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.
Teresita Lourdes Perez teaches English composition courses at the University of Guam and is the president of the Guam-based writing organization, Ta Tuge' Mo'na. She has also co-edited several publications including, Kinalamten gi Pasifiku: Insights from Oceania;Storyboard: A Journal of Pacific Imagery; and the University of Guam's Undergraduate Research Journal. She loves her child, her mother, her friends, her dogs and cats, her work, and her secrets.
"Having CHamoru legends within the family helps bind the ties from whoever is telling the story—whether it's your grandfather, grandmother, great-grandparents—to the children . . . especially if you're using the CHamoru language." - Maria Ana Tenorio Rivera, CHamoru educator and translator of CHamoru Legends: A Gathering of Stories
