Håfa adai yan Buenas! Here are several pictures of my ålas (necklace) that contains many elements of the Chamorro culture. It took me alot of time and energy to make this wonderful piece of jewelry, but moreso, I believe that the ancestors before me guided my hands along the entire process. From start to finish, this piece incorporates many facets of my life, my people, and who they are and from where they have come.
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My ålas consists of three pieces of turtle shell, nine pieces of spondylus, two pieces of red coral, one piece of hima (giant clam shell), two bone hooks, and a håyon ifit (Ifil tree wood) center pendant. It is bound with nylon string, (but shortly, after I twist enough pandanus twine I will restring it with that, please stay tuned for updated pics.) and finished with a spondylus åcho' atupat shaped toggle and a simple loop. Starting from the top of both sides of the piece, are turtle shell salape' (money bead), followed by three spiny oyster salape' and then a red coral salape'. At the center where both sides of the ålas meet sits a single hima salape' with a spondylus inlayed bead. Below this hangs two haguet or hooks. One, of simple design is a functional hook, whereas the one situated below it is a contemporary hook featuring many motifs of the Chamorro culture.
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Here is the hima salape' with the spondylus inlay. Inlay is evident in many of the artifacts found in the Marianas islands. Here are the haguet up close. You can see the functional hook sitting on top of the contemporary hook.






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Here are updated pictures of the hooks that include the third piece of turtle shell as mentioned above, it is wrapped around the to'lang (bone) shank of the haguet to represent the binding of many thoughts and ideas into one loop, continuous yet starting from an unknown point. Hayon ifit (Local Guam hardwood, ifil wood) center pendant in the shape of åcho' atupat (slingstone, contemporarily utilized as the Great Seal of Guam on our flag), and spondylus seashell (Ancient Guam shell money) inlay centered on the pendant. The other meaning of the center pendant is måtan i manggumeke'ine'egga'hit or the "eye of those that are attempting to watch over us" during these troubled times in our Chamorro nation. Tribal designs on the front of the slingstone surrounding the spondylus inlay, and a scene of a thatched roof A-frame hut on åcho' latte' (stone house supports) and a coconut palm tree on the back. These two motifs signifying the architectural prowess of the Chamorro peoples, and the coconut tree, which is a life source for the pacific peoples, and so rightfully called the "Tree of Life". Approximately one yard of hand twisted pandanus leaf twining used to wrap the hook, two strand twining for the wrapping, and four strand twining for the loop.