THE National Park Service, in partnership with Guampedia Foundation, presents “Marianas Storytelling: Land & Lineage” at American Memorial Park on April 18, 2024, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
The program will feature heart centered stories that reflect the significance and connections of land and lineage in the journey of the Chamorro people of the Marianas.
From community stories to digital stories, this special event will introduce the National Park Service project “Mariana Islands Wartime Experiences through Oral Histories” along with Guampedia’s newest section “Celebrating Chamorro/CHamoru Nobenas” and will end with the screening of “Promesa” a documentary by Dr. Lola Quan Bautista.
In just a few months the Marianas will be commemorating the 80th anniversary of World War II. Those who survived are often regarded as the greatest generation. Despite all that they suffered and lost they rebuilt their lives through their faith and in the true spirit of inafamaolek and forged ahead to make things better for all of us who call the Marianas home.
The 80th anniversary also reminds us that this living history in the Marianas is fading as many of our war survivors have passed on. Through the efforts of many, some of their stories have been documented and recorded, and the National Park Service is working to bring forth its collection of these lived experiences.
The second part of the program will feature digital stories that reflect the richness and beauty of our kostumbren Chamorro that evolved over the period referred to as I Tiempon Españot. Although colonized and made to adopt different ways, our mañaina held strong to their cultural values and identity as a people through language and rituals like the Chamorro nobena.
The documentary “Promesa” provides a profound reflection on the intertwined nature of faith, family and community. Through intimate interviews with prayer leaders Rita Pangelinan Nauta, Carmen Camacho Rojas, Teresita Concepcion Flores, and Malia Leon Guerrero Ramirez, the film highlights the Chamorro nobena tradition and significance beyond religious practice. It showcases not only the religious underpinnings but also the unifying force binding families and communities together, capturing the richness and depth of this tradition, and ensuring its enduring legacy within the Chamorro culture.
The primary objective of this Marianas Storytelling: Land & Lineage program is to inspire people from manhoben to manamko’ to seek out and share stories about our islands through family histories — at familia gatherings, at the lancho or just around the kitchen table!
For more information, contact Ranger Brooke Nevitt at (670) 234 7207 x 2020 or email brooke_nevitt@nps.gov/.
