Promesa
About the documentary film:
Through intimate interviews with four prayer leaders, the documentary film explores the Chamorro nobena tradition and its significance beyond religious practice. It speaks to both its spiritual foundations and its unifying force that binds families and communities, capturing the richness and depth of this tradition while sustaining its legacy within Chamorro culture.
Lesson Plans by Local Educators
Elyssa Juline Santos, PhD student-activist in the History and Museum Studies programs at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa
Promesa Chamorro
Subject: Chamorro Language | Grade: K-12th Grade; College
This set of lesson plans was created as supplemental educational resources for a series of promesa-centered events that took place in Hawai‘i. The packet of worksheets target beginner Chamorro language learners from youth to adult learners, and vary in complexity from basic Chamorro vocabulary practice, labeling activities, and more complex nubena song analysis.
Lola Quan Bautista, Associate Professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Culture, Religion and Faith
Subject: Culture and Religion | Grade: 9-12th Grade; College
This lesson plan focuses on an interpretive essay by Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua, entitled “Transmission of Christianity into CHamoru/Chamorro Culture,” and the documentary film Promesa (2024), directed and produced by Dr. Lola Quan Bautista. Students will be asked to reflect on aspects of culture, religion, and faith among the CHamoru people living in the Mariana Islands and in the diaspora.