A Thief, a Woman, a People of the Land: Exploring Chamorro Strategies of Incarnation

Abstract

In this chapter, I reflect on my relationship with Guam, its history, and the ways Chamorros—Guam’s indigenous people—have reanimated selves over and again in a colonial trajectory that conflated culture, religious practice, and worldview alongside narratives of empire and defense. While this chapter ostensibly attempts to trace the constitution of militarized bodies, I do so by (1) unveiling matrices of empire, economy, and religious practice through the conflicting narratives of two Chamorro icons: the ladrón (thief) and the Santa Marian Kamalen (Our Lady of Camarin). Insofar as both signify indigenous strategies for/against early colonial contact, I suggest that they evoke (2) critique of colonial iterations that scaffold Chamorro subjectivity. More than gestures of resistance, these icons illuminate (3) theological strategies that both unfetter and rearticulate bodies beyond confines of colonial time and space.