affected and unaffected SSR, respectively), we found that the affected SSR is significantly higher than the unaffected SSR. More to the point, by breaking up the 40 year block for the birth cohort (i.e. from 1901 to 1940) into five- and ten-year periods, we found that the elevated signal for the affected SSR holds only for the first half of the 40 year block, which is consistent with both the periodic regression and rainfall correlation analyses. The elevated affected SSR is a crucial observation, we believe, because of the robust pattern of a male-biased mortality and morbidity due to infectious disease (Shettles, 1958; Washburn et al., 1965; Goble and Konopka, 1973; Green, 1992; Klein, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2012; Fish, 2008; Guerra-Silveira and Abad-Franch, 2013).

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To sum up this section, three complementary lines of evidence point to an infectious disease etiology of lytico and bodig. The two main specific infectious diseases that have been suggested under this hypothesis are encephalitis due to JEV and encephalitis due to the polio virus, the virus that causes poliomyelitis.

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Before proceeding to the next section, we note here that another important observation is in regard to the regional geography of the syndrome epidemic. In particular, lytico and bodig incidence and prevalence was highest in Southern Guam, especially in Umatac, and in Rota (Reed et al., 1966; Reed and Brody, 1975).

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Bio-Historical Evidence for Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV) and for Poliomyelitis Japanese encephalitis virus There are three lines of evidence that support the hypothesis that JEV is the etiological agent of lytico and bodig: 1) The occurrence of an outbreak of JEV from 1947 to 1948 at the beginning of the lytico and bodig epidemic (Hammon et al., 1958); 2) A serological study on the prevalence of antibodies to JEV demonstrating prevalent inapparent JEV infection—in general, inapparent infection is also known as subclinical infection or infection not requiring clinical attention—mainly in Southern Guam and prevalent JEV infection in domesticated animals that may serve as a reservoir (Hammon et al., 1958); and 3) Entomological surveys demonstrating that the 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !291


mosquito vector of JEV was prevalent during the appropriate time period on Guam from the early 1900s up to the 1947-1948 JEV epidemic (Fullaway, 1912, 1913; Swezey, 1942; Knight et al., 1944; Reeves and Rudnick, 1951; Nowell, 1976) and quite possibly on Rota (Bohart and Ingram, 1946; Bohart, 1956; Nowell and Sutton, 1977).

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Regarding the first line of evidence, in fact Mulder et al. (1954) noted that one patient who contracted bodig had survived the JEV outbreak. Further, Hammon (1953) reported that he had isolated JE virus from brain tissue samples from two individuals who died of encephalitis over the course of the epidemic. However, Hirano et al. (1961) in interviews with patients and their relatives specifically about any history of encephalitis in the patient’s medical history found that no one could remember such events. Obviously, this “negative evidence” would seem to detract from the poliomyelitis hypothesis as well. The complete lack of any kind of clinical history regarding encephalitis is consistent, however, with the hypothesis of inapparent infection postulated by T. Miura and colleagues (Miura et al., 1977; Miura, 1987; Miura et al., 1987; Shimura et al., 1987; cf. the discussion in Shimura et al. (1987) which shows that this hypothesis has often been postulated by other investigators for other neurological disorders). Under said hypothesis, it is possible for individuals to experience bouts of inapparent infection early in life that would eventually give rise after some indeterminate period of latency to clinical disease later in life. A corollary of the hypothesis of inapparent infection holds that, just as infections can give rise to epidemics, inapparent infections can give rise to inapparent epidemics (Miura, 1987). This idea of an environmental stressor experienced early in life that eventually gives rise to a neurological disease later in life has been proposed in general (Liu et al., 2003; Landrigan et al., 2005; Logroscino, 2005) and in regard to lytico and bodig in particular (Calne et al., 1986; Eisen and Hudson, 1987; Garruto, 1996) and so it is not at all an outrageous idea. We note here that this counter-argument applies to the poliomyelitis hypothesis just as well and will take it up again when we discuss the evidence for it.

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The age distribution of JEV infection is significant here. Data from different sources indicate that the peak incidence of JEV infection is in children 3 to 6 years of age (Vaughn and Hoke, 1992; Endy and Nisalak, 2002; Halstead and Jacobson, 2003). This age distribution of JEV infection provides a mechanism for generating the correlation of lytico and bodig mortality with a 3-year lag in rainfall mentioned earlier. The second line of evidence dovetails nicely with the previous line in that the singlemost compelling empirical finding for the general hypothesis of inapparent infection 292 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


is the fact that for many infectious diseases a large percentage of a given population can be seropositive for the infection and yet not have any overt manifestation of disease or clinical history in this regard (cf. a similar argument in Miura (1987)). In fact, it has been noted that for JEV infections the ratio of clinical cases to asymptomatic infected cases ranges from 1:50 to 1:1000 (Vaughn and Hoke, 1992; van den Hurk et al., 2009; Turtle and Solomon, 2013). That is, for every clinical case there can be anywhere from 50 to 1000 infected individuals who do not manifest frank disease. This was ostensibly the case for JEV on Guam. We hasten to add that this was found to be the case in Japan (Miura et al., 1977; Miura, 1987). In Figure 5A&B, we present the results from the seroepidemiological study by Hammon et al. (1958) on normal individuals (i.e. apparently healthy individuals) from Northern and Southern Guam. As is readily understood on comparing the numbers for Northern and Southern Guam, individuals from Southern Guam have greater levels of inapparent infection (p << 0.01 by a onetailed paired t-test for both assays). That is to say such individuals were clearly infected with JEV and yet were deemed normal by trained physicians in this case. Further, the prevalence of inapparent infection would seem to favor the view that JEV had been endemic on the island for quite some time. Indeed, this is how Hammon (1953: 342) interpreted these results in his report of JEV on Guam and other Pacific areas: “Of particular interest . . . is the finding that the sera of numerous normal natives gave results indicating that infection with Japanese B encephalitis virus [the older name for JEV] had been experienced by some at least a year and possibly many years prior to this recognized outbreak.�

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Before we move on, we note that the differential geographic distribution fits that for lytico and bodig exactly in that the southern villages, especially Umatac, Agat, Merizo, and Inarajan, were differentially affected by the syndrome. Further still, given that JEV is one of those peculiar viruses that not only has a dead-end human host and a mosquito vector but also a large reservoir of animal species that it can infect and survive in, Hammon et al. (1958) also tested a number of animal species. They found that most of the domesticated animal species save for cats and chickens harbored JEV (Figure 5C).

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Figure 5. Serological data for Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) infection on Guam from Hammon et al. (1958) and for poliomyelitis on Guam from Hammon et al. (1950). A-D: Antibody neutralization assay (black columns). A-C: Complement fixation assay (dark gray columns). A. Results for JEV infection on Northern Guam. B. Results for JEV infection on Southern Guam. C. Results for for JEV infection in domesticated animals. D. Results for poliomyelitis infection in children on Guam. 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ăƒť !295


As just mentioned, JEV requires a mosquito vector for transmission to humans and thus if JEV is to be causal for lytico and bodig its mosquito vector must be present on Guam and Rota in sufficient numbers for the hypothesis to be viable. It turns out that this is the case as well. Fullaway (1912, 1913) reported that a mosquito, Culex sp. near vishnui, was found on Guam as early as 1911, although Swezey (1942) and Nowell (1976) believed this to be C. quinquefasciatus. This is significant because either species, but especially members of the vishnui subgroup, are JEV vectors (Vaughn and Hoke, 1992; Endy and Nisalak, 2002; Halstead and Jacobson, 2003; van den Hurk et al., 2009). Bohart and Gressit (1951) noted that C. quinquefasciatus preferentially bred in polluted water on Guam (cf. Bohart, 1956). Moreover, Bohart (1956) noted that C. quinquefasciatus are severe pests at night. After the 1947-1948 JEV epidemic on Guam, Reeves and Rudnick (1951) carried out an extensive mosquito survey on the island. They found that at least two of the mosquito species known to be JEV vectors were prevalent. Of these, Hammon et al. (1958) suggested that C. annulirostris marianae was the vector responsible for the JEV epidemic. It is noteworthy, therefore, that Ward (1984) considered this species to be endemic to the Marianas. As for Rota, several members of the genus Culex, C. quinquefasciatus in particular, were found to be present at least as of 1945 (Bohart and Ingram, 1946; Bohart, 1956; Nowell and Sutton, 1977).

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In extensive tests for encephalitis viruses (20,361 mosquitoes across six species to be exact), Reeves and Rudnick (1951) found no evidence of virus. From the perspective of a proponent of the JEV hypothesis this negative finding is also not too much of a problem for two reasons. The first reason is that JEV has a complex transmission cycle in which it annually cycles through its animal hosts, mosquito vectors, and human hosts and depending on which part of the cycle the virus is in it can be completely absent from its mosquito vectors for part of the year (Vaughn and Hoke, 1992; van den Hurk et al., 2009). In fact, in the seminal studies on the ecology of the JEV transmission cycle by Buescher and Scherer (1959), it was noted that the virus was undetectable for about a quarter of the year from April through late June. We assert that this had to be the case or something like this on Guam because the serological data from Hammon et al. (1958) were from blood samples collected in 1948 (based on the dates for the tables from which the data were extracted, specifically their Table 6 on page 454 and Table 9 on page 455 for Northern and Southern Guam, respectively) and the entomological data from Reeves and Rudnick (1951) were collected roughly around the same time from 1948 to 1949. These data were collected roughly contemporaneously! There is an interesting parallel case from Okinawa. Tigertt et al. (1950) were unable to find evidence of JE virus in vector mosquitoes collected in 296 ! ăƒť 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


Okinawa just after the JEV epidemics there from 1945 to 1949. The second reason why the negative finding of no encephalitis viruses in mosquitoes is not a problem for the JEV hypothesis is that the principal part of the geographic range for JEV is Southeast Asia (Vaughn and Hoke, 1992; Endy and Nisalak, 2002; Halstead and Jacobson, 2003; van den Hurk et al., 2009; Turtle and Solomon, 2013) and as is well known there has historically been significant ship traffic between Southeast Asia and Guam. Hornbostel (1925) observed that mosquitoes, although not necessarily JEV vectors, were inadvertently transported to Guam in the water tanks of whaling ships. Similarly, when he discussed the source of JEV infections, Hammon (1953: 345) wrote, “[w]e must recognize, therefore, that infected men, infected animals, and infected arthropod vectors can be transported by ship and plane, making further spread of this serious epidemic disease a real problem of concern to all tropical and temperature [sic; presumably temperate] Pacific areas, both eastern and western.” Moreover, Mackenzie et al. (2004, 2006) noted that relatively recent JEV epidemics in Western Oceania were probably initiated by wind-blown infected mosquitoes and/or infected birds. Thus it is not beyond reason to expect a not infrequent re-introduction of JEV to the island by ship travel, wind-blown infected mosquitoes and/or infected birds should it ever be completely absent for a time.

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Poliomyelitis We now turn to the hypothesis that poliomyelitis is the causal etiological agent of lytico and bodig. There are several sources of historical evidence that make the poliomyelitis hypothesis attractive, and we will find shortly there is also strong supporting serological evidence rivaling that for JEV (and in fact obtained by the same principal investigator, W. McD. Hammon). Our arguments start with the arrival of the steamer the El Cano at Guam in 1899 shortly after the Spanish-American War (Figure 6). The El Cano arrived at Guam having traveled from Manila with about 700 passengers (Driver and Brunal-Perry, 1998: 111). Further, we find from American Naval medical officers at the time that a poliomyelitis epidemic had started on Guam shortly after and was probably due to, it was thought, the El Cano’s arrival (presumably due to the passengers of course) (Grunwell, 1900; Leach, 1900; Safford, 1905; McCullough, 1908). We find similar information from the translation of Spanish documents in Driver and Brunal-Perry (1998). In their translation, we find the report made by the Spanish priest and Vicar Provincial of the Marianas Francisco Resano of an influenza epidemic and associated information, such as symptoms, point of origin and the beginning of the epidemic (Driver and Brunal-Perry, 1998: 112-114). Based on tell-tale symptoms related by Father 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !297


Figure 6. The El Cano steamer. The ship was originally a Spanish vessel built in 1885, but was captured by the U.S. in the Battle of Manila Bay, May 1, 1898 during the SpanishAmerican War. Source: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol. II p 334 available on-line at: http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/patrol/pg38.htm. Photo source: NavSource online; available at: http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/09038.htm

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Resano such as victims stiffening (p. 112), pain in the bones that produced rigidity (p. 113), pain in the neck, spine and waist (p. 113), and difficulty or inability in swallowing and breathing (p. 113), combined with the medical opinions of Leach and Grunwell, and based on the common (to all three reports, that is) point of origin and beginning of the epidemic, we conclude that the influenza epidemic reported by Father Resano was in fact the poliomyelitis epidemic reported by Leach and Grunwell. This is a key observation because we will now take it as established that Father Resano’s account was in regard to the poliomyelitis epidemic. Thus, it is extremely significant that when still writing of the epidemic he made the following statement:

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On 13 June of this year, 1899, Father Ildefonso Cavanillas and Father Crisogono Ortín, the priests of Agat and Merizo, came to bid farewell and receive their orders to embark for Manila or directly for Spain via Hong Kong. Once the arrangements for their departure were made, they returned to their pueblos where many were sick. Driver and Brunal-Perry (1998: 112) (italics in original; boldface ours; pueblo is defined as a village in the book) 298 ! ・ 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


Further, we know in another translation of Spanish documents from the same time period by Driver (2000: 12-15) that at the time Merizo was composed of Merizo proper and Umatac. This is confirmed by a footnote in McGrath (1989) regarding similar Spanish documents and by Safford (1905: 137, Table 1) when he reported the results of the 1901 census for Guam in which he listed Merizo (proper) and Merizo (district of Umatag [sic]). Further still, on page 60 in Driver (2000) we find that Father Ortín is described as the priest of Merizo and Inarajan. When put all together this information would seem to imply that practically all of Southern Guam from Agat south to Umatac and Merizo and then to Inarajan was severely affected by the poliomyelitis epidemic. Still talking about the epidemic on page 114 of Driver and Brunal-Perry (1998), we find another important report by Father Resano: “On . . . June, Harrison’s schooner arrived from Japan. He had come via Saipan and Rota and brought us the news that the same illness prevailed in the northern islands (boldface ours).” This observation is important because, under the poliomyelitis hypothesis, it establishes a causal link between poliomyelitis and the lytico and bodig cases in Rota.

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Before delving into the serological evidence, we need to revisit the earlier discussion on inapparent infection. It turns out that poliomyelitis exhibits a striking parallel to JEV in this respect, although it is a waterborne infection as opposed to mosquitoborne. According to Atkinson et al. (2012), as high as 95% of all polio infections are inapparent! Similar to JEV, the ratio of clinical cases to inapparent cases of polio infection ranges from 1:50 to 1:1000, with the usual ratio being 1:200 (Atkinson et al., 2012). With this knowledge, it is therefore not too surprising that Hammon and colleagues found on the basis of serological studies that polio infection was practically endemic in Guam, especially in children (Hammon, 1949, 1951; Hammon et al., 1950; Hammon and Sather, 1953). In Figure 5D, we report the serological results for antibodies to poliomyelitis from Hammon et al. (1950). It is perhaps best to let Hammon himself interpret these results. To this end, we use to quotes from Hammon (1951):

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It will be recalled (table 1 [cf. our Figure 5D]) that over 50% of the infants on Guam are infected before the first birthday and paralytic disease is not observed there. However, according to a very complete report made by a visiting American naval medical officer in 1900 [referring to Grunwell, 1900], a disease fitting closely the clinical syndrome of paralytic poliomyelitis attacked a large portion of that isolated population, but paralytic cases occurred chiefly in the age groups above 15 years and spared the very young. We might postulate 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !299


that since that apparent introduction of virus by a trading ship it has spread rapidly during infancy, and the population has remained free from paralytic disease through early immunization. (boldface ours; p. 744) We have drawn further indirect evidence from epidemiologic reasoning about the apparent persistence of poliomyelitis virus on the island of Guam, where rubeola, pertussis, epidemic parotitis and other solidly immunizing infections have died out repeatedly and required reintroduction by visitors. Streptococcal and diphtherial infections appear to remain present there and evidence suggests that poliomyelitis must have remained similarly, probably through reinfection of immunes who became inapparent carriers. (boldface ours; p. 746) It is clear from these statements that Hammon envisioned a scenario of prevalent inapparent poliomyelitis infection in the Guamanian population in the critical time frame of 1900 up until the time of his work there in 1948. This work received some attention in the national press as Figure 7 demonstrates. Note also Hammon’s comments in these news articles as they pertain to the idea of inapparent infection.

Figure 7. Left panel: Article from the Eugene Register Guard, September 18, 1949, p. 2B. Right panel: Article from the St. Petersburg Times, October 9, 1949, p. 55.  300 ! ăƒť 2nd Marianas History Conference 2013


Both etiological hypotheses in relation to the sex ratio in lytico and bodig As can be readily perceived from Figure 1, one of the more obvious and important patterns exhibited by the syndrome epidemic is that the male-to-female sex ratio in incidence is higher than would be expected by chance if the syndrome affected the sexes equally or, alternatively, if the sexes responded equally to the syndrome. In fact, at its highest the sex ratio was 3:1 males to females. Obviously, any etiological hypothesis must be able to explain this pattern. It happens that both the JEV and poliomyelitis hypotheses can easily account for this pattern because males tend to be infected at a higher rate relative to females. In a recent review of JEV by Tiwari et al. (2012), it was noted that the male-to-female ratio of infection ranges from about 1.5:1 to 2:1. Presumably because poliomyelitis is nearing global eradication there does not seem to be any reviews to our knowledge that quote a sex ratio. However, based on our analysis of over 50 epidemiological reports of poliomyelitis over the period 1887-1987 from around the world we found that the maximum likelihood estimate (under a binomial likelihood model) from these data of the male-to-female ratio is about 1.5:1, with a ratio of 3:1 within the range of statistical variation (Park and Park, 1986). Thus, inapparent epidemics of either could in theory easily generate the male-biased sex ratio observed for lytico and bodig.

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Discussion and Conclusions The epidemic of lytico and bodig in the Marianas remains unsolved to this day. However, we believe that we have uncovered compelling evidence that supports an infectious disease etiology, either of JEV and/or poliomyelitis. Further, it is also possible that both infectious diseases were involved in a unified etiological model, which we call a two-hit model. Under this two-hit model, we hypothesize that poliomyelitis would have delivered the first hit followed by JEV delivering the second hit. This order is supported by their respective age distributions of infection. Polio infection is known to affect the very young (below 3 years of age) as well as older ages in childhood whereas JEV is most prevalent in children in the age range of 3 to 6 years of age. This model could be generalized to a multi-hit model where other environmental insults deriving from aluminum, cycad toxins, and cyanobacterial toxins would compound a pre-existing progression towards frank lytico and bodig. Whatever the precise combination of environmental insults may be, we believe that infectious diseases, particularly poliomyelitis and Japanese encephalitis, occurring early in childhood on Guam and Rota would have been the main etiological movers.

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Acknowledgements We dedicate this article to the memory of Dr. Jane Hainline Underwood, (1931-2011). We thank Drs. Gary Heathcote and Alex Kerr for numerous correspondences with them. We also thank Dr. Don Rubinstein for help with references, especially the “Chronicle of the Mariana Islands”. VPD also thanks Dr. Ralph Garruto for his expert guidance concerning lytico and bodig.

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--Vincent P. Diego earned a bachelor’s in biology, and a master’s and doctorate in biological anthropology. His master’s training was in the mathematical biology of infectious disease, and his doctoral and postdoctoral training were in the statistical genetics of complex disease. Currently, he is a staff scientist in statistical genetics at the Department of Genetics at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. His other interests are in mathematical models of infectious and noninfectious diseases, and, the anthropology, defined in the broadest sense, and history of Pacific Island populations, especially of the Chamorro people. Fall semester 2008, Frank A. Camacho began teaching at his alma mater as the first Chamorro tenure-track faculty member in the Biology Department. Camacho earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in biology from the University of Guam in 1994 and 1997, respectively. In 2005 he earned his PhD in Biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

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Peopling of the Marianas An mtDNA Perspective

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By Miguel G. Vilar Scientific Manager, Genographic National Geographic Society mvilar@ngs.org

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Abstract: A presentation of research which examined the genetic origins and postsettlement gene flow of Chamorros of the Marianas Islands. The procedure was to infer the origins of the Chamorros by analyzing 360 base pairs of the hypervariable-region 1 (HVS1) of mitochondrial DNA from 105 Chamorros and compared them to lineages from ISEA and neighboring Pacific archipelagoes from the database. As a result, 92% of Chamorros belong to haplogroup E, also found in ISEA but rare in Oceania. The two most numerous E lineages were identical to lineages currently found in Indonesia, while the remaining E lineages differed by only one or two mutations and all were unique to the Marianas. Editor’s Note: This paper, presented at the Marianas History Conference, was not made available for publication.

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--Dr. Miguel Vilar is the Science Manager for National Geographic’s Genographic Project and visiting faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. Miguel is both a molecular anthropologist and a science writer. His fieldwork has taken him to remote places throughout the South Pacific, East Africa, Mesoamerica, and the Caribbean. In the laboratory he researches the modern genetic diversity of human populations from Melanesia, Micronesia, North and Central America, and the Caribbean. Miguel has published in several anthropology and genetics journals, as well as popular science magazines.

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