GUAM FOODOPEDIA - Letter D - A Dynamic Collaborative for All Things CHamoru Eats.

GUAM FOODOPEDIA

...a dynamic collaborative for all things CHamoru eats.

The goal of this Guam Foodopedia project is to record our collective memories and facts about our food heritage. Our CHamoru food inheritance has changed over time. Whether we like those changes or not, the fact remains that our more recent ancestors cooked differently from our ancient people. And it is also true that what our grandparents cooked during Spanish, American, and Japanese occupations -- is till our heritage. Fortunately, at least the Spanish and other European visitors did write down a few things about Guam's food from the 1500s to the end of the 1800s. In the 1900s, there were a good number of American authors who recorded some information about our food. It's not enough though. By bringing together all that we know about our CHamoru food -- memories from the past and the way we cook today -- our descendants in hundreds of years to come, will know for sure, what their CHamoru food history is.

Add your Guam food memories and the name you want to use, suggestions, and corrections in the comments below -- this Guam Foodopedia will be updated accordingly. Also leave a note for Guam food restaurants, food trucks, caterers, and sellers. The primary reference for spelling is the Chamorro-English Dictionary by Topping, Ogo, and Dungca. The CHamoru language has changed over time, and there are subtle differences of the language between the inhabited Mariana Islands, including Guam, Saipan, Rota, and Tinian. 

In an effort to preserve and protect the indigenous culture of Guam, at the end of 2018, it was passed into law that the official spelling of Chamorro would be changed to CHamoru.

Each letter of the CHamoru alphabet will have it's own page...eventually. English food-related words will also be included per respective letter.

CHAMORU ATFABETU (tsa-mo-row at-fa-be-too)
Click on each letter.

'(glota)  Aa/Åå  Bb  CHch  Dd  Ed  Ff  Gg  Hh  Ii  Kk  Ll  Mm  Nn/Ññ/NGng  Oo  Pp  Rr  Ss  Tt  Uu  Yy

' the glota signals a distinct yet subtle hardness/stop after the letter/sound that preceeds it.

Aa makes the sound like the a in apple.

Åå makes the sound like the o in orange and the a in awesome.

Sometimes the Aa sound and the Åå sound are changed in a word depending on how it is used.

*Unfortunately, not every site contains the letters Aa with the solid dot/lonnat (lon-nat) on top. It should be a lonnat as opposed to an open circle.*

D
Dadalak/Dalalak

• (da-da-dack / da-la-lack). The tail of an animal

Daddek

• (da-deck). A young coconut without any water or meat inside.

Dafflokgue/Dafflok

• (da-flowck-gwee / da-flowck). Ate too much

Dåggan

• (daw-gan). Buttocks or rump

Dåggao

• (daw-gow). To throw, fling, cast.
• Dåggao fan este na to'lang guenao guatu para i ga'lågu (duw-gow fan es-tee na togh-lang gwe-now gwat-too pa-ra ee ga-law-goo). Throw this bone please over there for the dog.

Dågu/Dågon

• (daw-goo). Yam
• Several varieties of yam on Guam. Have slimy feel to it. An ancient food brought to the island by her first settlers.
• Guam boñelos dågu recipes -- boñelos dågu 1

Dågon agaga'

• (daw-gewn a-ga-ga). Red yam

Dågon anakko'

• (daw-gewn a-knaw-kew). Very long yam that is thought to be one of the best types of yams.

Dågon apaga

• (daw-gewn a-paw-ga). Shoulder yam

Dågon hålom tåno

• (daw-gewn haw-lewm taw-knew). Wild yam that is bitter and inedible.

Dågon håya

• (daw-gewn haw-dza). Light colored and sweet
• This is commonly known on Guam as finger yam
• Håya means south or end. This dågu is usually harvested at the end of the rainy season...maybe that's how it derived its name. Or, maybe because it grows really good in southern Guam.
• Type of plant dioscorea numularia

Dågon kunehu

• (daw-gewn coo-ne-who). Rabbit yam

Dågon lila

• (daw-gewn lee-la). Purple yam

Dågon Lukas

• (daw-gewn lew-kas). Yam

Dågon lulok

• (daw-gewn lew-look). Yam that is straight.

Daibang

• (dye-bang). Big tuna
• Fish-family scombridae

Daigo'/Daikon

• (dye-gugh / dye-kon). Pickled turnip or raddish

Dakdak

• (dawk-dak). To hit, rasp, strike

Dånkolo

• (dawn-koo-loo). Big

Daña

• (da-nya). To put together. Usually used with "na" as in na'daña
• Na'daña i titiyas yan SPAM (na-da-nya ee ti-tee-dzas dzan spam). Put the tortilla and SPAM together.

Dekka'/denka

• (de-ka / den-ka). To pick at or nibble at

Dekka' nifen

• (de-ka knee-fin). Toothpick

Denkot

• (den-kewt). To pick at the food

Desabridu

• (des-a-bree-do). Tasteless, unpleasant, spoiled

Desguas

• (des-gwas). Fishing pole; to snare or to catch chickens

Deskalentao

• (des-ka-lent-ao). Spoiled, particularly spoiled eggs

Dibåna

• (dee-baw-na). To slice or cut into slices

Dibide

• (di-bee-dee). To divide

Dikike'

• (di-kee-kee). Small

Dilisiosu

• (di-lee-see-oh-sue). Delicious

Diliti/Diriti

• (di-lee-tee / di-ree-tee). To melt, dilute, dissolve

Dinanche

• (di-nan-tsee). Hot pepper paste; literally translated as to hit, or hit it right on the spot
• Guam dinanche recipes -- dinanche 1

Dinaña

• (di-na-nya). A mixture or blend

Dinekko'

• (dee-ne-kugh). noun A seedling in which you can see the first leaves coming out
• verb Sprouting, germination, growing

Disåyunu/Lisåyunu

• (dee-saw-dzu-knew / lee-saw-dzu-knew). Breakfast

Disembra

• (dee-sem-bra). Replacing a seed or plant that didn't grow

Dispnesiya

• (dis-pen-see-dza). Pantry

Dokdok

• (dowk-dewk). Seeded breadfruit
• The seed in this type of breadfruit is called hutu (who-too), a savory counterpart to the American chestnut.

Dokko'

• (dogh-kugh). Growing or sprouting

Dokngos

• (dowk-ngus). Burnt, crispy

Donne'

• (doe-knee). Generic term for pepper
• Most Chamorros these days use the term to refer to the spicy pepper

Donne' gollai

• (doe-knee gogh-lie). Vegetable pepper, bell pepper

Donne' pika

• (doe-knee pee-ka). Spicy pepper

Donne' sali

• (doe-knee-saw-lee). Small pepper that is very spicy
• Type of plant capsicum frutescens

Donne' ti'ao

• (doe-knee tee-ouw). Hot pepper that is larger than normal

Dulok

• (dew-look). Poke

Dusena

• (doo-se-na). Double

Dutse

• (dewt-see). Passion fruit
• Also means sweets