Fa'ñague: a Chamorro epistemology of post-life communication

Abstract

The primary aim of this dissertation is to analyze a spiritual aspect of Chamorro cosmology known as fa'ñague, or visitations from the deceased, to shed light on how and why it exists in Guam, and how it differs among Chamorro Natives who experience it in the island and abroad. A secondary aim of the dissertation is to expand upon the scholarly documentation of Native Chamorro epistemologies concerning life and death, and the role of the spiritual realm in daily life of the people of the Marianas. The dissertation is structured as follows: Part I offers an in-depth exploration and personification of Guam, the place, the culture, and the people in order to balance longstanding and erroneous conceptions about the Island. Part II includes the rationale for the research, a methodological framework, and a literature review. In addition, a full chapter on Chamorro epistemology is included to reinforce the elements of the Native worldview and way of knowing to provide context for the research findings. In Part III -- the fruits of data gathering and analysis -- are offered using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Finally, this dissertation hopes to argue and position a new model of Indigenous research methodology, which I am calling Neo-Indigenous Methodology. Essentially, it is an evolution from the de-colonizing approach borne by founding Indigenous scholars who sought to break from Western scholarly dialect to express and inform Native wisdom. Instead, Neo-Indigenous Methodology proposes that Indigenous scholars embrace the dialect of all Western humanistic discourse to further clarify and magnify pure Indigenous knowledge.