TAMUNING, Guam — “Balutan! They have to balutan!”
Anthony Mantanona—Guam’s favorite native baker—pointed to trays of fresh coconut bread, reminding guests leaving the barbecue to follow one of the tenets of Chamorro culture: balutan, or take a plate to go, whatever. generous, be thankful, share.
“If you don’t need much, give it to someone else!” he yelled.
The chamorros they were the first inhabitants of Guam and, through 500 years of colonization by Spain, Japan and, more recently, the United States, they have survived by sharing their land, sea and sky while retaining their core cultural values.
Now, Chamorro ideology is being put to the test again, as there is yet another intrusion by the US military just as new efforts are being made to strengthen Guam’s indigenous ties.
The barbecue was held in the backyard of a 1950s-era house that doubles as a cultural center. US F-15 fighter jets roared past, a reminder of the dangerous world that continues to make demands on the people of Guam.
Approximately a third of the island has been under US military control for decades. But with China and the US locked in bitter competition for strategic advantage, Guam — a volcanic outcrop with a population of 168,000 — has become an even more vital military launching pad.
In addition to the 22,000 US soldiers here, 5,000 more Marines will soon move to a new base named after Brigadier General Vicente T. Blaz, the first Chamorro to become a general officer in the Marine Corps. A dock for nuclear-powered submarines is being refurbished. About a dozen sites have also been identified as locations for missile defense systems.
Perhaps surprisingly, all of this has not fostered much fear. Guamians have known for years that their home could be a target. It is much closer to China and North Korea than it is to Honolulu.
Guam swims in a murky pool of Americanism. It remains more of a garrison than a state; the island was turned over to the US Navy after the Spanish-American War of 1898.
On a beach near Naval Base Guam, Ron Acfalle, 64, a homebuilder, ran his hand over a narrow wooden canoe. Once in the water, the canoe will have a triangular sail—a sight first seen and praised by Spanish explorers who arrived on Guam in 1521.
The colonists called them “flying prows” and then destroyed the boats to prevent people from fleeing, trading with other islands, or planning a revolt. It was the beginning of Guam’s role as a strategic international outpost.
Today indigenous science students are learning to navigate and guide themselves by the stars.
“The idea was to recover what our ancestors left behind,” Acfalle said.
Guam history is now in the school curriculum. A new museum, with Chamorro words carved on the façade, opened a few years ago.
But the risk hangs in the air. Three snail bursts sounded at the barbecue.
A 9-year-old boy in a baseball uniform was asked by his mother to explain why he fired all three bursts.
“Heaven, sea and land,” he said, in Chamorro and English.
It was a call to the ancestors, asking for protection.
By: Damien Cave
BBC-NEWS-SRC: http://www.nytsyn.com/subscribed/stories/6718049, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-05-17 22:40:08
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