Ekungok i Estoria-ta
A Preservation for People & Culture Project
In Partnership with the GDOE CHamoru Studies & Special Projects Division
This project has been funded in part by a grant from the
Richard and Julia Moe Family Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
with additional funding by the Guam Preservation Trust.
As part of the Guam Preservation Trust’s vision and mission to make historic preservation a community responsibility, we have collaborated with the Richard and Julia Moe Family Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Guam Department of Education CHamoru Studies and Special Projects Division to create the first ever Ekungok i Estoriå-ta (Listen to Our Stories) project.
As all historic sites have the treasured stories behind them, the goal of this project is to bridge CHamoru culture and historic sites place based learning to be taught in the CHamoru language as a means to perpetuate the native language of Guam and the Marianas. As the CHamoru language was said to be primarily passed down orally, to add an innovative way to transmit the story, it was thought that this may be the method of teaching the site and reinforcing the lessons by teaching the site using songs in the CHamoru language.
To meet these goals and objectives, the inaugural group of teachers received training in history methods during the Summer of 2019 which exposed them to conduct original research on their respective site. These teachers then created a narrative, aligned the subject matter into CHamoru language curriculum standards and created lesson plans and sample activities for in-class and at the site. The musical talent found within the staff of the Guam Preservation Trust used the narratives written by the CHamoru language teachers and original songs and melodies were created and then returned to the CHamoru language teachers to further teach the language to their students.
Finally, the initial core group of CHamoru language teachers will be then tasked to teach the remaining CHamoru language teachers using digital tools created by the project including DVDs, video, and on-line resources. Indeed, the goal to have many future student and teacher generations to teach about Guam’s historic sites using the CHamoru language and to have them transmit that knowledge to the entire community.
The Stories in Songs
Vocals, lyrics, and music composed by:
Jesse Bais & Ruby Santos;
Studio Engineer & Music Arranger: Zachary Quinata;
Musicians: Zachary Quinata, Kameron Quinata,
Les Aquiningoc, Ruby Santos, and Jesse Bais;
Mastered by: Roberto Aguon
Recorded September 2020 at the Historic Lujan House.
The Lyrics and Guitar Chords for each song are found on the back page of each respective lesson plan.
Click on a track below to begin listening.
Click on the PDF icon to download the entire series or choose them individually below.
Individual Lesson Plans & Songs
Lesson Plan Authors
Acho’ Fouha
Umatac
Tinige’ Garcia B.W. Rodriguez
Kampanayon Malesso’
Merizo
Tinige’ Rufina Mendiola
Fuerte Nuestra Señora de la Soledad
yan i Sengsong Humatak
Umatac
Tinige’ Mae Nowell
Guma’ Kongresu/Liheslaturan Guahan
Hagatna
Tinige’ Rufina Mendiola
Guma’ Jose Pangelinan Lujan
Hagatna
Tinige’ Julie Taitague Garcia
I Sengsong Litekyan
Ritidian/Yigo
Tinige’ Maria Agulto
Kombento gi iya Malesso’
Merizo
Tinige’ Julie Taitague Garcia
Påle’ Diego Luis de San Vitores
Tumon
Tinige’ Grace Rodriguez
Plåsa de Espåña
Hagatna
Tinige’ Barbara Manibusan
I Sengsong Inalahan gi iya Guahan
Inarajan
Tinige’ Julie Taitague Garcia