About the Author

Kel Muna makes up half of the Muña Bros. duo. He is an independent producer, writer and director with over 12 years in the multimedia trenches and a feature film under his belt. Kel graduated as Valedictorian of his film class along with various honors and holds a degree in film from the super-crazy Full Sail School of Film.

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There Are 12 Responses So Far. »

1. 

   Comment by charissa on 16 December 2008:

   No problem kel, thanks for posting it. I was planning on sending you the official press release as soon as I received it. I’m really excited about the event and hope that we get as many people as possible excited too. Sainan Ma’ase for assisting. See you there!
2. 

   Comment by Selina on 18 December 2008:

   What I’m most excited about is that we’re going to have a chåhan with fresh seafood, rice, and vegetables cooked in the chåhan. For the curious minds, the chåhan was our (ancient) way of cooking underground. Everything that’ll be served is strictly comprised of seafood as we are adamant about being as authentic as we’re allowed to be that evening.

   All that being said, I am recruiting local farmers who can provide us with fresh fruits and vegetables (to include aga’, biringhenas, suni, etc.), rice, lemmai and banana leaves, palm fronds, and lava rocks or river stones.

   Dinner will be free and open to the public as well.

   If you or anyone you know would like to help us out, please contact me at sonederasalas@yahoo.com so we can discuss the details further.

   Saina Ma’åse’ ta’lo, Kel!

   (I heart Guamology!)
3. 

   Comment by Lea Brantley on 30 December 2008:

   Hi Kelly,
   Love the website. I also like this Lunar Festival. Have you contacted anyone from the Sea Faring Society. I’m sure they would love to know about this. I know of two guys from there. Mr. Gordon Ritter & Mr. Manny Sikau. I have Manny’s email. I’ll send it to you once I find it.
   Can you send me some more details about this festival. I’m thinking of something that we could do to get invovled.

   Thanks
   Lea Brantley
4. 

   Comment by selina on 30 December 2008:

   Hi, Lea! Please send me a message at my email address (above), and I’ll forward more information to you. As for Mr. Ritter and Mr. Sikau, I believe they’ve already been apprised of everything, but it doesn’t hurt to fill them in as we go.

   Thanks for the support! We need all the help we can get since the festival is only weeks away now.

   si Selina
5. 

   Comment by Kel Muna on 30 December 2008:

   Hi Lea! Thanks for checking out the site and for connecting with Selina about the Lunar Fest. Thanks for the support! It was great to see you and the family last night. You guys haven’t aged a bit - and Naomi and I think your girls are just too cute for their own good.
6. 

   Comment by Marilyn [|;') on 31 December 2008:

   Hi Kel/Hi Don,
   Happy New Year!

   Take care, Marilyn
7. 

   Comment by Marilyn [|;') on 31 December 2008:

   Hi Kel/Hi Don,
   Happy New Year! Lunar festival. Are we doing any advertisement. I can talk to the Co-op employees. Those fishermen knows me. Este mamulan.

   Take care, Marilyn
8. 

   Comment by si selina on 1 January 2009:

   “The CHamoru Lunar Calendar Committee under the auspices of the Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Council and with support by the Guam Fishermen’s Cooperative Association is planning the first ever Gupot Fanha’aniyan Pulan CHamoru or CHamoru Lunar Calendar Festival scheduled for Saturday, January 24, 2009. The festival, an all-day event, will be held on the grounds of the Hagåtña Co-Op which is along the stretch of the Hagåtña Marina and Boat Basin next to the Chamorro Village. It will start at 10am and end at 10pm.

   The day’s festivities will feature exhibits, displays, demonstrations and entertainment fully utilizing the use of the indigenous language and the distribution of the first comprehensive CHamoru Lunar Calendar that has been undertaken by community members on Guam and the CNMI this past seven months. The calendar will feature the moon phases in the CHamoru language, tide charts and a write up of fishing harvesting seasons that have been a major attribute of the CHamorus on Guam and the Northern Marianas. Another major highlight of the festival will be a CHÅHAN which is the ancient way of cooking underground. Once done, a huge feast with the main entrée being seafood will be served to those in attendance. The event will be free and open to the general public.”

   (This is partly quoted from the solicitation letters sent out for corporate/community support from Chairman Peter R. Onedera. And to answer Marilyn’s question, the Co-Op is actually our primary sponsor for the seafood, the logistics, and whatever else they’re able to contribute.)
9. 

   Comment by trench on 2 January 2009:

   Happy New Year guys!!
10. 

    Comment by Marilyn [|;') on 5 January 2009:

    Thanks!! I’ll check Mr duenas.
11. 

    Comment by si selina on 6 January 2009:

    *** Kel and Don, I hope you guys don’t mind my posting these announcements on your site. We need all the support and help we can get/find. Thank you (both) very much for helping us with our efforts.***

    Hafa Adei yan Magof Tinilaikan Sakkan:

    The CHamoru Lunar Calendar Festival will be held on the grounds of the Guam Fishermen’s Co-Op on Saturday, January 24, 2009 from 12 noon to 8pm.

    The festival is the culmination of the forging of a lunar calendar based on the ancient thirteen CHamoru months. A committee began an arduous and challenging task of putting much needed information since March of last year. The group conducted interviews with local fishermen at three town hall meetings on Guam and at the 3rd Chamorro Conference held in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan) last September. In November recently, school children rendered their input with submissions of colorful and thought provoking artwork from which fourteen have been selected representing each month and an overall one for the front cover. At this time, the calendar is undergoing printing in Honolulu and will be ready for distribution on the Saturday, January 24, 2009 mentioned above.

    The calendar and our research efforts have shown that the CHamoru Lunar New Year is on Monday, January 26, 2009, the month of Tumaiguini. Hence, we decided that the festival will be a nice kick off for the significant date. At the festival, entertainment and emcees inclusive of local cultural dance groups and community personalities will conduct their presentations in the CHamoru language. There will also be exhibitors, crafters, artists, and vendors. Two major highlights will occur at the festival: the distribution of the calendars to the public and the other is a chinahan, the ancient CHamoru method of cooking underground. The chinahan will be done on the festival grounds beginning with the ceremonial blessing of the chahan which is a planned three feet deep by eight feet wide hole where fish, seafood and starch crops will be laid in the hole with heated lava rocks. For about four to six hours, the food will be cooking at which an unearthing ceremony will also take place at 6:30pm. After that, dinner with the chinahan food items will be served to those who attend.

    I am writing to you based on my e-mail list and the fact that I’ve worked with many of you in various capacities throughout the years. Because this is the first time this festival will be held and the fact that it highlights a major aspect of the CHamoru culture, I am appealing to you for your help in becoming a part of this event. Because our committee members are all volunteers in the community, we have nothing to offer you in the form of remuneration. In other words, your help will be in gratis.

    However, with a limited budget, we are prepared to foot the cost of the staples involved in the food and its preparation but we are in need of helping hands in the form of cooking, setting the table, serving and replenishing. We have gotten offers of donated fruits and vegetables and we welcome and accept those items, too. If you are able to help in this particular area, do let us know. One important help we need is the weaving of katupats where rice will be cooked. We need weavers for the katupats as coconut leaves will be in use. Meanwhile, I am inviting you to come and join us by attending an important meeting this coming Friday, January 9, 2009 at 7pm at the Guam Fishermen’s Co-Op at the Hagatna Boat Basin. You will be recognized for your help with a certificate of appreciation at the end of the festivities.

    Won’t you please help us? If you know of others who are willing to help, you may also invite them. Please e-mail me back to let me know that you have gotten this message and/or that you will attend the meeting.

    Please Come!

    As a final note, the festival is in twenty(20) days.

    si peter r. onedera
    chairman, CHamoru Lunar Calendar and Festival Committee
12. 

    Comment by Don Muna on 6 January 2009:

    no problemo… Kel just re-posted to push the festival back to the top!

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