Yoamte Lourdes Mangroña spoke about how she started practicing Chamoru medicine on March 14, 2024 at “Olan Fino Chamor.”
(Editor’s note: This is part of a series of Mes CHamoru or CHamoru monthly stories.)
Lourdes Mangrogna (75), a yoamte, or traditional healer, visited her grandmother’s garden with more than 200 types of medicinal plants as a child, and now she passes on all her healing knowledge to the younger generation. He talked about his life’s important journey, centered around healing. , while also teaching the CHAmoru language in the process.
Mr. Mangloña was the first speaker in the “Olan Fino Chamoru” talk series hosted by the University of Guam’s Chamoru Research Program.
The March 14 meeting was conducted entirely in Chamoru.
Mangloña is an instructor in UOG’s traditional healing course and has been teaching students about Chamoru medicine for the past few years.
Originally from the island of Rota, Mangloña learned Chamoru medicine from her grandmother, Ana Mangloña Torves, who raised her and taught her everything she knows about traditional healing methods.
When she was two years old, Nana took her to Saipan to raise her and taught her how to care for plants used to make medicine.
“Ginen guiya todo na hu tungo este siha na åmot (I know everything about these drugs from her),” Mangrogna told the talk series host Kodi Lizama and the audience.
She said her grandmother cultivated 234 types of medicinal plants at home, which have been used to heal people from pre-birth to growing stage and from head to foot.
As a child, Mangroña went outside to water plants and learned different ways to make Chamor medicines.
“Ilek-ña si biha-hu, ‘Tungo este i amot sa untiempo bai hu taigue ya huyong yan un fama’nå’gue’ (My grandmother said, “Soon I will leave this world and go out.” Please know about this drug.’ Please tell me,” Mangrogna said.
But she said her grandmother told her not to spend money because medicine and money were not alike.
Since practicing traditional healing, she has never sold her medicine and has given it to those who need it for free.
Throughout her life, she said, every drug she has given has helped people. She said she is grateful to God and her grandmother for helping heal people to this day.
During her stay in Rota, she worked on opening the Haddin Ormot (Medical Garden) and, with the support of a non-profit organization, opened a cultural center to impart different types of traditional knowledge to younger generations.
She said it is easy to find plants to make medicines on Rota because there is not much development.
get more knowledge
She said Guam also has many plants, but due to development, not many are readily available. Still, when you go out looking for plants to make medicine, you don’t have to go far because you can find plants along the roadsides.
When she retired and her husband passed away, Manglogna wanted to know how she could gain more knowledge about traditional medicine.
She went to America to learn more about plants and the nutrients they contain. Although she already knew a lot about plants, she said she didn’t know much about the nutrients they contained.
All this knowledge, including the nutrients found in plants, she is now passing on to UOG students and a new generation of Chamors interested in the healing arts.
She was able to learn what plants could be used in place of others to make medicines more potent, she said.
In school, it is important for students to pass tests to show that they have learned and understood what is being taught, she said.
There is a botanical garden on campus where you can see and touch real plants without having to go looking for plants in the jungle.
clear mind
She said she wanted to do this while she was still clear-headed. She’s thankful that while people her age may already be dim and forgetful, she still hasn’t forgotten what she learned from her grandmother.
Manglogna credits this ability to retain knowledge at age 75 to her grandmother and traditional medicine.
She tells her students to use their knowledge and always ask questions to learn more.
Manglona currently teaches in Chamoru, but is happy to translate words into English to help students who don’t understand.
She said she was happy to be able to fulfill her grandmother’s wish to pass on the knowledge of Chamoru medicine.
Ms. Mangrogna created the book just for her students to learn from.
A member of the audience asked her if she would sell the book, to which she replied that it was intended only for students.
However, she plans to publish a book that will be sold to the public.
She also teaches the importance of respecting the jungle and our ancestors. She said the medicine may not be as effective if the person who ingested the plant showed respect and did not ask for permission beforehand.
Mr. Mangrogna also talked about how some plants may be considered poisonous or venereal, but there are ways to use them medicinally. And this is important knowledge for healers, she said.
western medicine
Mangrogna believes that Western medicine can be good, but those who take it need to be careful of side effects.
Western medicine may cure one thing, but it can harm another, she says.
She said she personally does not take Western medicine, preferring to take Chamol medicine, which has no side effects.
People may be seeking Western medicine because they don’t know where to find traditional medicine, she said, unlike in the past when Chamoru healers were more readily available. Many people have passed away.
Therefore, it is important to teach a new generation of healers to keep the knowledge and traditions of Chamoru Omot alive, she said.
