ANZ presents
Guam - a rebirth of Chamorro culture
Much of
the Chamorro culture of Guam survives today thanks to its matriarchal
society that diligently preserved language, music, dance and
traditions.
 Dr.
Katherine Bordallo Aguon tells us in her book "The Historical
Evolution of Chamorro Fashion" prepared for the Guam Department
of Chamorro Affairs that ancient gatherings often focused on
passing along oral histories and traditions and as part of the
celebrations, the women would adorn themselves with their special
ornaments and dress.
The ancient traditional
ornamentation and dress, was later influenced by the early missionaries
and is noticeable in today's modern Chamorro fashions.  Early
17th century attire is depicted in this rendering of the 'Kakahna'
named after the ancient Chamorro shaman. It is a topless skirt
cinched at the waist with a string of poksi, a strip from the
bark of the pago tree.
A loose one-piece
skirt with a the top raised over the breasts was created to comply
with missionaries' demands that women cover themselves when they
came for church services. Even today it is still tied with the
same poksi. Called 'Chamorri' in honor of the Chamorri women
who had say over clan-owned lands, they were among the first
Chamorros to interact with outsiders.
On the right,
Jennifer Paulino is wearing a modern version of the design.
The 'Chamorri'
evolved into the 'Manachang' where first the skirt was raised
and tied at the bustline and then another poksi was tied around
the waist showing off their tiny waistlines. Named after the
lowest class in the ancient Chamorro society, there is still
debate among scholars as to who and how the Manachang figure
into the early society.
Named after the
working class of the ancient Chamorro society, the 'Manatchaot'
are one-piece dresses either long or short, draped over the shoulder.
Unlike 'Chamorri' or 'Manachang' it is no longer cinched at the
waist or tied at the bust. It evolved into a fully tailored and
formfitting dress from bodice to skirt and was the beginning
of the tight, shapely and flattering dress.
Tina Muna Barnes
(left) shows off the modern version of this over-the-shoulder
dress.
Adding to the
missionary influence in Chamorro fashion was the influence of
Mexico and the Philippines in the 18th century and Filipino fashion
influences dominated Chamorro fashions well into the 20th century.
The 'Dudos' style consists of sheer pina fabric blouse with fancy
embroidery on the sleeves and a long floral print material with
a train cinched into a waistband  over
a long cotton slip with lace shown off at the bottom. Sylvia
M. Flores (right) shows this modern version worn on formal or
special occasions.
Male fashions
were also greatly influenced by Mexican and Filipino dress. The
'Chaifi' shirt is collarless. Named after chief Chaifi, a Chamorro
warrior who was killed by the Spanish in 1670 during the Spanish
Chamorro wars.
And since special
occasions in Guam require a jacket of some sort, the modern 'Chaifi'
coat was created. The coat is designed with no collar or lapel
and is usually worn over a "Chaifi" shirt. 
Benjamin Cruz wears the style that was designed to give tribute
to Guam's proud hero.
While the Spanish,
Mexican and Filipino cultures heavily influenced the evolution
of Chamorro fashion, Spanish dance styles nearly obliterated
indigenous
dance in Guam. When these dances were criticized at an early
Pacific Arts Festival for not being authentic Chamorro dances,
Frank Rabon and Leonard Iriarte began to try and reconstruct
the ancient Chamorro dances.
According to
Dr. Katerina Martina Teaiwa of the University of Hawaii, The
Pacific Festival of the Arts played a significant role in forcing
Chamorros to seek out what they believed to be a more authentic
looking Pacific form of dance that they could claim as their
own.
Through the work
of dance master Frank Rabon  and
scholars Judy Flores and C.R. Kim Bailey and following extensive
research and reconstruction through archival work the newly named
"Taotao Tano Cultural Dancers" showcased the new Guam
style at the 1984 festival in New Caledonia.
[Compiled
from information provided by Guam Council on the Arts & Humanities
including 'The Historical evolution of Chamorro Fashions by Dr.
Katherine Bordallo Aguon, for the Dept. of Chamorro Affairs,
and from the Pacific Islanders in Communications website: http://www.piccom.org]
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