Land, lineage, traditions, and legacies
Basic biology. The giant clam is a member of the Phylum Mollusca and the Class Bivalvia. These clams have two shells (called “valves”) that are hinged on what is called an umbo. Their flesh or mantle is the mechanism that secretes the clam’s shell.
Hima: Conserving a Cultural Heritage Read Post »
Betel nut use. Areca (Betel) nut is the seed of the palm known scientifically as Areca catechu. Betel nut is the fourth most widely used psychoactive substance in the world, following only caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco. These substances act upon the central nervous system to alter brain function, resulting in temporary changes in perception, mood, consciousness and behavior. Over 600 million people chew betel nut worldwide, including Indians, Asians, and Pacific Islanders. In the Mariana Islands, betel nut, or pugua, chewing is a social pastime that extends friendship.
In 1817 Adelbert von Chamisso recorded the CHamoru terms for what he assumed were cardinal directions: Timi (North), Seplun (South), Manuu (East), Faniipan (West). These terms are sidereal or star directions and not completely analogous to the Western concepts of North, South, East and West. Nevertheless, these sidereal directions (of or with respect to the distant stars, i.e., the constellations or fixed stars, not the sun or planets) are fixed and not situational positions on the horizon and can easily be used as abstract cardinal directions.
CHamoru Sidereal Direction Terminology Read Post »
Summary Workshop Report epublication. In May-June 2016, Guam is hosting the Festival of the Pacific Arts (FestPac), a region-wide festival celebrating the various arts and cultures of the Pacific. FestPac 2016 will showcase traditional performances, arts and craft displays and demonstrations, music and story-telling. Hosting the Pacific wide festival represents an important and exciting opportunity to highlight cultural identity and heritage among a diverse group of Pacific islanders, many of whom share a colonial past and have felt its impact on traditional practices and lifestyles.
CHamoru Cultural Values Workshop Read Post »
First Global Trade Route in the Pacific. From 1565 to 1815, Spanish galleons sailed the Pacific Ocean between Acapulco in New Spain (now Mexico) and Manila in the Philippine islands. In between these two far flung colonies lay the Mariana Islands, known then as Las Islas de Los Ladrones, which became a stepping stone between the Americas and Asia.
Manila Galleon Trade Route-La Nao de China: A Legacy in the Marianas Read Post »
Project Contributors. Toni “Malia” Ramirez, Antonia Degracia Castro, and Pale’ Eric Forbes, OFM Cap..
Voices of Our Elders Media Files Read Post »
Largest latte house in the Marianas. Found nowhere else in the world, latte first appeared in the Mariana Islands about 800 years ago, during a period known as the Latte Era of Chamorro/CHamoru culture. Each stone is comprised of a vertical pillar (haligi) topped with a hemi-spherical capstone (tasa). Organized in two parallel rows of three to seven stones, the latte likely served as foundation posts for wood and thatch houses that were built on top of them. Representing the apex of CHamoru latte architecture, the massive stones of Taga House, located in Tinian, are 15 feet in overall length.
I Tinituhon is a Guampedia film produced by Fiesta Productions. It is a film based on Guam’s creation myth of Puntan and Fu’una. The film features Andrew Artero and Rita Nauta.
Art and History organizations offered workshop to prepare. In 2016, Guam hosted the Festival of the Pacific Arts, a regional festival showcasing the diversity of arts and performances from over two dozen island nations and territories throughout the Pacific.
Cultural Design with History in Mind Read Post »
From where do the original inhabitants of the Marianas originate? How long ago did they first settle the islands? What kind of migration pattern describes the settlement or settlements of the Mariana Islands? These are some of the questions that researchers are trying to answer regarding the origins and relationships of the CHamoru people.
CHamoru DNA Studies and the Origin of the CHamoru People Read Post »
