Courtesy of Dr. Lawrence J. Cunningham. Research Associate Outreach Coordinator National Resource Center for Micronesian Studies; Richard Flores Taitano Micronesian Area Research Center, University of Guam UOG Station Mangilao, Guam 96923. All material is Copyrighted©. All rights reserved. No material may be copied in part or in whole without Dr. Cunningham's written permission. Send emails to "Lawrence J. Cunningham" lcunning@uog9.uog.edu. Thank You.
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The belief in the white lady is found in Mexico and in Malaysia, as well as the Mariana Islands. In Mexico she has a beautiful body, but a face like a horse. In the stories on Guam the white lady is very beautiful. A sophisticated high class young man wanted to marry a beautiful taotaomo'na who lived in the woods with her cousins. She accepted his proposal. The young man's parents forbid the marriage. When the young man insisted, his mother killed him. The expectant bride still waits for him at the Ma'ina bridge on Guam. She appears from time to time. She is most likely to be seen by men who resemble her dead lover. She is every man's dream girl. She wears white and has long black hair, which reaches to the ground. You can tell when she is near because she smells like ilangilang. In a similar story from Hagat (Agat) she smells like fresh wild lemon. In some stories, she has white hair and long, flowing white robes.
In this story, some aspects of ancient Chamorro culture are revealed.
Marriages between people of different social positions were forbidden.
Since ancient Chamorro society was a matrilineage, children belonged to
their mothers. There is a Chamorro proverb that states, "Yanggen
sina hao hu fanagu. Pues sina ha'lokkue'hu puno'hao (You
were born of me. Therefore, I have the right to kill you)."
2
NOTES: 1 Reprinted from my Marianas Spanish Folklore Vol. 1. 2
From my Ancient Chamorro Society, Bess Press, 1992.
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