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Data on Chamorro Weavers
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
A few weeks ago, I was taken by a posting on the FaceBook page "Hinasso," with a painting of an elder Chamorro lady in the beginning process of weaving what appears to be half a branch of coconut stalk. The caption read, "Håfa I hinasson-miyu nu ini?" (What are your thoughts on this?)
In my home office I have a painting of Master Pandanus Weaver Tan Elena Hernandez Cruz Benavente (difunta) by Ron Castro that I scored some time ago from the once Fujita Hotel that had liquidation sale in Tumon. Tan Elena was a very resilient Chamorro woman who passed away at the age of 99; a few months short of reaching 100.
There are several articles you can you can find on weaving related to Guam and the Mariana Islands by searching so I won't go into any details that those sources provide. However, I will provide some historic data details of what I have come across so far with regards to the U.S. Census.
1940 Census
It just so happens that I was in the process of transcribing the 1940 Census covering the municipality of Agat and observed that there were quite a bit of women with a listed occupation as "Aggag weaver." The population ratio compared to other municipalities seemed rather high for Agat. So I posted my comments specific to Agat and the 1940 Census:
- Agat was comprised of one town and six barrios.
- Total population = 1,068
- Total Akgag Weavers = 53 or 5% of population
- All weavers were female
- 1 Widow, 36 Married, 16 Single
- Average age of weaver 34
- Oldest age of weaver 64
- Youngest age of weaver 14
I'm not quite sure what this data is trying to tell me, and without having to complete an entire transcription of the 1940 Census will be premature to conclude; but was worth highlighting the facts and until I complete the transcription.
1930 Census
Surprisingly, in the 1930 Census only 18 people had a "weaver" occupation: 6 Basket weavers and 12 weavers. I am not quite sure why this number is significantly lower than the 1940 and 1920 Census. Perhaps the enumerators were given special instructions? IDK...
- 17 weavers were female and there was only one male.
- Average Age: 51
- Oldest: 73
- Youngest: 21
- Weavers By Village:
- Agana City: 8
- Asan: 4
- Barrigada: 2
- Merizo Town: 2
- Sumay Town: 1
- Umatac Barrio: 1
*Agat did not have any people recorded with the occupation of weaver.
1920 Census
In the entire 1920 Census there were 48 people that had the word "weaver" as their occupation: 43 weavers, 2 weavers of mats, and 3 weaving teachers.
- 43 females: 39 weavers, 2 weavers of mats, and 2 weaving teachers
- 5 males: 4 weavers and 1 weaving teacher
- Average Age: 37
- Oldest: 66
- Youngest: 13
- Weavers By Village:
- Agana City: 6
- Agat Town: 23
- Merizo: 13
- Piti: 1
- Tepungan: 2
- Umatac: 4
Some Links About Weaving
http://guampedia.com/floren-paulino/
http://guampedia.com/elena-cruz-benavente/
http://guampedia.com/lucia-fernandez-torres/
http://books.google.com/books?id=9r0a2ww8KLcC&;pg=PA139&lpg=PA139&dq=chamorro+weaver&source=bl&ots=6j8ZIlgwKk&sig=fNoujVyTzxc0zuNO6XTvrxNLOmU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=EmqKUvOSEYOzsASn0YCoAQ&ved=0CCsQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=chamorro%20weaver&f=false
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&;rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=12&ved=0CC4QFjABOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmnrivera1.com%2FCoconut_Weaving_Presentation-Rivera.pdf&ei=EmqKUvOSEYOzsASn0YCoAQ&usg=AFQjCNG5HWzXtJzgadVnAA3rLq7ppZpVxw&sig2=Vx7deXUIKgTokTo5N9mrhw&bvm=bv.56643336,d.cWc&cad=rja
Statistical Snapshot
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
Chamorro Roots Genealogy Project™
Statistical Snapshot of Database
As of November 17, 2013
Database Update 17 Nov 2013
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
The database has been updated and has grown from 305,363 to 306,167 names.
1910 Census
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
Although the first official U.S. Census that included Guam was held in 1920, there were Chamorro people included in the 1910 through other methods. Researchers should be cognizant of this, the possibility of names taking on a new form of spelling (possibly forever). Here are three samples of the 1910 Census.
Military on Guam
For Guam in particular, Chamorro people serving the U.S. military and some of their families (not all) were included.
Although some of the information in this pictured sampling is not clear I have identified the following people:
James H. Underwood
m. Ana [Pangelinan Martinez] Underwood
--Mary E. Underwood
--Rita E. Underwood
Fabian de la Cruz
m. Encarnacion [Delgado Pereira] Cruz
--Carlos Cruz
Maximo [Terlaje] Aflleje (single)
Joaquin Cruz (single)
Jesus F. Santos (married)
Antonio S[antos] Aflague (single)
Pedro Quitugua (married)
Vicente Taimanglo (single)
Enrique Sablan (single)
Antonio C. Salas (married)
Jose M. Santos (single)
Joaquin Aflleje (single)
Migration to Honolulu, Hawaii
Pedro [Aguon]
m. Mary Aguon
--Ren Aguon
--Florence Aguon
--Mary Aguon
--Elsie Aguon
--Lusianna Aguon
--Miriam Aguon
(Genealogy Note/Tip: Aguon was spelled “Augon” by the transcriber. This may or may not have affected the future recording and spelling of their family surname. Researchers just need to cognizant that names have a way of morphing through phonetic or translational errors.)
Migration to Stockton, California
Ben Santos (single)
Joe [Mendiola] (single)
Bob Santos
Embracing All of Your Heritage: That Particular Spirit within Us
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
In Search of...
Every now and then I receive requests for assistance to try and help families reconnect with the roots. Some successfully pan out, while others seem to hit a roadblock and remain frigid.
There are many reasons why a family or person may become initially de-linked from others members of their family: relocation, adoption, orphanage, children born out of wedlock, family feuds, abandonment, separation from war, and the list of possibilities goes on.
Somewhere and at some point down the line someone will begin to question the “why” or “how come” and pursue some level of investigation. When that person feels like his/her efforts have not been as fruitful, some will either discontinue or begin to reach out to others for help.
I usually have this saying that there is normally at least one family historian in a family. But what triggers a person’s pursuit to go above and beyond toward digging deeper for answers to unresolved questions? Passion? Incomplete identity? Material gain? Other reasons???
Recent Requests
In the past couple of weeks I have been approached by two people looking for help to learn and reconnect with their ancestral heritage.
In one case, the story, although not too clear, is one of relocation and adoption. Sometime in 1920, a Chamorro gentleman joins the military, becomes assigned in the mainland and marries a “Statesider.” The couple has children and one of the daughters is adopted by another “Stateside” family. From that point the Chamorro ancestral de-linkage begins.
Yet some 90 years later, a descendant of the adopted child, begins her journey to try and reconnect with her Chamorro ancestry. I am happy to say that within a few days of outreach announcements and shared announcements on FaceBook, she succeeded in reconnecting with her Chamorro family!
Non-Chamorro Heritage
The second story was a little unusual for me, yet somewhat familiar to certain degrees. After all, most people that reach out to me through the Chamorro Roots Genealogy Project™ are searching for their Chamorro Roots. In addition, many of us do not have an indigenous Chamorro surname. I am a prime example.
In this particular case, it was a request to try and help bridge information regarding non-Chamorro ancestry. This was actually my second-ever request to find and help reconnect non-Chamorro ancestry. And yes, thank goodness the first one was a huge success; but I digress from the current story….
Albeit a work in progress, it involves a family’s separation from their non-Chamorro father during World War II in Palau. After the father succeeds in helping his Chamorro wife and their children escape on a U.S. ship to Guam, the Japanese charged him with spying and executed him in Palau.
To this very day, the body of this person has never been recovered and the family continues to search for clues so that they may recover his remains and have some level of closure.
What provoked the request for my help was the recent passing of a grandfather, who was the son of the non-Chamorro that was executed during the war. Death has a way of making people re-evaluate and possibly adjust perceptions and outlook on life as we see and know it today.
With this particular case, it has been an interesting journey to learn more about the history and conduct of the U.S. Navy’s War Crimes Tribunals that were held on Guam from 1945-1949. Not to mention all at a time when even Guam, Sa'ipan, Rota, Tinian and its people were in the process of recovering from the destructions of war.
Pass it Forward
So I still wonder about what motivates us to look beyond what already exists.
I do believe that it is, in part, attributed to our ancestral spirit carried forward from generation-to-generation that drives us towards looking for and embracing our heritage…all of it…who we are…what had preceded us…and conveying the stories for future generations to come.
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