Please Help the 1st Chamorro Lunar Calendar Festival!
Here’s a comment from Selina that I thought needed more eyeballs! – Kel.
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*** 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
for us locals: pronounced 'you ya' not 'zyoo zya' from yona! 
is it possible to have any connection with ms shirley chu?any contact details.plsss 
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Yuya's got the best local music video! AND... shot in our vill! shame on us! hehe. 
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Comment by Jayton Okada on 6 January 2009:
I can’t wait, I’m sure of course my family will try and chip in what we can, but… I’m not to great at weaving other than simple kid stuff and making the thatching for the roof.
I think the best thing that could be done is approach and contact all the Chamorro teachers in the middle and high schools, as well as all the cultural groups that would enjoy helping out.
Comment by Don Muna on 7 January 2009:
count me in! i can set up tables and stuff like that, but i’m like jayton… i can only weave the simple stuff… but honestly i think i’m probably more affective at the manual labor tasks.
Comment by si selina on 7 January 2009:
Yay! At least you’re willing to help. I’ll figure out what needs to be done–BESIDES weaving. ;p
If you guys are serious, I’m including your names in my report to the committee.
Meanwhile, we still need people who can offer coconuts, coconut milk, fruit & vegetables, and manpower.
Don and Kel… can you guys send me email messages w/your email address? I only have the Shiro’s Head one.
Comment by Jayton Okada on 8 January 2009:
Selina, I’ll definitely be able to provide manpower.
What kinds of fruits are you guys needing?
I have a few banana and plantain trees and I might have some lemmai still.
How many coconuts would you guys possibly be needing?
Please feel free to contact me at 482-6725
or via e-mail at jayton.okada@gmail.com
Comment by Jayton Okada on 13 January 2009:
Does anyone have any updates concerning the Festival?
I’m still very eager to give a helping hand anyway I can!
Comment by Don Muna on 13 January 2009:
i believe the man to talk to is sinot onedera… maybe your moms will have his email addy.
Comment by Jayton Okada on 13 January 2009:
Yeah she does, but I rarely see mom even if we stay across the hall from eachother.
I’ve turned nocturnal
Comment by si selina on 14 January 2009:
Håfa Adai! Dispensa na ti hu o’ppe todu i finaisen-miyu trabiha.
At this time, we need volunteers to help with preparing different Chamoru dishes such as kamuti, golai hågon suni, golai åppan aga’, tamales mendioka, hineksa’ agaga’ (red rice), and/or whatever else that calls for indigenous vegetables/fruits and fish products. Again, we are not serving meat products AT ALL.
If you or someone you know cooks Chamoru food and would like to contribute, get in touch with me ASAP so we can make arrangements. Time is of the essence, and I still need a lot of help.
Please send a message to sonederasalas@yahoo.com.
Comment by si selina on 17 January 2009:
I need artists and vendors too. Jayton, do you have any type of exhibit you can showcase at the festival? I sent you a text message the other day (to call me). Call me, fan?
I also sent messages to Shiro’s Head’s email address (for Don and Kel) and Sumahi Stories (for Mr. Bevacqua).
We’d be honored to have all three of you there. PLEASE RESPOND SOON–time’s a-wastin’.
Comment by si selina on 17 January 2009:
(For Jayton)
I meant to ask if you can have some sort of display for the GMI.
Comment by Jayton Okada on 20 January 2009:
Selina, sorry for the late response.
Thank you for the offer, but at this time I feel very unprepared for having an exhibit. But thanks a lot for thinking of us! GMI is still maturing and there’s many diverging paths for the organization. Once our roots are firmly settled into the ground then I’d be more confident with taking GMI’s identity more and more into the public’s ever so wandering eyes. But once again, thanks for the consideration. I’ll be sure to be there this weekend… what time will you all be setting up? I’d love to stop by to help out and to document the event.
Comment by si selina on 20 January 2009:
You are welcome to join us at whatever time, but it’s best that you try to be there for the chinahan. If you’d like to be there to help with placing the fish into the chahan, try to be there by two o’clock.
I’m looking forward to meeting you and everyone else!
Comment by Jayton Okada on 20 January 2009:
Thanks a lot,
I’ve invited a few friends to experience this momentous occasion!
Comment by si selina on 26 January 2009:
Happy Chamoru Lunar New Year!
To Miget and those I might not have had the chance to see at the festival, Dångkolu na si Yu’os ma’åse’! The blessing of the chåhan and the unearthing of the food was positively touching. There were so many curious people there. I must admit, I was beaming with pride to have been a part of such a wonderful effort to celebrate the lunar new year and the calendar!