This past Saturday, our evening practice group didn’t meet because Jay was at a conference, so I transcribed this song during a solo study session. I got some much-needed help from Jay and our study group to clarify a few tricky words—big thanks to all of them! I really enjoyed both the music and lyrics to this song, and I think its message of leaving behind a toxic person and relationship will strike a chord with many. In this post, you’ll find the Chamorro lyrics and an English translation for Ti Hu Nisisita Hao sung by Jocelyn Toves. Happy listening!
Continue reading “Kåntan Chamoru: Ti Hu Nisisita Hao”Year: 2025
Chamorro Taro Dishes
Chamorro recipes that use taro root or taro leaves were rare for me when I was growing up, as they weren’t easy for us to find here in the Pacific Northwest. It was more common for my grandmother to cook with other roots, particulary kamuti (sweet potato), and spinach leaves are a frequent subsitute for the taro leaves when cooking the gollai hagon suni. In this post we will learn more about taro on Guam, and read five short recipes for cooking taro. This is the fourth part of the book Manmannge’ Na Nengkanno’ I Manchamorro Yan Taimanu Manmafa’tinas-niha written by Carmen C. Blas, which I found in the UOG Archives and Digital Collections website. This post includes the Chamorro text, an English translation, and a Chamorro audio narration by Jay Che’le. Happy reading!
Updated Feb-8-2025 with discussion notes from our Saturday morning practice group.
42 Words for Animals in Chamorro (with Audio Pronunciations)
Animals are a fun and memorable category for building your Chamorro vocabulary. They are often featured in Chamorro legends and stories, and are usually part of everyday life. In this post, we will learn 42 different Chamorro words for different animals. As a note, animals specific to the Mariana Islands will be covered in a separate post. This post also includes audio pronunciations voiced by Jay Che’le. Happy studying!
Continue reading “42 Words for Animals in Chamorro (with Audio Pronunciations)”Kåntan Chamoru: Manmenhalom
This past Saturday our evening practice group welcomed a new member, so we made him choose the song. He ended up choosing Manmenhalom by Daniel De Leon Guerrero, which is an energetic song conveying deep pride in being Chamorro. This one is on the slightly faster side, but everyone did such a great job when it was their turn to listen and transcribe the lyrics. This more recent recording from Dåndan Marianas is a really nice acoustic version, which makes it great for learners. So here are the Chamorro lyrics and and English translation for the song Manmenhalom by Daniel De Leon Guerrerro. Happy listening!
Continue reading “Kåntan Chamoru: Manmenhalom”
Chamorro Banana Recipes
Another common ingredient featured in Chamorro cooking is the chotda or the green banana. It is often cooked in coconut milk in a dish called gollai åppan chotda, or else it might be dipped in flour and fried to make banana fritters. In this post we will learn about the chotda (green banana) and go through three recipes that use either the green banana, or the aga’ (ripe banana). These selections are from the book Manmannge’ Na Nengkanno’ I Manchamorro Yan Taimanu Manmafa’tinas-niha written by Carmen C. Blas, which I found in the UOG Archives and Digital Collections website. This post includes the Chamorro text, an English translation, and a Chamorro audio narration by Jay Che’le. Happy reading!
Lengguahi-ta 