TUMUGE' PÅPA' (WRITING IT DOWN): CHAMORRO MIDWIVES AND THE DELIVERY OF NATIVE HISTORY

Authors

Christine Taitano DeLisle, University of MichiganFollow

Abstract

This essay explores the evolving significance of the Chamorro phrase tuge' påpa'—"write it down"—as both a command and a cultural imperative in the life of a Chamorro woman and scholar. Anchored in personal history and critical scholarship, the essay examines how writing becomes a medium for engaging with, preserving, and reshaping Chamorro identity, history, and resistance in the face of colonial narratives. Drawing from research on i pattera siha—prewar Chamorro nurse-midwives trained under U.S. Naval Administration—this work blends ethnography, historiography, and family memory to challenge dominant American colonial discourse. Using the motif of “working hands,” it underscores the intersection of maternal knowledge, linguistic legacies, and embodied labor as central to decolonial storytelling. The essay reflects on intergenerational acts of literacy and resistance, where women’s stories—passed down, recorded, or remembered—serve as both historical sources and acts of political reclamation.

Recommended Citation

DeLisle, Christine Taitano (2007) "TUMUGE' PÅPA' (WRITING IT DOWN): CHAMORRO MIDWIVES AND THE DELIVERY OF NATIVE HISTORY," Pacific Studies Journal: Vol. 30: No. 1, Article 5.
Available at: https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol30/iss1/5