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Don Tomas Bungi: Chamorro Names In History - 2
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
Bungi, Don Tomas.
Bungi was described by Father Francisco Garcia (2004:191) as a noble from Agadna (Hågatña, Guahan). Upon his baptism he was given the name Tomas and thereafter was known as Don Tomas Bungi.
Two days after Bungi’s baptism and late in the evening, he called upon Father Diego San Vitores to his house to baptize his two-month old son who was very ill and near the point of death. Bungi’s wife was influenced by Choco’s[1] words that the baptismal water may harm the child and was therefore reluctant to bring their child to the church. However, when Bungi insisted their son be baptized, she let Father San Vitores baptize her son. That same evening their baby son died.
The next morning, Bungi informed San Vitores of his son’s death. According to Garcia, Bungi was sad of his son’s death but accepted the will of God after San Vitores told him about his child now being in heaven. After Bungi returned home, he brought his eight year old son to San Vitores inquiring where his son might better learn the religion and so that he may teach it to others. (Garcia, 2004:191)
It is interesting to note that later, San Vitores sent a letter dated July 5, 1671 to Father Francisco Solano, and identified Bungi as their friend. The letter requests that Bungi be paid either “half of a large (iron) hoop or a whole small hoop.”[2] San Vitores also tells Solano that Bungi was asking for a tortoise shell[3], but he can only be given one instead of the hoop, if he promises to go to Tinian. San Vitores also tells Solano that they may have to give one to “all the chiefs of Agadna, keeping some for those who deserve them.” (Levesque 1995c:150 in Amesbury & Hunter-Anderson, 2003:95)
Judith R. Amesbury & Rosalind L. Hunter-Anderson. 2003. Review of Archaeological and Historical Data Concerning Reef Fishing in the U.S. Flag Islands of Micronesia: Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (Final Report). Western Pacific Fishery Management Council.
Francisco Garcia. 2004. The Life and Martyrdom of the Venerable Father Diego Luis de San Vitores , S.J . Translated by Margaret M. Higgins, Felicia Plaza and Juan M.H. Ledesma. Edited by James A. McDonough. MARC Monograph Series 3. Guam: University of Guam
Rodrigue Levesque. 1995. History of Micronesia, A Collection of Source Documents, Volume 5 – Focus on the Mariana Mission, 1670-1678. Levesque Publications: Quebec, Canada
[1] Choco was a Chinese man who married a Chamorro woman from Saipan. They lived in the ancient village of Pa’a, Guahan. Choco and his wife are believed to be the ancestors of the Chaco family.
[2] The "hoops" were made of iron and used by the Chamorro people to make adze blades, fish hooks and other instruments. (See Frank Quimby, ' The Matao Iron Trade Part 3: Appropriation and Entanglement', referenced September 21, 2012, © 2009 Guampedia™, URL: http://guampedia.com/the-matao-iron-trade-part-3-appropriation-and-entanglement/)
Chamorro Nurse Finally Returns Home and Reunites with Family After World War II
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan & Lisa Martinez Bitanga
Dolores DeLeon was a Nurse trained by the U.S. Navy. Approximately one month prior to the Japanese occupation of Guam in World War II, she departed Guam to accompany a “Medevac” patient to the Philippines requiring additional treatment. When the Japanese invaded the Philippines, she somehow made it to Borneo. From there she would find her way (likely through Naval transport) to San Francisco and worked at the hospital at the Navy Yard in Mare Island. Once the U.S. forces secured the Marianas Islands, she was able to return home to Guam and reunite with her family after four years of not knowing their fate.
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Database Update 17 September 2012
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
The database has been updated and has grown from 213,224 to 214,283.
Natural Destiny (Book Commentary)
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
BOOK COMMENTARY
Sherry Dixon. (2012). Natural Destiny. Sherry Dixon: USA. 208 pp. ISBN 978-1477675120
commentary by
Bernard T. Punzalan
Chamorro Roots Genealogy Project™
12 September 2012
Natural Destiny is a narration of events based on a true story of Catalina Bernidita “Bernie” Borja Aquiningoc. The author, Sherry Dixon, is Auntie Bernie’s second eldest child of seven children, documenting and sharing some of her mother’s life experiences as a child and as a prisoner of war during the World War II Japanese occupation of Guam. Auntie Bernie is a Chamorro with familial ties in Saipan, but was raised on Guam.
Sherry professes that the original purpose for writing this book was to honor her mom. It was not until she realized, during her writing group sessions, that many of her peers did not know about Guam, and just how much the Chamorro people suffered, sacrificed and endured the fate of war and imprisonment on their very own homeland. She not only dedicates this book to her mother, but “to the thousands of Guamanians who struggled during the Japanese occupation during World War II.”
Sherry shares with us some very intense details of her mother’s childhood life experiences and also while in the Mannengon prison camp as a child. Auntie Bernie’s faith is constantly tested from unfortunate to horrific encounters. I am certain some will find surprises as I did with certain outcomes or even within the narrated methods of the story. You will surely find that while Auntie Bernie faces certain situations she temporarily tunes out the situation by reminiscing some good memories that seem to help her to unknowingly draw out some of her very own personal resilience. The story also conveys some Chamorro core values with regards to respect and family; the latter whether a blood relative or not.
Many Chamorro people have documented their atrocious experiences of the war. Some have recorded their accounts during their initial war claim application in 1946 and through the many years of testimonial proceedings of Guam’s war claim efforts for judicial parity. However and unfortunately, few Chamorro families have published their stories in a book. Granted, it is not an easy thing to do and many people do not have the resources to do it. This book is a part of Chamorro history and a priceless family legacy to share with others for generations to come. We must not forget the Chamorro peoples’ history and the moral/immoral lessons they have confronted and learned from the past, and which provide for the foundation of their resilience.
I enjoyed reading Natural Destiny (a spot-on title for this kind of story); the manner in which Sherry has organized the chapters, and learning more details of some of the events that took place within the Mannengon concentration camp. Many Americans do not realize that Guam was not just only liberated from the Japanese, but the primary purpose for the U.S. retaking Guam and the Mariana Islands for military strategic purposes indisputably changed the course of World War II in the Pacific. The Chamorro people have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice much more for the United States than people realize. I strongly encourage reading Auntie Bernie’s story.
Agao: Chamorro Names in History
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
In 1672, Agao, a Chamorro warrior, narrowly escaped death through "the swiftness of his feet," from a Spaniard while accompanying Maga'lahi Hurao.
"On the eleventh of May, one of our soldiers encountered two natives who had been leaders of the war in Guam. It happened that one of these natives was Hurao, who tried to exterminate the fathers and the Spaniards. The sight of him reminded the Spaniard of the past war, and he ran Hurao through with his sword, leaving him dead, and would have done the same with the other, Agao, if the latter had not availed himself of the swiftness of his feet." (Garcia, 2004:386)
Reference:
Francisco Garcia. 2004. The Life and Martyrdom of the Venerable Father Diego Luis de San Vitores. Guam: University of Guam
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