The Old Man and His Grandson

As a child I owned a copy of the tales collected the Brothers’ Grimm, and whenever I didn’t know what to read I would choose a fairy tale at random and lose myself in the story. It was like my analog version of a Kindle back then 🙂 “The Old Man and His Grandson” is one of the shorter tales from their collection, and perhaps you have never heard of it. But it has stuck with me since I first read it over 20 years ago and it has always been at the top of my list of stories to translate into our language. In this post, I am excited to share my translation of this story, which was edited by my Chamorro language teacher Ray Barcinas and my fellow learner Jesus Lujan. This post includes the Chamorro text, a Chamorro audio narration by Jay Che’le, notes on word usage, and the English version of the story. Happy reading!

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Mark 1

This week in our practice group, we will be listening to and reading the first chapter in the book of Mark from the 1908 Chamorro Bible. Jay was out of town all week for work, so I’m giving him a break from recording for the week 🙂 The full text of 1908 Chamorro Bible is available digitally for free at the chamorrobible.org website, along with some audio recordings of the readings. In this post, I’ve included the Chamorro text with updated spelling, an English translation from the King James Version, and the Chamorro audio narration by Josephine Chargualaf Varley. Happy reading!

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Estorian Luta: The Squeaky Cart

Our Saturday morning practice group will be reading a short story this week. This is a story from the island of Luta, about a cart that is sometimes seen and heard at night. It has some spooky vibes, which is perfect for the end of October. This post includes the Chamorro text, an English translation, and a Chamorro audio narration by Jay Che’le. Happy reading! (Updated 11/2/2024: Added footnotes on select words and phrases to highlight the main discussion points from our practice group session.)

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Estorian Taotaomo’na: The Ones Driven Out

Our story for this Saturday’s practice group is this fantasy short story written by Jay Che’le, edited by Ray Barcinas and friends. In this story, we follow the fictional main character Chå’ as they recount a dramatic encounter with taotaomo’na in Talaifak (a historic Chamorro village on the southen end of modern-day Hågat/Agat on Guam). This story draws inspiration from different encounters with taotaomo’na that happened in Jay’s family in Talaifak over the years, some of which still give everyone goosebumps when they recall them. These encounters range from people suffering a sleepless night, to a dramatic instance when a mango tree was burned to expel the ill-intentioned taotaomo’na (who were in the tree) to the islet of Annai. This explusion of these spirits is why Jay’s mother always told him to never go to Annai.

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

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Estorian Taotaomo’na: The Story of the Fragrant Woman

Another taotaomo’na story this week, from the island of Guam. Set in the village of Agat, this story is about a woman who is accompanied by a strong fragrance and a family who desire to know more about her. There seem to be several stories of the “white lady” or “fragrant woman” spread throughout our islands. Have you heard of a woman like this? This post includes the Chamorro text, English translation, and Chamorro narration by Jay Che’le. Happy reading! (UPDATED 10/14/2024 with discussion notes from our Saturday morning practice group)

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