knife, yes

At Belen

At Bel-- Belen, they uh, the uh, the two

It's called

ah nnh nah nhh, my sibling named the place Belen because

When we were nine, we would call it "Knife", y'know?

The people were together all the time

And they-- what it was, was they were praying the Novena to the infant Jesus there at the time

Because of that, they named the place Belen

yes

And we'll keep in mind, man, our CHamoru culture, right?

yeah

And if, uh, what nnh um, the people remember what the place was actually used for at that time

All the time they-- they gav-- they called it something else

yes, yes

Yes, it's true

And it would make them happy, too, if they would know their perfect name, right?

Yes

And although the new name

Who named it

Yeah, y'know? Ay ay ay.

good good

So it's obvious you were raised in use of the CHamoru language?

Yes

and

Can you tell us a little bit about uh how you grew up?

When you were growing up Inalahan, what was your experience like?

No, when I was growing up, I truly could not talk

there, at the time

ah, until I was eight

at that age, y'know, I began to talk.

and all I could really say then was, oh, 'daddy' and 'mommy', y'know?

and the same time I was talking, my other siblings

(their) Chamoru was clear and perfect.

Well, that was the only language, really truly, in the house

we used. And when I went to school, I would always challenge my teacher

when my teacher, ah, because I didn't want to speak English. The CHamoru language all the time.

Yes yes, ah

Well, since you were a child, y'know, ... what is it

I spoke CHamoru

You only spoke CHamoru

Yes

But at, at the teachers there at the time, they claimed you were very hard-headed, right?

Yes, they punished (me) all the time

Because, with all my money, they were taking my money for lunch, and

ah um, I didn't know what they were using it for

So I was careful with my dime

because you can buy pudding with your dime and

what's that, canned drink, y'know, there, at the time

for the bottled drink

for the bottled drink, with a dime. I know now it just can't be done.

it very much cannot

very much cannot

You can't even buy the skin off the ginger for that [laughing]

so, but at that time, that was a big offence, right?

Yes

They would punish the indigenous children

They would punish those speaking CHamoru for using their own language.

It was an enormous violation

No, when I was a child, y'know, when I was in school, I knocked out my teacher's tooth.

ah because at uh every turn, what's it... they pinched me

because that would just continue, speaking CHamoru, so was I was already fed up with that punishment

truly, it wasn't, because

I tied a wire from one chair to the other chair

and so when I saw him, I pulled (it tight)

And he flipped over, and y'know he flipped over, y'know? That... y'know

ah, he fell down

and that, y'know, broke his front teeth

Thet really is a tooth-gap [laughing]

a tooth-gap, y'know

Ay ay ay

That's what she gets

Okay

Ok. Thank you.

And umm

At umm

Of your last name, yeah? Paulino, for... from your father?

Yes, the Paulino is from my father

And what was from your mother?

the 'Meno' was from my mother

Is there more to know about your family name?

Yes. The family 'Tisu'

Is Tisu for 'Paulino' or 'Meno'?

Neither. It's on my mother's side. My father's family was 'Fabiåna'

Fabiåna, so you definitely have ancestors whose name was 'Fabiåna'

Yes

Okay, good, thank you

And what would there have been inside the village, y'know?

Those like in your community, they'll know who is known for and who is doing this type of work

Was that the way it was done in your family inside the village?

Oh yes, uh, all the time, you all knew whilch people in the village

Who can, um, what's it..., uh, count

ah or weave a woven mat

or or uh, box--, uh for the packed lunch, uh

ah that, ah that kind, yeah?

We always knew who created or who made it

because when we lived in the village, y'know

in Inalåhan

ah, my aunt made cakes, and, oh my goodness, they were made right first thing in the morning

the people were totally distracted because

of your hunger, because you wanted to eat that cake

[laughing]

Did they make use of the brick oven?

Yes, the outside oven, y'know?

in the outside oven

good

and are, are you the ones that built the outside oven in Gefpa'go?

uh

Gefpa'go, ah my brother ah Carlos

my brother Carlos

and he made that

made it yes

good, good

just like

my tongue was salivating when you were describing the delicious creations which came out of it

oh [laughing]

from the oven

Thank you

that's it

uh

okay

so, uh

Are there other things that you want to

tell those who are listening

about your experience when you were growing up in CHamou?

yes, truly, in

according to my experience, y'know, in the the pure CHamoru language when I was growing up, that

that wa--, I mean, all the time my father gave that kind of warning

that I should write down, y'know,

the story

then honestly in June on the

sixteenth day in, day in

thousand

I mean two thousand

sixteen

We really celebrated the... that the entire family was gathered