Here is a taotaomo’na story from Luta about a taotaomo’na named Tangulu, which literally translates to “skull”. It’s a combination of the words to’lang (which means “bone”) and ulu (which means “head”). Have any of you heard of Tangulu? This story was completely brand new for me, so I’m excited for us to read this in our Saturday morning praktika this week.
This post includes the Chamorro text, English translation, and Chamorro narration by Jay Che’le. Happy reading!
Here is another story about Taga, and this time it focuses more on his family relationships. We learn more about his youngest son, and also one of his daughters. This came from a book entirely about Taga, which we found in the UH Manōa Pacific Languages collection. In this post you’ll find a Chamorro audio narration of the story by Jay Che’le, the Chamorro text, and an English translation. Happy reading!
This story is a pen-pal letter from a third-grader named Maria to Mariko, a student in Japan. This letter is actually the opening segment of a chapter taken from a geography book from the Northern Mariana Islands. This post includes the Chamorro text, a Chamorro audio narration by Jay Che’le, and an English translation. Enjoy!
This story was written by Magdelena Iguel Lieto, where she tells the story, as told to her by her elders, of how their people (the Carolinians) came to Saipan. This is part of a workbook of short stories that I found in the KPV Collection. This post includes the Chamorro text, a Chamorro audio narration by Jay Che’le, and an English translation. Happy reading! (UPDATE 9/24/2024: A note has been added at the bottom of this post about the word gupallao, which is used in this story.)
September is Chamorro and Carolinian Cultural Heritage Month in the CNMI, and so for the next month our practice group will be reading stories in honor of this celebration. This first story is about how Taga, a man known for his incredible strength, became chief of the island of Tinian. This story is from a book about Taga, which was first written down in English and then later translated into Chamorro. We found the Chamorro version, by Sylvestre Iguel, in the Pacific Languages Collection at UH Manoa when we visited in June. This post includes the Chamorro text, a Chamorro audio narration by Jay Che’le and an English translation. Happy reading!
Lengguahi-ta 