paper
Pacific Arts Association
The Re-creation of Chamorro Dance as Observed Through the Festival of Pacific Arts
Author(s): Judy Flores
Source: Pacific Arts, No. 25 (December 2002), pp. 47-63
Published by: Pacific Arts Association
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The Re-creation of Chamorro Dance as Observed Through the Festival of Pacific Arts
Judy Flores Research Associate at RFT- Micronesian Area Research Center,
University of Guam
Rapid staccato drumbeats announced the
arrival of eight warriors, each wearing a loincloth, shell ornaments around his neck, with a long wooden staff in his hand. In a series of intricate
movements, they struck their sticks together in rhythm with the drumbeats, leaping and turning,
adding their shouts and chanting to the graceful movements. This began the Bailan Uritao, or dance of the young warriors, performed by the Guam delegates at the Festival of Pacific Arts in Noumea in October, 2000. The dancers projected pride in their Chamorro heritage and confidence in their performance presentation. They looked like their Pacific brothers from the other 27 island
cultures represented at the Festival. Yet, this was
not always the case for delegations from Guam. The Festival of Pacific Arts provides a point of
reference for looking at Guam's artistic activity over a 28-year span of time. Guam presentations have changed significantly during this period, as shown through statements by observers at the Festival. The Festival of Pacific Arts became for
the Chamorro people a gauge of their develop ment towards a Pacific identity, and also served as
a source of cultural influences and inspirations. In this discourse, I specifically use the develop
ment of indigenous Chamorro dance to trace a parallel re-construction of Chamorro identity based on Pacific motifs and values. Global indige nous movements towards decolonization played a significant role during this same period and this relationship will also be discussed. I propose that the Festival has helped determine the particular direction that Chamorros have taken to reclaim
their indigenous heritage. An insider perspective is added to this dis
course, in the voice of Francisco Rabon, the Master of Chamorro dance1. He received this des
ignation in 1997 in the form of the Maga'lahi
award bestowed by the governor of Guam through the auspices of the Guam Council on the Arts & Humanities Agency. He is recognized for having initiated and spearheaded the development of indigenous Chamorro dance since 1984. Through journals, which he has kept since 1987, he tells of his experiences and inspirations, which have cul minated in a recognized and emulated body of Chamorro dance themes, rhythms and move ments. With his permission, I incorporate his observations about the various Festivals of Pacific
Arts in which he has participated to balance the insider/outsider viewpoints discussed here.
An understanding of the history of the Chamorro people of the Mariana Islands is neces sary to fully appreciate their loss of indigenous memory and subsequent attempts to reclaim that heritage. Guam is the southernmost and largest of the Mariana Islands, a string of 15 small islands situated in the northwestern racihc area or
Micronesia. The native Chamorros felt the effects
of Western influence beginning with a visit by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 and followed by 350 years of Spanish trade ships, missionization and colonization. In 1899 Spain surrendered Guam to the United States. Guam was occupied by Japan during World War II, then reclaimed by the United States. The island is an unincorporated territory of the United States, whose people have been in the process of political self-determination since the 1970s. The people of Guam are U.S. cit izens with a significant degree of local governance based on the U.S. political system. Tourists from Japan, a 3-hour flight from Guam, come to enjoy the tropical beaches, an American life-style, and international shopping.
The long Spanish colonial period left signifi cant influences in the form of Spanish-Catholic religious and social practices, to the extent that the
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native Chamorros both forgot their indigenous his tory and associated themselves with their Spanish bloodlines. American influences further shaped the Chamorro identity to include a closer familiarity with California lifestyles than with their neighbor ing islands. The Chamorro people survive to the present, in a melded, neo-Chamorro society whose remembrance of their indigenous roots had all but disappeared during the long Spanish colonial peri od.
Guam s representation at the Second Festival in New Zealand (1976) was organized by Gregoria Baty, a dance instructor at the University of Guam. Again, I have no official records to trace how or if Guam was officially invited. Funds were apparently obtained from the Governor's Office, probably from National Endowment for the Arts funding allocated to the Insular Arts Council. A group of contemporary dance students under the
direction of Professor Baty, along with a palapala - or traditional party band - made up of members of the Iriarte family, attended this Festival. Leonard
Iriarte described his participation as a teen-age member of the band:
Minority human rights movements and indigenous decolonization activities spread to the Pacific in the 1970s, and Chamorros, like other
Pacific Islanders, began to question their relation ship with their colonizer. Ironically, funding from
their U.S. colonizer enabled the people to estab lish Chamorro history and culture programs in their schools. Two generations of students have now learned about their culture and history and are beginning to write their own versions from an
indigenous perspective2. From these beginnings of exploring a Pacific identity, Chamorro artists have
been creating symbols from their indigenous his tory to reclaim their heritage. It was during this period that the re-creation of Chamorro dance
began. The South Pacific Festival of Arts also sprang from similar, global influences in the 1970s. Guam's participation in the Festival paral leled the development of Chamorro dance.
1 he fact that Guam did not officially prepare and send a delegation representing its indigenous culture until the 1985 Festival in Tahiti indicates
that there was not a strong indigenous movement until the early 1980s. Prior to the 1985 Festival,
any participants from Guam were organized by individuals or small groups who happened to find out about the Festival and who had the initiative
and political contacts necessary to fund travel expenses. Although I found no official records regarding attendance at the First Festival in Fiji (1972), pandanus weaver Tan Elena Benavente and members of her family stated that she attend ed this event under the auspices of the Governor's office. The predecessor to the Guam Council on the Arts & Humanities Agency, called the Insular A.rts Council, was a part of the Governor's Office until 1982. The Governor's Office would have
received notices about the South Pacific Festival of
Arts through their membership in the South Pacific Commission3.
Our group represented the mix of cultures on Guam. It was beautiful. Growing up on Guam you never think about [the mix of cultures], unless someone makes you aware or it. When we got to JNew Zealand, the Niuean delegation was all Niuean, the Tongan delegation was all Tongan, the Samoan delegation was all Samoan. That caught my eye; and also, they all had tradi tional costumes and traditional chants and
dance! We didn't. We had nothing. Nothing. Nothing to show that we came from the ancient Chamorro. Absolutely nothing! We even did modern dance, with black tights and lighting. It was crazy - at a cultural festival - crazy. I would look at the faces of the audience when the Guam dele
gation performed, and they were always puzzled. And the only time those looks changed was when my father and my two sisters and 1 got up on the stage and sang. And I know our songs weren't really great. It wasn't the music — they were Chamorro songs and they couldn't understand what we were saying — but the looks changed on their faces as soon as we started singing. Then it dawned on me that the only com mon thread that we shared with them was
the fact that we sang in harmony — some thing that they all did (Iriarte transcript, 1996:7).
Guam's participation in the Third Festival in Papua New Guinea (1980) was spearheaded by then director of the Insular Arts Council Gallery, Bill Guillily, and school art teacher Gillian
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Hansen. They took an exhibition of contemporary art by some Chamorro (but largely resident non Chamorro) artists, along with a contemporary Chamorro band comprised of Chamorro and non CJiamorro musicians. One or the singers in that band was Chamorro country western-style4 singer
J.D. Crutch, a popular singer of that time. Senator Carmen Kasperbauer also attended as head of the legislative Committee on Culture, along with other officials (Personal communication, 1981). Guam
participants in that festival returned full of praise for the energy of the event. Attending officials pri vately criticized the way Cjuam was represented, some expressing embarrassment about the way Guam members behaved. By the time planning for the Fourth Festival was underway, Guam's partici
pation was strictly under the authority of a 'Festpac'
Task Force appointed by the Governor of Guam and headed by the director of the Guam Council on the Arts & Humanities Agency.
I was a member of the Festpac task force appointed to begin planning for the Fourth Festival in Tahiti (1985)5. In 1983 when the task
force first met to plan Guam's presentation, our initial discussion centered on the question of "What is our culture?" It was generally agreed that
we needed to present something more than our Spanish colonial-era artistic traditions. Former Guam Legislative Speaker Carlos Taitano, who had researched his native heritage, was invited to help with the presentation of Guam's cultural his
tory as told through songs and dances. He was asked to work with Francisco Rabon, (Fig. 1) who
had started a small Polynesian dance group com prised of local youths. For Francisco Rabon, his involvement in the planning of this festival became a turning point in his life:
[Carlos] had just gotten back from travel ing all over the Pacific and he had research material that he wanted to share. Although he wasn't knowledgeable in dance move ments, he had material. "Some of them
were like the bailan uritao (young bache lor's dance), bailan lina'la' (dance of life)." What started to dawn on me was the con
cept that, yes, we existed prior to Spanish colonization! After going through some of the materials that he had, and listening to some of the drumbeats that he had, these
Figure 1. Traditional Dance Master Francisco Rabon uses the Ipu gourd to keep rhythm for his dances. Note the designs which decorate the gourd indicate a pan-Pacific identity to distinguish from the Hawaiian ipu heke. Photograph by Ron J. Castro.
u
Q-.
bo o
o -C Ch
were just ideas that we could extract to do
something of this sort. The chanting to go with the weaving, the building of the latte stone, galaide (canoe), the fa'i (rice). All of this was brand new to me — it was like a
bundle of information, so, wow, let's do
something! (Rabon transcript, 1996: 2)
Francisco Rabon was born and raised in Guam
in what he felt was a traditional Chamorro family.
He grew up speaking Chamorro as easily as he spoke English, and participated in family and community rituals. He loved to dance, and had learned the dances prevalent in his childhood - the
batsu (Spanish waltz) as well as the cha cha of the 1960s and the "hip hop" dances of the 1980s. When he went to college in the State of Washington, he gravitated towards the Polynesian community, recognizing in their culture similari ties to his own. He began to learn their dances. "I
fell in love with the beauty of it...that form of dancing had a new thrill and had an identity," (Rabon transcript, 1996: 2). He became a profes sional Polynesian dancer, both in Guam and in Hawai'i. When he returned to Guam in 1983, he
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Figure 2. Members of the Taotao Tano Dance Group perform a dance from their reconstructed "Ancient Period" reper toire, at Gef Pa'go Chamorro Cultural Fair, February 2000.
-C CL.
tù o
o -C eu
found himself being drawn into the teaching of Polynesian dance. He began to choreograph hula movements to Chamorro music in order to create
something with a local identity. These modest beginnings blossomed with his 1984 introduction to pre-contact Chamorro history by Carlos Taitano.
Frank formed his own Chamorro dance group in 1984, called Taotao Tano', meaning People of the Land (Fig. 2, 3). He did not attend the Fourth Festival in Tahiti (1985) for personal reasons, but he continued to elaborate on indigenous dance interpretations. As he learned more about his pre
contact heritage, he expanded on his repertoire. Whenever he came across materials that specified
certain ways of pre-contact life, he would create a dance for it and incorporate chants that he also created. His group was often called upon to repre sent Guam in cultural and tourism promotions throughout the Pacific, in Asia, and the United States. He writes:
As I continued to develop and interpret the
information given to me by Mr. Taitano in
1984, Taotao Tano' began to establish a foundation of our ancient heritage. We started doing performances throughout the island, and in Rota, Tinian and Saipan, presenting our newly developed Chamorro dance program. We encountered criticism from the audiences because of ignorance and lack of acceptance regarding our peo ples past. No matter how much we explained during performances, we still heard criticism regarding our presentation about our ancient culture. They preferred to accept only the Spanish-period presenta tions; it was something more recognizable and comfortable for them to accept. That didn't prevent us from continuing our pre sentations. I figured if they were able to accept the latte, the petroglyphs and other
ancient artifacts, eventually they would accept what we do. Although it was just re created dance, it was something to start with and to develop. Eventually, we began
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to be recognized and accepted, especially during the inauguration of Governor Ada in 1987.
Our performance at the inauguration of Governor Ada in 1987 was observed by the
Paradise Production Company, who offered us a contract at Pacific Star Hotel's
grand opening in April. This was the first time any hotel in Guam ever decided to allow a Chamorro program to be part of a hotel dinner show. All other hotels were
running Polynesian shows since they start ed operations in the 1970s. In fact, I had participated during the early years as a Polynesian dancer.
By this time our goal as a performing group
was to try and change the image presented to our tourists by the hotel industry. I knew
it was going to be a difficult task but I was willing to take on the challenge. Our pro gram was so well received by the tourists as well as our local audiences that we stayed with Pacific Star Hotel on contract until
1992. During this time we performed on promotional tours in Japan, Taiwan, Korea,
Bali, Australia, Philippines and other desti nations for the Guam Visitors Bureau. We
also went on several inaugural flights with Continental Micronesia throughout the region as they expanded their flight desti nations. The most prestigious event we were asked to participate in was the 5th Festival of Pacific Arts to be held in
Townsville, Australia in August 1988 (per sonal journal, 2001:1).
The Guam delegation was beginning to repre sent its indigenous Chamorro culture, but their presentations were still very different from those of other Pacific nations. Guam presentations for the 1985 and 1988 Festivals used a musical pag eant to explain our loss of indigenous history. This included dances from the colonial Spanish era as well as cha cha and jitterbug, prominent American
influences. Frank's participation in the Fifth Festival in 1988 incorporated his "ancient" dance segments as part of the pageant. Fie still felt that something was missing:
We went to Townsville with a program presentation called "Kantan Kurason" - "Song of the Heart". The program consist ed of a chronology of songs that signified
certain eras of Chamorro history. This musical pageant was to be our presentation in Australia to represent our people. In my heart I knew through my dancing experi ence that something needed to accompany
this program during the Festival. I had never attended a Festival before, but my entertainment instinct told me to prepare. When we arrived in Townsville I observed
the organization as well as the presenta dons by other islands. I nodced how uni form they were during practices and also during opening ceremonies. I was in awe of all the 27 island nations that participated.
We became especially close to the New Zealand delegation, Te Waka Huia, under the direction of Mr. "Bub" Wehi, a very knowledgeable, esteemed and wise individ ual who led the Maori delegation. As I sat and talked with him on several occasions, I
realized that we were basically encounter ing the same struggles. The only difference is that we had more damage done to us by more countries in more years than they had
to contend with. Their culture is fairly well
preserved and documented as opposed to our culture. They had only to contend with the British colonizers.
Known as ' Uncle Bub, he was very inter ested in our people's culture since he had heard very little of Guam and the Chamorros. He mentioned the previous festival in Tahiti and was slightly confused with that presentation and the one in Townsville. I informed him that we are still
re-developing our culture, especially the pre-contact interpretations and that hope fully we can eventually fit in with the other Pacific nations and not look so
Americanized. I was also glad that I was fairly knowledgeable about our people's past and was able to give him a brief histo ry of the Chamorros. He expressed to me that he was delighted to see more indige
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nous presentation from Guam this time around versus that of 1985. He was partic ularly impressed with the "Bailan Uritao" and the "Bailan Lina'la'." He encouraged me to start developing chants and move ments and to not be afraid to contemporize our presentations. He mentioned that one of his biggest challenges in New Zealand was to create interest among the younger generation for continuity of their culture. I
mentioned that this was also a challenge we faced in Guam.
political status. I vowed to continue to develop and re-create anything related to our pre-contact era, and to re-establish the
singing that we must have had in our past, and to try to create a basis for our future
generations to claim ownership of their heritage (personal journal, 2001:1-2).
The most memorable event at the
Townsville festival was the sad occasion of
the death of one of the New Zealand dele
gates. We were asked by "Uncle" Bub to participate in the solemn ceremonies asso ciated with their death rituals. I will not go
into detail regarding the ceremonies associ ated with that death - it will forever be
etched in my memory. My observation throughout the ceremonies was the similar ity of their rituals to ours here in Guam. We were asked to enter and pay our respects, assist in the preparation of food, and welcome the other Pacific nations as
they paid their respects. I was not only honored, but humbled by this gesture from the Maori. It was like we were part of their
family in many ways. Our association con tinued throughout the festival. It was such an awesome experience, and since then Guam and this Maori group have estab lished a bond between us that exists even
today.
They contributed to our development by teaching us how to sing in the style of their beautiful voices, which came from the heart. We also heard the harmonious voic
es of other Pacific Island groups we observed there.
As I left the festival to return home, I real
ized how much more our people had lost throughout the years of foreign domina tion. I also realized just how much more work needed to be done for us to be one
with the other islands, regardless of our
Ironically, Guam s presentations at this and previous festivals represented the multiple cultural
heritage of the island more comprehensively than later presentations. In the eyes of Guam delega tion organizers, the Festival of Pacific Arts seemed to serve as a measurement of their Pacific identity.
Their colonial heritage has, in fact, made Chamorros different from other Pacific nations,
but in this context they wanted to be perceived as Pacific Islanders. In their development of a Pacific Islander image, they felt compelled to select and emphasize aspects of their indigenous Chamorro heritage and to minimize their colonial identity.
Subsequent Festival presentations by Guam showed an inconsistency in the type of art forms portrayed, as those who determined the selection of artists debated the choice of artistic traditions
which represented their perception of Chamorro culture. Artists were selected by a combination of
community judges, officials from the FestpacTask Force and the Guam Council on the Arts &
Humanities Agency whose makeup changed with each Festival. Guam's presentations became more polished and sophisticated in terms of Western stage presence and organization, but what did these cultural portrayals convey to those looking at Guam through the Festival venue? I had an opportunity to have that question answered by a group of regular Festival attendees at the Sixth Festival of Pacific Arts in Samoa, 1996.
The following comments were made by mem bers of The International Council for Traditional
Music - Study Group on the Musics of Oceania during their informal meeting at the 1996 Pacific Festival of Arts in Samoa. This group of about twelve people was comprised of folklore profes sionals from all over the Pacific, many of whom bad attended one or more of the previous Festivals6.
The discussion began with comments on the impression made by past and present performanc
es of the Guam delegation. Three participants had
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seen presentations by Guam at past Festivals. A viewer of the 1976 presentation in New Zealand got the impression that the performance was "put up" and "not real." One of the songs the Guam group sang, in English, was "How Much Is That Doggie In the Window?" (They had seen the per formance of the palapala band of which Leonard Iriarte was a member.) Guam was so known by that
presentation that a friend only had to say, "Remember Guam in '76?" to bring back that memory. Another viewer's impression from listen ing to others was to avoid the Guam group because it was "made up" and "not real." However, this per son's impression of their performance at the Sixth Festival (1996) was that it was quite spectacular. Another observed Guam as the first group to per form at the Third Festival in New Guinea, 1980:
They were not terribly interesting. A com ment after the performance was, "It can only be uphill from here!" However, I saw their performance here and have seen them
go uphill themselves - to go from practical ly nothing to what they have now...this time I think they have something interest ing. It was interesting in what they bor rowed from whom. But what I think they
should do, from the very beginning, is to say that 'this is a reconstruction," so people
will not have the idea that they are trying to be authentic - or perhaps they are trying to be authentic. But I think they should convey to the audience somehow that they have lost so many things for whatever rea son (and they may explain the reasons if they wish) —they should say up front that this is a reconstruction and we have bor
rowed from wherever. I thought the idea of
taking their history from today and looking at the past was very interesting. I would like to know from the people from whom
they borrowed, are they happy about the borrowing? (Adrienne Kaeppler, ITCM discussion participant, 1996)
A hula master, clarifying that the following response was not from the point of view of a Western scholar but from that of a trained hula
master from Hawai'i, gave an opinion on how such borrowings may be perceived by the culture from which they are being borrowed:
First of all, I feel sorry for any culture that
has lost its heritage. However, they should be very careful of what they borrow from other cultures. For example, in my culture,
the ipu heke or double gourd drum is a respected hula instrument found only in Hawaiian culture. When they were using this instrument in their dances, I was very
offended by how they were using it. If need be, they can use the gourd from which the
ipu heke is made and construct their own instrument. But if they use the gourd con structed as an ipu heke, they should play it in its proper context. (ITCM discussion participant, 1996.)
A similar opinion was added:
There is a question of appropriation here. The sense of having something taken away is particularly strong when it involves cul tures who have preserved their traditions. Consequently, when someone comes and appropriates important aspects of that cul ture, it creates bad feelings. The problem is not confined to Guam or any one area; it happens all around the Pacific. It would be very interesting to have performers from Guam meet with those of Hawai'i, and
perhaps other cultures, to discuss this issue. (Jane Freeman Moulin, ICTM discussion participant, 1996)
Barbara B. Smith, Professor Emeritus of
Ethnomusicology, University of Hawai'i, respond ed with comments on the 1996 performance pres entation:
I saw the Guam performing arts group four
times: the opening night; once without the "ancestor" segment at the Cultural Center; and twice with that segment. Here are some of my impressions of the content of the ancestor' segment. I seemed to recog nize some of the stick beating (that near the
beginning) as derived from Hawaiian hula, but was happy to also find some that, in the manipulation of the sticks, seemed clearly to be based on Micronesian stick dances (Carolinian, rather than anything I
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have thought of as Chamorro). Though the pattern, which was repeated many times, was very short rather than the unit of repe tition being a series of short-but-different patterns, which I think is more characteris tic of stick-dances of Yap, NMI, and Carolinian atolls - certainly of that per formed by the group of navigators from Polowat at the Culture Center. Of course I
was aware, not only of the ipu heke but
also of the beating of the Western drum to assist in creating a climax in the stick-danc ing (many people would refer to this as accompanying', but think 'leading' or 'directing' is often — as here — a more appropriate term). To the best of my knowledge, authentic Carolinian stick dances are not so accompanied, but I con sider this part of the 'staging' of the por trayal rather than what is portrayed and therefore not offensive. The use of the gui
tar ensemble in scenes portraying activities prior to its introduction to Guam is simi lar. (Smith, personal communication, letter 1996: 2)
New Guineans who came to the Study Group gathering came back to the hotel to interview me about aspects or previous Festivals, before getting to the matter at hand, he made a point of telling me that he liked the Guam performance very much and that he admired the Guamanian (sic) people. I think his evaluation is more sig nificant than any of the more technical aspects that I have tried to convey. (Smith,
personal communication, letter, 1996:3)
Smith added that during the second week of the Festival, she had a long talk with a member of the Study Group who had not attended the meet ing. This member has lived in Hawai'i for many years, and considers Hawaiian hula an area of her expertise. "When, in response to her question about what we had discussed, I mentioned the
Guam presentation, she immediately commented that she had seen it and that, when the group entered, she wondered if there had been a change of program because everything looked so Hawaiian, specifically mentioning the men's malo. She objected to the use of the ipu heke and the unique-to-Hawai'i beating of it...and asked how Guam could justify incorporating so much that is Hawaiian." (Smith, personal communication, let ter 1996:2)
In conclusion she stated:
Overall, I think Guam made the best
impression it ever has on other islanders and tourists. The performers' and artists' sense of quiet self-confidence and self esteem was recognized. You may be inter ested to know that when one of the Papua
The above references to cultural 'borrowing' bring up issues of both cultural selection and the ownership of culture. The first implies a selection
process whereby an ethnic group consciously chooses which identity markers they will use from
among an available selection of historical or con temporary sources. The second refers to the set
ting up of boundaries that define the cultural property of an ethnic group. Both of these involve evaluation and negotiation in a dynamic process of cultural construction. Glenn Petersen writes
about the "selection of a relevant version of tradi
tion from off a shelf in the storage cupboard of history" (1992: 201), which describes how Guam officials and artists attempted to construct an identity they wished to project at the Festival of Pacific Arts. While dances and arts from the colo
nial heritage are still performed to point out a dis tinctly different Chamorro ethnicity, an ancient' indigenous Chamorro heritage has been fore grounded in an effort to project a Pacific image in keeping with other Pacific Island presentations. Chamorros are also selecting sounds, rhythms and movements from other Pacific societies with
which to reconstruct an ancient past. This selec tion is evaluative in the way aspects of some cul tures, such as the Hawaiian ipu heke, are chosen over other rhythmic instruments, (fig.l) based on contemporary perceptions of desirable ethnic associations (or actual contemporary associations that were not encountered historically). This is also a negotiated process within the ethnic group, as variants are 'tried out' and accepted or rejected as being appropriate identity markers. This nego tiatory aspect of available variants created the ambiguous identity projected by successive Guam presentations at the Festival of Pacific Arts.
1 he second issue rerers to ownership or cul
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ture.' This takes the perspective of the culture from which a tradition is borrowed. In this case,
Hawaiians view the ipu heke as their own unique 'property.' Thus, Chamorros who want to share in the use of this property are resented, "as if the out
sider were attempting a form of cultural' theft"
(Fitzgerald 1998: 263-4). The reasons Chamorros are selecting aspects of Hawaiian culture over that of their Micronesian neighbors can be explained through an examination or Chamorro perspectives revealed in the historical record. Historical accounts
show that Chamorros were very status conscious.
The chamorri (ancient high status Chamorros) kept their distance from the manachang (ancient low status Chamorros). Being a high island, traders from the small atolls of Micronesia generally came to Guam, which was a resource-rich center. The
center and periphery concept (Wassmann 1998: intro: 3) carried the mark of high status in the cen
ter over lower status of the periphery, transmitting
the Chamorro perception of themselves as being of
higher status than outer islanders. This perspective continued into the colonial period, when the man
ak'hilo' (high) class of mixed Spanish and Chamorro families of Hagatna were considered of
higher status than the manak'papa (low class) Chamorros of the rural areas. The low status of Carolinians on Guam, even in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, is again revealed in the histori
cal record. They were not civilized' because they did not wear clothes or adapt to Western ways (Moore et al, 1998: 73 [quoting Safford, 1902]: Rogers, 1995: 122, 124). Hawaiians, conversely, did not appear on the historical scene until Chamorros began to migrate to Hawai'i during the
whaling period of the nineteenth century. This made Hawai'i a center and Guam a periphery, wherein Chamorros perceived Hawai'i as a high status place, particularly in relation to the islands of Micronesia. Hawaiians who came to Guam aher
the Second World War came as highly paid civil service workers, and therefore they would have been perceived as high-status people. This local per ception, coupled with the perspectives brought by tourists and the tourism industry, has reinforced the
alignment of their Chamorro identity with aspects of Hawaiian culture over Micronesian. Their selec
tion, in this case, was made from a cultural and
political perspective. The tourism industry added an economic selective factor when they continued
to hire only Polynesian dance groups when Chamorro dance groups were available.
The group moved on to discuss the point that traditions need to be kept and perpetuated, and that it is important to keep that direct link with
one's heritage:
But then it becomes a classic — something that is from your past but is no longer a liv
ing manifestation. I think you have to keep in mind the distinction between an art
form that has now died out but is very important for your history and your roots and so on -and where the art form is still
being practiced and used and is a very important part of people's lives, then there's
no argument that it should continue. If it's actually died out, what do you do about it? (David Goldsworthy, ICTM discussion participant, 1996)
Indeed, what do you do when your artistic tra ditions have died out? I believe that contemporary Chamorro artists have done the only thing they can do in order to establish a link to their pre-con tact artistic traditions. They have reconstructed what they believe was practiced at one time, or have reinvented icons based on visual remnants of
that time (Fig.2). They have not "invented" out of thin air. They have re-created from vestiges left to
them in writings and artifacts, from borrowings and comparative studies of other Pacific cultures; and they have based their selections on historical and political perspectives drawn from their own culture which has made what they are doing feel
right. Frank Rabon emphasized this fact, address ing the issue of authenticity:
I am not trying to bring back thousands of years of lost traditions; I am only creating an awareness to show that we existed thou
sands of years before colonization occurred. There are people who choose not to acknowledge this fact, I choose to embrace it and teach younger generations to be proud of our ancestors, where we came from, and who we are now. I do not feel
that we are authenticating lost traditions, but instead are re-creating traditions
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through research concepts (Rabon, 2001:18).
presentation at the Fourth Festival in Tahiti in 1985. He commented:
I was interested in knowing what other out siders perceived as influences from other cultures. Ngapo Wehi (better known to Frank as "Uncle Bub"), by then chairman of the Te Waka Toi Maori Arts Board in New Zealand, responded to my question in a written statement. He had first
met the Guam delegation at the Fifth Festival of Pacific Arts in Townsville, Australia (1988):
Guam's presentation has reached a level of sophistication enjoyed by Hawaii, Tahiti, Cook Islands, and Samoa (both). Rabon is responsible for this outstanding perform ance, assisted by Maria Yatar. The perform ers look and sound like our Pacific broth
ers. The Uku (group singing) is very much like the Ute in Rarotonga and Tahiti, (per sonal communication, 1996)
From the very start we (our group, Te Waka
Huia) and the Guam delegation became very friendly. Up until that time, the only knowledge that we had of Guam was that it was a large U.S. air force base. We also discovered that Guam had an indigenous race of people who were "Chamorro" and that they were very keen to mix with nations of the Pacific - with an outside
chance, perhaps, of deepening their quest to find their roots in their own culture.
Their culture was a mixture of Spanish, Philippine, and American. In 1990 Te Waka Huia visited Guam and a great time was had by all, and [in Western Samoa] once again the bond was strengthened. This 7th Festival has again been great for there are some in the Guam group who were in the 1988 festival. I saw them on
opening night and I thought they were dif terent, in that they exuded much more confidence and they were making a state ment that they were beginning to be more comfortable about themselves, even
though the other cultures of their country are still being portrayed and being done well! Without a doubt, the research [by those involved] is becoming evident. With the passion that some have about their lan guage and culture, I can only wish them a fruitful sojourn into the past. (Ngapo Wehi, personal communication, letter, 1996)
Opinions expressed from outside the culture need to be balanced with those from within the
Chamorro culture. To that end, I talked to Carlos Taitano, who has attended all the Festivals and worked with Frank Rabon to create the Chamorro
The government of Guam, through its spon sorship of cultural and promotional tours by the Guam Visitor's Bureau and the Guam Council on
the Arts and Humanities Agency, has officially recognized the re-created art forms described here as representative of the Chamorro culture. The selection of these particular artists to represent Chamorro artistic traditions at the Festival of
Pacific Arts signifies official recognition from within the culture.
What about the tradition bearers of art forms
passed down through the generations? Is their art still a valid representation of Chamorro culture? What do they think of these reinvented art forms?
Kantan Chamorrita singer Tan Maria Crisostomo reflected the expressions of a number of elders in the community when she said, "None of us ever wore sadi' (loincloth) and jumped around hitting sticks' (Crisostomo, personal communication, 1994). It is important to point out that through their actions and their expressions, the artists of
these re-created forms have the utmost respect for traditional practitioners, and often seek their advice in order to gain as much knowledge as they can about their heritage. I believe art forms that have been traditionally passed from generation to generation hold an important place in the heritage of the Chamorro people. These practitioners should be honored, and the continued practice of their art forms should be encouraged. The artists of reinvented traditions, however, seek more than
the knowledge contained within the living memo ries of Chamorro traditional artists in their search
to identify with their pre-contact heritage. These two forms of artistic expression together provide a comprehensive view of indigenous Chamorro art as the forms survive and adapt to changing con temporary needs.
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Performance artists were given the opportuni
ty to express their views about their creations in a
panel discussion organized by various cultural agencies in an Intergenerational Conference on Chamoru7 Language and Culture held at the Guam Hilton Hotel on February 25, 1999. The conference was attended by elders from the senior citizens centers, Chamorro Studies teachers,
Chamorro language professors of the University of
Guam and their students and interested people from the general public. Total participation num
bered about three hundred people, who attended
panel and individual presentations throughout the
day. The conference was held almost entirely in
the Chamorro language, as is usual with gather
ings organized by Chamorro language agencies. I
translated and summarized the following dialogue
that took place among panel members and atten dees of a discussion on Chamorro music. Over a
hundred people attended this session. Facilitator for the session was Maria Ann Rivera, director of the Chamorro Studies Division of the
Department of Education. The question, "What is Chamorro music and dance?" prompted the fol
lowing responses:
They say it is borrowed. Yes, we borrowed
it, but we have put it in our hearts. It is our culture as we use it in our lives today. (Rabon)
Jimmy Dee (a local entertainer and recording artist) began to speak in English but was urged from the audience to speak in Chamorro. Beginning in Chamorro [which he speaks very well] and lapsing into English, he said:
I have been told that my music is not Chamorro, that it is translated or borrowed
from other songs. But do you realize how many songs that we call Chamorro songs are actually borrowed? Do you know where "Tipi Tipi Tin" came from? From the Andrews Sisters! - Almost all our folklore
songs are Early American. When I write Chamorro songs they say it is not Chamorro. But ' Puti on [a popular 'Chamorro' song] is from Honolulu Moon. [Lapsing into English] We need to set stan
dards to define what is Chamorro; to clas
sify from what periods our songs came. Whatever we borrow, let's call it all Chamorro and lets use it.
Benjie Santiago said:
I told my Natibu Dance members that we are going to advance our culture by taking
the old times and the new times and using them together. This is how we advance our culture.
Frank Rabon continued:
The seed has been planted. It has become a tree and has born fruit. Let's take the bor
rowed and make it our own. Let's go for ward.
Cira McMillan interjected:
I'm the seed that came from America.
When I was growing up [in the States] I saw Chamorros dancing cha cha, jitterbug and I asked my mother 'is that Chamorro dance?' My mother said Chamorro dance is
batsu, bailan a'iguas [Spanish era dances] - We here, if not for Frank Rabon — [breaks
down, tearfully] — Before I didn't know my
culture. I didn't speak Chamorro. If there is no culture from us for our children, where are we? Even if it is borrowed -
Joe Peredo took over, saying:
We here must carry the culture forward. Those things we borrow and make our own we must 'distinguish' [said in English] because we see what we like and take it and
make it Chamorro. Let's keep what we want and make it Chamorro. I write origi nal Chamorro songs. I want to pass those on to future generations. If you hear a little Spanish, Chamorros are singing it, so it is Chamorro. We must pick up pieces from our heritage.
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Joey Franquez added: Rabon observed after he had participated in the Eighth Festival in New Caledonia (2000):
i here are many of us who look at the worst
among us. My musical roots came from my
father [who played American big band and
jazz songs]. When Johnny Sablan's songs came out I first heard songs sung in Chamorro. They were songs I could identi fy with. Let's gather together and support everyone's efforts. I was educated in music and I would like to share what I know with others.
Bill Paulino (a retired educator) provided a sum marizing statement:
hverything that comes rrom within is yours and part of your culture.
1 his dialogue points out that Chamorro artists are very aware and very sensitive about issues regarding reconstructed song and dance. They have obviously discussed and reflected on ideas concerning borrowing of instruments, tunes, and other aspects or performance. At this point they have come to the conclusion that they are recon textualising aspects of other cultures to the point that they consider these forms to now be their own. Tensions were evident among various artists
who struggle for legitimacy within the contempo rary social context. Yet a consensus of voices called
for 'working together and moving forward' in the common effort to continue the construction of a
Chamorro identity that selects fragments from the
past, from other cultures and from contemporary perspectives.
high teen years after his hrst introduction to his
indigenous roots, Frank Rabon projected a reflec tive confidence that allowed him to evaluate the performances of fellow Pacific islanders:
1 his is my third festival of the Pacific Arts,
ind judging from our previous festival in Samoa; we are starting to capture the Pacific sounds and movements. I also notice a
iong-overdue respect with regards to our people in terms of our presentation. We can finally align ourselves with the other Pacific
islanders for any ceremonial challenges. Finally, Guam can stand proud of her peo ale once again. (Personal journal, 2001:4)
we were accompanied for the first time by members of the Guam Visitors Bureau and
most especially by the First Lady of Guam.
I have been wanting Guam Visitors Bureau to attend a cultural event, just to compare
culture and commercial venues. I always believe that you can commercialize culture,
but you can't culturalize commercial pre sentations. GVB's primary responsibility in Guam is to promote our culture to tourist related destinations. Therefore, the com
mercialized aspect of entertainment plays an important role in their presentations. These leaders also needed to know what a
cultural celebration is all about, and to feel
the true meaning and essence of traditions from the heart. They needed to witness first-hand what makes people proud of who they are. Sometimes I feel that in the
midst of all this Americanization, our peo ple have become culturally ignorant, ignor ing the values of our traditions and why they should be passed on to future genera tions. I feel a lot of the social problems we
are encountering are because we choose not to pass on the values and traditions, and taking for granted that they will continue to exist. I know these officials will return to
our island a little more knowledgeable
about cultural preservation and promotion. There is room for both entities to co-exist,
depending on the particular celebrations and occasions, (personal journal, 2001:4)
As part of the Festival, the Guam delegation visited the island of Lifou where they also per formed. Seeing presentations by the Kanak in their own villages led Rabon to make the follow ing observations:
[ especially noticed how the whole clan participated in the dance, from the oldest :o the youngest. I know our culture had [his participation years ago, but now the generation gap is very noticeable. It seems
:hat my generation seems to be the bridge Detween the young and the old, so a bal ince needs to be established to guarantee
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continuity. I feel that the younger genera
tion are not very interested in learning from the old regarding our traditions and culture. The older generations are quite stubborn about the traditions and some
times refuse to make changes. The middle generation like myself are torn between respecting the old ways and creating changes to attract the young. This seems to happen on many of the more developed islands as opposed to the not so developed islands. 1 certainly hope there are enough of the middle generation who value the tra ditions to assure continuity for years to come. At least I know within Taotao Tano'
itself that bridge has been crossed and assurance of continuity is there, (personal journal, 2001:5-6)
He went on to describe his observations of the
changes in presentation over time by various island groups:
During this festival I noticed several things that assured me I was travelling on the right path. First of all I noticed Rapanui (Easter Island) had greatly improved their presentation this time around. 1 hey were well received by the audiences as well as the
other participating island nations. They are
starting to re-create their ancestral past and formulate it as a commodity for marketing.
I also noticed American Samoa elaborating on their presentation using technology as well as utilizing younger members for pres entation. They were using more fluid movements in their dances and elaborate
choreography. I found their presentation very entertaining and not quite as boring as before. Yet they are still maintaining their traditional movements as a basis for the
program.
Wallis & Futuna was another island I
found very entertaining. With mostly older
men and women performing they also started using fluid movements and elabo rate choreography. While listening to some of their language, I picked out a few words that sound like what we Chamorros use. I
discovered that some also have the same
meaning - words like our counting system, Hacha, Hugua ...
I also noticed the theatrical presentation of Tahiti and how they decided to re-frame their origins. Normally they just present a straightforward song and dance routine full
of actions and drum beats. This time they decided to return to basics. Even some of
the dance movements were from the old
ways.
This was also evident with New Zealand,
going as far back as using very old, tradi tional costumes and movements. It is very interesting what these last two powerful islands are doing with their presentations. Whoever is tasked with the program pres entation for Guam in the future will really have to think of what direction to take,
(personal journal, 2001:6)
Rabon also noted that his dance group has evolved from being entertainers to the keepers of their culture (Rabon, 2001:10). More and more,
they are called upon to provide opening chants for special events, as evidence that the ancients have blessed the particular event through these contem porary representatives (Fig.3).
A summary of the views of the various insider and outsider voices seems to indicate that
Chamorro identity manifested by its art forms is still in a state of flux. The perceptions of outsiders seem generally to point out that the Chamorros of
Guam have to overcome many negative impres sions caused by their earlier presentations at the Festival of Pacific Arts, particularly those before 1985. The Chamorro identity that various artists
are trying to portray is still not sufficiently defined
for viewers to obtain a conclusive description of Chamorro culture, but with each Festival a partic ular Pacific Chamorro identity becomes stronger. Guam's image at the Festival of Pacific Arts is now a positive one, although somewhat ambiguous. A consistent representation of these art forms will eventually be recognized as Chamorro identity. Within the Chamorro community itself, a more unified acceptance of identity markers is neces sary. Specific artistic markers of Chamorro identi
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ty have been put forth and received with interest. Re-created art forms have received cautious official
recognition and acceptance from some sectors of the general community. As in all living cultures,
Chamorros will continue to innovate, adapt and respond to contemporary social conditions. By the same token, their culture will continue because of
this ability to innovate, adapt and respond. Threads
of continuity from their ancient past will become established in symbols currently being created and accepted by the community.
Most dance leaders have borrowed the use of the
Hawaiian ipu heke as a rhythmic accompaniment. They have been criticized by local officials and some Hawaiians for doing so. Conversely, they have been encouraged to borrow from aspects of Micronesian dance.
I he loss of connection to their pre-contact Chamorro heritage also resulted in a loss of con nection with their fellow Pacific Islanders.
Leonard Iriarte, who participated in the Second Festival of Pacific Arts in New Zealand (1976)
spoke of his amazement at seeing entire delega tions made up of indigenous people. He also noted how different Guam was in their presenta tions of non-indigenous art forms. This lack of indigenous identity in Guam's presentations at the 1976 and 1980 Festivals was noted by several Festival observers of the Guam delegation during
their ICTM discussion in Samoa (1996). It is sig nificant to note Carlos Taitano's statement regard ing the 1996 Festival, that the Guam performers 'now look and sound like our Pacific brothers."
His implication that Chamorros prior to this Festival did not express a Pacific identity points Dut that this is perceived as an important mile stone in the Chamorro search for identity.
Artists ot re-created traditions are breaking new ground in their search to establish an identi
ty with their pre-contact heritage. Their artistic tieritage has not been passed to them through gen
orations in a traditional learning process. They : he re fore seek ways to extract a vestige of what :hey can call their own from scant descriptions by :arly explorers, from archaeological remnants, rorti selective borrowings, from spiritual enlight enment and from contemporary perspectives of .vhat they were and should continue to be.
Influences from other cultures are readily uti ized by the artists as a primary means of re-creat ng their art forms. Comparative studies of other
Vlicronesian islands to try to ascertain probable artistic designs, movements and sounds in ancient
Chamorro art forms are undertaken by some of Guam's artists. Direct borrowing of some designs, movements and sounds are practiced by others.
It is important to examine the reasons borrow
ing is sometimes accepted and other times frowned upon. The reasons, I believe, are based on
perceptions of identity. Guam is geographically part of Micronesia, so identification of Chamorro art forms with those of Micronesia would "fit"
better for the purposes of outsider perceptions. It would make Chamorro "Micronesians" distinct
from Polynesians. Historically and geographically, Chamorros of the Marianas are part of
Micronesia, with evidence of cultural exchange noted in historical sources. Pressures from the
tourism industry favoring Polynesian dance over Micronesian influences tend to override official
attempts to guide artistic creativity towards the latter. From an outsiders perspective on borrow ing, we have heard that several Hawaiians are offended by Chamorro borrowings from their cul ture. We haven't heard from the Micronesians.
Artists who have attended one or more
Festivals described influences of the Festival of
Pacific Arts. The singing of the Maori groups at the Festival influenced Taotao Tano' members to
develop their singing voices and ornamental styles.
Leonard Iriarte spoke of his experience as a con îcious realization that (juam lacked a Chamorro
dentity at the 1976 Festival, which influenced lim to learn more about his ancient roots. Artists
lave incorporated designs and movements from )ther Pacific cultures as a result of such cultural
exchanges. They have clearly developed a sense of dentification with their Pacific brothers, which
serves as a milestone in the Chamorro struggle for m identity separate from their colonizer.
Central to the discussion of re-created art is its
validation both inside and outside Chamorro soci
ety. Traditional art by definition implies that the irt form has been in the culture for a period of :ime with skills passed down through generations. 1 His definition must concede that at some point n time the art form began as an innovation, was
:mbraced by the culture, and through time jecame a tradition. How do we classify re-created irt forms, which are based on traditions and art
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Figure 3. Taotao Tano' ("people of the land") dancers conduct an opening chant to bless the Gef Pa'go Chamorro Cultural Fair, February 2000. Photograph by Ron J. Castro.
_c eu
forms not passed down? One member of the ICTM
discussion group who talked about the Guam pres entation in Samoa felt that "reconstructed" art
forms should be presented as such "so people will not have the idea that they are trying to be authen tic" (Adrienne Kaeppler, ITCM discussion partici pant, 1996). In a more scholarly treatment on the
subject of authenticity, Kaeppler distinguishes between what she calls "evolved traditional" - "art
forms that have changed along indigenous lines, while retaining their traditional structure and senti
ment" - and "nontraditional...folk art and airport art that may be made by traditional techniques but has lost the integral association of the visual and verbal ritual originally involved in its production (Howard & Borofsky, 1989: 234-5). She further states that:
Traditional art and its evolved forms need
to be examined ethnohistorically, while studies of nontraditional art must be relat
ed to knowledge about the functioning societies that produced it. Exploring the relationship between artistic and societal change may help us to better comprehend the nature of both art and society, as well as
the processes of sociocultural change. (Howard & Borofsky, 1989: 236)
I would like to pursue this train of thought further to explore how re-created art, when based
on historical interpretation of one's heritage, is used to reflect and respond to contemporary soci ety. By using both methods - the study of the eth
nohistory of the Chamorro people and knowledge of contemporary societal issues - we can come to a better understanding of how re-created art can be authenticated.
Frank Rabon proposes that authentication should not be based on actual dance practices of the past, but upon contemporary interpretation of
available artifacts and observations of early visitors about Chamorro life. Another discussant in the
ICTM discussion group felt that there is no reason to explain whether an artistic presentation is "invented" because "It's up to us to interpret what
they're doing, and what they're doing is their cul
ture. It may be the culture of this subgroup, but it is their culture" (ICTM discussion participant, 1996:2). These statements imply that the impor tance of an artistic tradition is determined by its
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large over a period of time, coupled with emulation and use of the art form by its members makes it a more valid determinant of authenticity.
We can see how cultural exchanges such as the Festival of Pacific Arts have influenced Chamorro
artists in a variety of ways. Such cultural interac tion has created a sense of cultural consciousness
that has encouraged Chamorros to perceive them selves as being Pacific islanders. This in itself is a big step from colonial perceptions of Guam as an
extension of the United States. A significant minority has accepted that Chamorros are geo graphically Micronesian and are beginning to look towards their Carolinian neighbors to explore artistic expression. But it seems that most are using their cultural exchange inspirations to devel op a Chamorro identity based on a more pan Pacific model.
In conclusion, I echo Rabons words, often
repeated by his followers and others who work towards an indigenous Chamorro identity (Rabon, 2001:3):
Susteni i kutturan i chamoru siha, i man
mapos, pa'go, yan i manmamaila" — Sustain the culture of the chamorros, for those who
have passed on, those of the present, and those who are yet to come.
Notes
1. Rabon (known as Frank) was forty at the time of this interview in 1996.
2. An example of Chamorro history from the Chamorro perspective is the "Hale-ta series of school texts, written by local scholars under the umbrella of the Political Status Education
Co-ordinating Commission. 3. The first three Festivals only invited South
Pacific countries, so any representation at that time would have been a token gesture by the governor of Guam indicating Guam's interest in participating. The traditional protocol of a hosting Pacific nation would not have refused an official request to send one or more repre sentatives, even if they weren't from South Pacific nations.
4. American Country Western music became popular in Guam in the 1920s with the intro duction of cowboy movies. U.S. Country tunes were translated to Chamorro, or entirely
new lyrics were substituted. This practice is still prevalent, with many local recording artists using old tunes with new lyrics.
5. This festival was originally scheduled for 1984 in New Caledonia. Because of the political unrest there, the event was moved to Tahiti
and took place in 1985. 6. They graciously allowed me to record their ses
sion and to use a summary of their discussion
in this writing. Names have been cited for those who gave me written permission to do so.
7. The way the word "Chamorro" is spelled has become a politicized statement. Chamorro rights activists tend to use the "oru" spelling. In this case, the organizers were being pro active in the use of the Chamorro language.
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ICTM - International Council on Traditional
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