Category: Chamorro Stories

A Chamorro Matchmaker

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro StoriesLeave a comment

Over the past few months I’ve been a bit obsessed with matchmaker television shows, and when I stumbled across this story in Påle’ Eric’s book Estoriåye Yo’ I was so excited. We read and translated this story in our Saturday morning practice group, and all of us got a great chuckle at the story’s end. If you don’t already have a copy of Påle’ Eric’s book Estoriåye Yo’, I would highly recommended getting it. It’s a collection of over 300 stories in Chamorro with English translations for every story, which is fantastic for those of us learning the language. I hope you enjoy this story about I Atkaguete, or The Matchmaker, written by Påle’ Eric Forbes and narrated by Jay Che’le.

Continue reading “A Chamorro Matchmaker” →

Kottura: Gupot Nobena

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro Stories1 Comment

Here’s another cultural piece, from the short stories book I found in the KPV Collection, about devotional prayers and the parties that are held in honor of the saint that the devotional prayer is said to. This short story is in Chamorro with the English translation and narration done by Jay Che’le. Whenever I read or listen to this story, I always end up very hungry because of all the food they describe for the party, and it makes me nostalgic for the days, now 20 years ago, when my family would host events like this or attend them. Hope you enjoy!

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Kottura: Mámaisen Saina Si Piling

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro StoriesLeave a comment

Have you ever participated in the Chamorro custom of mamaisen saina, where permission is asked of the elders for two people to marry? I have not, but I’ve been fortunate to hear stories from others. One of my favorite stories was from my boyfriend’s aunt: when her now-husband arrived at her parents’ house, he brought practically the entire village of Umatac with him!

So here is another Chamorro short story, about the custom of asking permission to marry, narrated by Jay Che’le. I’ve included a Chamorro transcription, English translation, and the original pdf from the KPV Collection. If you want to read more about this marriage ritual, there is also an article about it on Guampedia.

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Kotturan Chamoru: I Kostumbren Mannginge’

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro Stories3 Comments

When you were growing up, did you practice the Chamorro custom of respectfully greeting elders by taking their hand and sniffing it? In my family we would just go around giving hugs and kisses to our elders, so when I was introduced to this custom I wasn’t used to it at all! Here is a short story in Chamorro about this custom, written by Carmen C. Blas, from a book about Chamorro customs that I found in the KPV collection (the direct link to the entire PDF can be found under the References for this post). If you would like to learn more about the mannginge’, I have also included a short list of free, online resources for further reading on this Chamorro custom.

This post includes the Chamorro text, an English translation of the story and a Chamorro audio narration by Jay Che’le. Happy reading!

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Legend: The Guam Rail and the Monitor Lizard

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro Legends, Chamorro StoriesLeave a comment

When I was little, this legend was always a favorite of mine and I was very excited on the day I realized I could finally read it in Chamorro. This version in Chamorro is good for beginners because the sentences are short and simple. In this post I’ve transcribed the Chamorro and included the English translation, and the original pdf is also in this post if you prefer to see the illustrations while reading. The narration is done by Jay Che’le. Enjoy!

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