Better late than never.....

These are the pictures I promised you from Sumay Day, last Sunday. I would like to say it was my computer's fault that I couldn't load them up, but we all know it was user error.

Sumay is an ancient village that was home to a group of Chamorros here on the Southern/West-ish side of Guam. Not sure the full history of it- all I know is that it isn't a Guam village now- its a historical site here on the Navy base. The top picture is taken standing from our street looking down the hill. That low lying area is Sumay. The CO of the base asked the local mayors if they would like a Sumay Day to honor their ancestors from here.

They had a mass in the morning at the sight where the church once stood. Then there was dancing and food. The dancing was very well done. One of the girls in the group is a student of mine. I saw three more of my students that day attending the event, so that was nice. Maddy and Ellie spent their time in the shade weaving palm leaves into various objects with the help of the Chamorro teacher from their school.

I have to say that I usually don't feel too out of place here. I mean really, everywhere I go I am the minority. But never really feel out of place about that. Sumay Day is the first time I really felt that we didn't belong there. I guess its the guilt of living on land that originally belonged to another group- and having that group come to visit the land that was theirs. Felt wrong somehow. Especially with so many emotions so high right now over the military build up that has been proposed. I am sure the Chamorros feel all the more infringed upon. I hope the day was a nice day of honoring their past as opposed to just being reminded of lost ancestral lands.

The male dancers were often shouting out angry chants- some of which the audience responded with loud angry "Ya!"s and cheering. Hopefully they were saying things like "Hurray for this lovely day" as opposed to "Navy go home!" .....I think I am happier not knowing.....

Oh dear- I just looked up Sumay's history online:

Sumay Cemetery

Sumay was once a prosperous port and thriving seaside community frequented by Spanish, French, German, Japanese, English, Russian and American ships. When Japanese warplanes bombarded Guam in December 1941, Sumay was the first village attacked. The villagers fled into the nearby jungles and were never allowed to return. The village was virtually destroyed. The American military seized Sumay as part of the Naval Station which it remains today. All that remains of the original village is the Spanish occupation era cemetery. Headstones contain epitaphs in both Chamorro and Spanish. The oldest marker claims the year if birth at 1812 and year of death in the 1890's

I am going to guess the chants weren't about the lovely day........