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Ålas: Turtle Shell Ornaments
The term ålas (derived from the Spanish term alhajas, which means jewelry) refers to turtle shell valuables used within the highly reciprocal associations of the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands. Women, most especially, wore turtle shell as body ornamentation.
Chenchule’: Social Reciprocity
Chenchule’ refers to the intricate system of social reciprocity at the heart of ancient and contemporary CHamoru society. Chenchule’ is a support system of exchange in which families express their care and concern for each other, as well as a sense of obligation to each other while working together to help each family meet its needs.
Warfare
Early European accounts of ancient Chamorro/CHamoru warriors marveled at their strength, skill and fearsome weapons. According to one missionary, CHamorus were amongst the strongest of any race yet discovered, exemplified by an incident where a CHamoru lifted up two Spaniards, one in each hand.
Theater
Performing theaters on Guam became a home to many plays and playwrights, both international and local. As an island that continues to emphasize and perpetuate the custom of story-telling about local history, performing theaters on Guam are havens and are great venues through which stories and cultural thoughts are expressed.
Poetry/Spoken Word
Sinangån-ta Poetry Slam traces its beginnings to the collaborative effort of three Chamorros imbued with a burning desire to cultivate spoken word among the island community.
Agad’na: Canoe Builders
The ancient CHamorus who were skilled at canoe building and navigation were called agad’na. Early European accounts regularly marveled at these CHamoru vessels, William Dampier.
Chant
References to chanting practices of the CHamoru people can be found in early missionary documents. Fray Juan Pobre, writing about his stay in Rota in 1602, described the type of chants he observed during funerary rites. Women performed this ritual during an extended period of mourning around the deceased, prior to burial.
CHamoru Dance
Native dance of the CHamoru people was only vaguely described by early visitors to the Mariana Islands. The Jesuit annual report for 1669 to 1670 provides a rare description of a women’s dance.
Printmaking
Many private print collections on Guam center around authentic Japanese woodblocks including a sizable patronage of French artist Paul Jacoulet. Jacoulet worked out of Japan with master woodblock carver, Kazuo Yamagishi, in the early 1930s and created a body of work based on Pacific cultures, Korea and Japan. Some of his subject matters were Pacific island natives of Micronesia, which provided an affinity with many local collectors on Guam.
Photography
Photography as an art form is relatively new on Guam. There have been visiting photographers on Guam since the early 1900s. However, the evolution of photography as a form of artistic expression of the island residents has only happened within the last half a century.