Our Saturday morning practice group will finish reading and translating The Dolphin and the Two Children this week, so the new story for this week is a bit shorter. It’s from a book written by Carmen C. Blas about different Chamorro cultural beliefs and practices, which I found in the KPV Collection. This short piece discusses beliefs about the taotaomo’na, or ancestral spirits. The Chamorro text, an English translation, and a Chamorro audio narration by Jay Che’le is included in this post. Happy reading!

I Taotaomo’na

Tinige’ as Carmen C. Blas

Este na hinengge, lålå’la’ ha’ esta på’go Guam. Meggai na Chamorro ma’adádahi ha’ siha yanggen puengi yan manmalak i halom tåno’. Meggai lokkue’ na estoria siha put este siha na taotao.

Guaha ilek i manåmko’ na ManChamorro na manggai taotao siha i familia. Estague’ siha manmasåsångan na estoria put i taotaomo’na.

Masångan na un biha humånao manutot håyu gi halom tåno’. Ha manohu buente bente pidåson talaksan tangantångan ya ha uma guatu gi lancho-ña. Yanggen i fuetså-ña ha’ i biha para u kinatga i talaksan, gof makkat, lao ilek-ñiha i manåmko’ na gai taotaomo’na este na biha ya ayu kumåtga i hayu.

I otro na estoria, masångan na yanggen para un tinane’ gi halom tåno’ pat para un fañule’ åmot cha’guan pat håyu para masongge, yanggen ti mangagao hao fine’nana, siña mana’malångu hao.

Este siha na estoria, maseha guaha meggai ti manmanhongge, enaféfekta ha’ i lina’la’ i ManChamorro sa’ manma’åñao makontra i estoria ni’ manmasåsångan ni manåmko’.

The Ancestral Spirits

Written by Carmen C. Blas

This belief is still alive up until today on Guam. Many Chamorros still watch out for them (the taotaomo’na) if it is night and they go to the jungle. There are also many stories about these people.

There are some elders who say that families can have spirit companions.¹ Here are the stories that are told about the ancestral spirits.

It was said that an elderly woman went to chop wood in the jungle. She bundled probably 20 pieces of chopped tangantångan², and she carried it to her ranch. If it was just the elderly woman’s strength to carry the cut wood, it would be very heavy, but the elders said that this elderly woman had a spiritual companion and that was what carried the wood.

The other story, it is said that if you are busy in the jungle or if you will take medicinal grass, or wood to burn, if you do not ask (permission) first, you can be made sick.

These stories, regardless of if there are many who do not believe, they still affect the lives of the Chamorros because they are afraid to go against the stories that are told by the elders.

Notes

¹ gai taotao: In English this literally translates to “has a person” but in the context of talking about taotaomo’na, if a person is gai taotao it means that there is an ancestral spirit helping them. (back to story)

² tangantångan: The tangantångan is a tree that’s quite prolific on Guam because it’s actually an invasive plant to the island. So it grows everywhere and rather quickly. The scientific name is Leucaena leucocephala, and the common English name is River Tamarind. (back to story)

References

Blas, Carmen C. Mangadada’ Siha Na Estoria Pot I Kutturan Guam. KPV Collection. Agana, GU: Guam Secondary Bilingual Education Project Department of Education, 1977.