CHamoru Legends: A Gathering of Stories

by Teresita Lourdes Perez

CHamoru Legends retells twelve CHamoru legends and features personal reflections from author Teresita Lourdes Perez, unique illustrations of each legend by Guam artists, and versions of the legends in the CHamoru language by Maria Ana Tenorio Rivera. The book includes CHamoru classics like the story of the siblings who created the universe; the two lovers who were pushed to the edge of a cliff because their union was forbidden; and the tale of the son who leapt an island away to escape his jealous father.

CHamoru Legends is the 2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards Bronze Medal recipient for Best Regional Fiction for Australia/New Zealand/Pacific Rim.

It is a reversible book featuring the legends in English on one side and in CHamoru on the other. Through multiple layers of interpretation, the book weaves together strips of wisdom and cultural lessons like the leaves used to shape the CHamoru guåfak, or mat, upon which the earliest CHamoru storytellers sat sharing their versions of these timeless tales.

249 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 14, 2019

Reviews

[Vonna Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading it to my neni!

[Christine Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories used:
The Cow and the Carabao
The Scented Woman

[Gabrhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in one sitting and cried my eyes out.