Around the Pacific
The taotamona tale and other Guam legends
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house help told a story of how an armless hand thrice the size of an ordinary man ’ s hand , with long and sharp nails , reached through a window and turned off a lamp . The hand took an iron and pressed her employer ’ s dress .
In another tale , a man visited a neighboring village and fell ill . This was long before telephones and social media existed so there was no way of getting in touch with his family fast . That evening , three “ strange , ogre-looking creatures ” visited the man ’ s parents back home and told them of their son ’ s illness .
In both stories , the house help and the man thanked the taotaomona for helping them .
If you are a newcomer to the islands , you will hear about “ taotaomona ” sooner or later .
For hundreds of years , the CHamoru people lived under the colonial rule of different countries , which brought changes to the culture , language , codes of conduct and other traditional practices .
Author Robert Tenorio Torres provided a glimpse into the Chamorro culture through myths , folklores and legends in his published paper titled “ Pre-Contact Marianas Folklore , Legends and Literature , A Critical Commentary .” Included in his publication is the legend of the taotaomona .
Taotaomona literally means “ the people of before ,” referring to ancestral spirits that lived among the living . The ancient CHamorus believed that spirits lived among them to provide help and protection in their daily tasks . However , these same spirits were also seen as mischievous and were believed to create problems and dangers .
The taotaomona were believed to dominate particular territorial boundaries ,
and punishment came to anyone who encroached on their territories without asking for permission . Don ’ t be surprised if a local warns you to ask permission before relieving yourself in a boonie area , or before you go into the jungle . Or else , you ’ d be punished by the taotaomona for disrespecting them .
In a paper titled “ Chamorro Legends on the Island of Guam ,” the author Mavis Werner Van Peenen said the taotaomona myths of recent times have become simple , lacking the character , details and charm of the original superstition . Despite the change , the beliefs remain , and people reporting strange events and occurrences still attribute them to the taotaomona .
Like many islands in the Pacific , Guam is rich in myths and legends to which the islanders attribute the origins of life and things .
How the Marianas were created
There are several legends that recount how the Mariana Islands were created .
Dr . Anne Perez Hattori in her article in guampedia . com
By Raquel Bagnol tells the story of two gods — brother and sister Puntan and Fu ’ una . The siblings wanted to combine their supernatural forces and put them to use . Puntan told Fu ’ una to use parts of his body to create the world . He told her to use one of his eyes to become the sun and the other the moon . His eyebrows would become the rainbow , and his back would become the earth .
Fu ’ una used her supernatural powers and fulfilled her brother ’ s wish to create a new world . After fulfilling her tasks , she threw her body into the earth , which became the Fouha Rock , located near Humatak Bay in the southern part of Guam . The first human beings emerged from the rock .
Taotaomona .
Hattori said this legend highlighted the cultural significance of brothers and sisters in the CHamoru society . The relationship is considered permanent , and both rely on each other to protect the family .
A related creation myth is from “ The Creation of Woman : A Mariano Indio Tale of Our Before Time Ancestors ,” published by Jeff Busha in 1980 . Drawing inspiration from the notes of Father Luis Sanvitores , Busha narrated that Father Eternity and Mother Nature , the parent gods , had three children . Puntan , Fu ’ una and Chaife .
The myth goes that Fu ’ una created the universe using Puntan ’ s breast and back . She created the sun and moon using his eyes , the heavens using his chest , and the stars using his chest hair . Fu ’ una created Guam using Puntan ’ s heart .
The legend of the coconut
Once upon a time , the beautiful daughter of an Achoti tribe chief was thirsty and craving a particular kind of fruit that no one could find . She became ill and died . She was buried on a hill overlooking the village . Months later , a strange plant grew on her grave and kept growing . About five years later , one of its fruits fell to the ground and cracked open . The dead girl ’ s mother drank the liquid and ate the meat in the fruit . She named it the coconut .
This legend drew some controversies because the dead during those days were buried in urns , caves or house sites , not on a hill . Torres theorized that the legend could have been altered , noting that a coconut tree needs an open space to grow . However , there is also the argument that burial practices could have changed during the post-contact period .
The legend of the breadfruit tree
Artwork by Raph Unpingco / Courtesy of Guampedia
A long time ago , famine hit an island . The children of two chiefs died from starvation . The chiefs placed latte stones on top of the children ’ s graves , and they fell asleep from exhaustion . When the chiefs woke up , they saw full-grown breadfruit trees on each side where the latte stones had been . They tasted the fruit and called it lemmai or breadfruit .
The legend of the mosquito
A young couple from different villages married and lived with the bridegroom ’ s parents . One day , the wife got sick and died . She was placed on a raft , and the husband went to sea with her .
The story goes that a taotaomona pricked the husband with a bamboo pin and let the blood drip onto his dead wife ’ s body . She came back to life . Later , the husband discovered that she had been unfaithful . He pricked her again with a bamboo pin and she died . Mosquitoes formed and emerged from her blood .
When a mosquito bites , people believe it is the taotaomona taking revenge for the bride ’ s death .
Torres said this folklore became a point of interest because sea burial on a raft did not follow the traditional CHamoru burial .
The Spanish colonization and Christianization brought cultural changes to the islands , but the oral traditions persisted . The legends , myths and folklore have been preserved and continue to be told and retold through oral histories and printed pages .
Raquel Bagnol is a longtime journalist . She worked as a reporter for Marianas Variety on Saipan and Island Times in Palau . Send feedback to gukdako @ yahoo . com
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