Tag: Beginner Stories

A Story About the Wisdom of the Elders

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro StoriesLeave a comment

After several weeks of reading through an interview from the Directory of Traditional Healers & Medicinal Plants in the CNMI, our practice group will be reading a story this week from a section of Istreyas Mariånas: Chamorro (accessible via the Inetnun Kutturan Natibun Marianas). The story underscores the importance of helping those who have helped you, even if it isn’t in your own best interest. The author’s narrative style is vivid and conveys clearly his childhood memory of overhearing a conversation between adults and his later reflections in adulthood when he realizes its lessons later in life. In this post we have the Chamorro text, an English translation, and a Chamorro audio narration by Jay Che’le. Happy reading!

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Throw Net for Rabbitfish

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro StoriesLeave a comment

This week’s story will turn back to the topics of food and where it comes from, specifically a particular fish that’s well loved by Chamorros. In this short piece, we’ll be reading about a slice of life from a family of four as they prepare at home and venture out together to catch mañåhak, the young rabbitfish. These tiny fish travel in large schools, usually presenting a great prize for the individuals and communities that pour their efforts into catching them. In this post we have the Chamorro text, an English translation, and a Chamorro audio narration by Jay Che’le. Happy reading!

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Sweet Pumpkin Porridge

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro StoriesLeave a comment

Did you ever eat alåguan growing up? I never heard this term in my childhood, but hot rice or wheat porridge was a common breakfast food (and comfort food!) for me. On a couple of occasions my mother cooked me champulådu (rice porridge with chocolate), but I didn’t like it as much as plain porridge. When I mentioned the word champulådu to Jay’s mom, she had never heard of it. But once I explained the dish, she immediately said, “Oh, we call that alåguan.” While champulådu comes from a Mexican dish called champurrado, alåguan is a more general term. So to kick off our morning practice group for the new year, here is a cozy story in Chamorro that centers around pumpkin porridge, which I found in the UOG Digital Archives and Exhibitions site. This post incudes the Chamorro text, a Chamorro audio narration by Jay Che’le, and an English translation. Happy reading!

Updated 1-13-2025: Added a Chamorro cooking vocabulary worksheet for practicing new words from the story. Un dångkulo na si Yu’os ma’åse to my fellow learner for putting this learning resource together and sharing it with everyone!

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The Old Man and His Grandson

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro StoriesLeave a comment

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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Estorian Taotaomo’na: The Story of the Fragrant Woman

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro Legends, Chamorro StoriesLeave a comment

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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