One for Noah, One for Tali

After (what) 8 years of moving from Saipan to Portland, OR, Noah is coming home for a visit.  Last time I saw him was 2 years ago when Tali graduated from high school.  I wanted to give him something special - something that reminds him of his island roots, and that he will always be family to me.

It has been a while since I made one, but I cut a Spondylus (Thorny oyster) salape' or alas (money) pendant representing him, and a Tridacna (giant clam or hima in Chamorro) representing his big family (me included) always surrounding him with love and protection, no matter where in the world they are.  The Spondylus shell and beads were highly valued by the ancient people - nowadays, it is a symbol of their identity and connection to the past.   

Of course, I had to cut one for his big sister, Tali.  She got stuck in VA and pretty bummed that she couldn't visit Saipan.  I was bummed as well.  I will look forward to seeing her again, hopefully this year.

This bead is one of the prettiest I've ever found and cut.  Beauty and resiliency for my Tali.

I miss you both and love you very much.  Till we meet again...

Ti napu,

The Beachcomber

Can't Sleep Project

I couldn't sleep last night. I don't think I got enough rest since I got back and now my coughing has relapsed this entire weekend. I was pretty restless flipping through pages of my current reading materials and flipping through scenes of the movie I was playing. I was stuck in insomnia land and the sandman was nowhere in sight.

I noticed some cord laying around that I rolled together while I was on Managaha Island two weeks ago. I was invited by the SDA School to do outdoor classes and I decided to do a nature walk with the younger kids to talk about plants and natural history. At the end of the walk, I picked up a dried screwpine (Pandanus tectorius) leaf, ripped off the spines and started thigh-twisting the strands to cordage. The Chamorros name for this particular screw pine is pahong. I was surprised how tough the cord was after I rolled it. Here's a post with a tutorial on how to make cordage.
I also had a giant clam (Tridacna maxima) bead I took off from a necklace about a year ago that was just lying around unused. I decided to take it off of the nylon cord I had originally used and make a more natural piece. The Chamorro word for giant clam is hima and they called the shell money/ornamental beads, salape'.Hima is very difficult to cut and carve since its calcite-aragonite matrix is very hard, finely-packed and so crystal-like that it cracks easily when it gets heated. Here is the finished piece.
I had a few extra strands of the leaf to roll a smaller cord for the salape' attachment. It is pretty tiring to roll the tiny cord with your fingers.
I still need a lot of help with my technique. Can you see where I cheated? It's my secret.

Sadly, I did not have enough of the pahong leaf to use on the loop, and had to resort to using black nylon cordage. Here is a simple loop and knot for the necklace clasp.

Voila'. It's done.

Well, I am glad of the finished product since it is mostly all natural materials. I need more practice to really get the binding of these things done well. Come to think of it, I haven't had a lot of time lately to make any more necklaces.
I did accomplish to get sleepy after everything was done so the project suited me well for the time it took.

Ti napu.

The Beachcomber.

PS. Oops! I misnamed the leaf that I used. There are two types of native screwpines in the Marianas: Pandanus tectorius which the natives call kafu' and Pandanus dubious which is locally called pahong. I have a picture of both in this entry. Check them out in the Guam Forestry website.

7742- Thank You the Island Way

Whenever I visit the U.S. Pacific Island Jurisdictions, I am treated like a king. The islanders really know how to make you feel welcome and go the extra mile to make your stay really pleasant. In the States, our partners do the same for us, taking us around to see the sights, maybe go shopping or to a baseball game. They also really pay attention to the effects of the time difference and jet lag.

One of our long standing project officers will be resigning in a year or two. This means slowly letting go of the PIJ project areas. He has been a champion for the Pacific for more than a decade working out funding and resources that our people can not live without. I am glad that I had at least 3 years under his guidance and experienced immense support for the work that I do. It was my Guahan counterpart, Bernie that had the brilliant idea to take Thom and his wife, Yolanda, out for dinner and to thank him with gifts island style.

Thom had no clue what was going on. Here's brilliant Bernie pretending that we were nervous about our presentations and that we needed some time with Thom to prepare. It was nice to surprise him.

One of the things I'll always remember for is his affinity for taking lots and lots of pictures. We decided to go to a Mexican restaurant called Jalapeno Jack's.
Bernie and the crowning of the king! She was having a hard time maneuvering Thom's fro!
...and our queen. The mwarmwars were from Palau and the leis from Guahan. The mwars were made with artificial flowers since real ones wouldn't have checked out of customs but they were really beautifully made.

The Guahan folks: Bernie, Thom, ate Liz and Yolanda.
James is from Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. The last time I saw him was in 2007 in Pohnpei.
Dr. Zach and Roy with giving some gorgeous shell mwars and necklaces from the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Dr. Zach is based on the main island and Roy is from Ebye.
Roy and I were in Chicago in 2008. It was the first time to see snow for the both of us!
Our couple lookin' smart!
I gave Thom the higam hima: Hacha that I made. He was really appreciative and said he'd make a make a shadow box for it. I also gave away some CNMI quarters.
I gave Yolanda a necklace I made from Spondylus. I shaped one as an alahas and kept one in the natural shape of the spiny oyster.
Hana and Alene from the Republic of Palau gave a beautiful painting of a Palauan chief's house, coconut crafts and some trochus shell and pearl necklace and earings.
Yolanda was excited about a woven pandanus bag from Guahan. I didn't get to take pictures of the American Samoan's who gave tapa cloths to the couple. I think I was caught up in the celebration that I forgot to record the moment in pictures.

At the end of our dinner, a woman came up and asked if we were celebrating a birthday and if we were from Hawaii. I had to explain to her that it was a change to an era, a changing of the guards for all of us in the PIJs. Good luck, Thom. God bless you and Si Yu’us Ma’ase.

Ti napu.

The Beachcomber

Kelli's alahas

Harry B. loves the ocean and her creatures just as I do. He has been very kind in donating Spondylus shells for me to work with. The the only thing that he asked me for was a finished alahas for his wonderful wife, Kelli. Here is a picture of the Spondylus salape' that I put together for Kelli's alahas. These beads are of the classical color and shape much like the ancient Chamorros made them. Of course, I make them the conventional way using an electric rotary tool. I hope she likes the finished product!

Thanks again for letting me share.

The Beachcomber