Tag: KPV Collection

The Young Man and the Tiger

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro StoriesLeave a comment

HÃ¥fa adai! It has been a quieter than usual on the blog these past few weeks, mostly due to me being frequently unwell. I’ve been trying to rest more, but I’ve missed posting on the blog. Jay and I are also on vacation for most of June, so it may be continue to be quieter than usual until July. But I will try to post when I can. Enjoy summer and take care of yourselves 🙂

In this post is a Chamorro story that our Saturday morning practice group read and translated a few Saturdays ago. Jay had an unexpected business trip that week and was unable to record the narration ahead of time. So he ended up reading the story live to the group. This is a fun (and long) story that is a Chamorro retelling, by Dolores Marciano, of a folktale from Thailand. And it’s another great find from the KPV Collection 🙂 This post includes a Chamorro narration by Jay Che’le, the Chamorro text, and an English translation. Happy reading!

Continue reading “The Young Man and the Tiger” →

Kottura: I Taotaomo’na

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro StoriesLeave a comment

Our Saturday morning practice group will finish reading and translating The Dolphin and the Two Children this week, so the new story for this week is a bit shorter. It’s from a book written by Carmen C. Blas about different Chamorro cultural beliefs and practices, which I found in the KPV Collection. This short piece discusses beliefs about the taotaomo’na, or ancestral spirits. The Chamorro text, an English translation, and a Chamorro audio narration by Jay Che’le is included in this post. Happy reading!

Continue reading “Kottura: I Taotaomo’na” →

The Beautiful Woman at the Well

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro StoriesLeave a comment

This story evokes elements of the legend of the scented woman or the white lady, and we’ll be reading it this Saturday in our morning practice group. It’s another story from the KPV Collection (details below) which has been an invaluable resource for our practice groups. I’ve marked this story at the Intermediate Level, but the grammar isn’t too complex, so it’s also great for upper-level beginners who know a fair amount of common vocabulary and have famliarity with reduplication and plural man- prefixes.

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

Continue reading “The Beautiful Woman at the Well” →

Legend: The Story of Sirena

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro Legends, Chamorro Stories2 Comments

This is the legend of Guam’s mermaid, Sirena, written in Chamorro by Dolores I. Marciano from a book I found in the KPV Collection (details below). When I was a kid I used to interpret this story as a warning to children, to always obey our parents. Reading this story again as an adult makes me realize it’s also about parenting. It’s a warning to parents to have a care for the words they use with their children, but also about the pain of letting go of them. We did deep dive on this legend with Ray Barcinas a few weeks back, and his analysis moved us and brought a few of us to tears.

So here is the Chamorro legend of Sirena, with Chamorro text, a Chamorro audio narration, and an English translation. I actually recorded this narration because Jay was in Europe all week for work and things got too busy for him to do the recording. But as soon as he gets back, I’ll have him record his narration and I’ll update the audio. 🙂 Happy reading!

Continue reading “Legend: The Story of Sirena” →