Indulgences

1. pugua'

   Betel nut (areca nut)

   Usage

   Sold in bunches at Guam markets and roadside stands. Health warning: IARC classifies areca nut as Group 1, carcinogenic to humans, with an established link to oral cancer. Chewing turns the saliva red and stains teeth and gums

   Grammar Note

   One word covers both the nut and the palm; the alternate form is pigua'. It goes back to Proto-Austronesian *buaq, "fruit"

2. pupulu

   Betel leaf (pepper leaf)

   Usage

   The vine leaf the nut is wrapped in; it tastes peppery. The two are always used as a pair: "Hu u'usa pupulu yan pugua'."

   Grammar Note

   There is also pupulon Yap, a fragrant variety said to come from Yap. pupulon aniti is a different wild species used medicinally

3. mamå'on

   A betel quid (nut, leaf, lime and tobacco)

   Usage

   The made-up quid. It works as a usable sentence: "Despensa yu', kao guaha mamå'on?" Note that with tobacco and lime added the cancer risk is higher than for the nut alone

   Grammar Note

   From Proto-Western-Malayo-Polynesian *mamaq-en, cognate with Bikol mama'-ón and Tausug mama'-un

4. måma'

   To chew betel nut; betel ready to chew

   Usage

   Covers both the act and the prepared nut. "Kao guaha måma'?" is what people actually say at a gathering

   Grammar Note

   The spent quid is ánmama', a separate word. The verb means chewing without swallowing, so the quid is spat out afterwards

5. amaskåda

   The habit of chewing betel nut and tobacco

   Usage

   The word for the habit itself. It is used in a cautionary form: "Mungnga ma'eyak i amaskåda." — "Do not pick up the habit."

   Grammar Note

   From the verb amåska, "to chew lightly": Spanish mascar plus the action suffix -ada

6. ugam

   Ugam (the red, hard-ripe variety of betel nut)

   Usage

   The red variety, picked mature and hard. Buyers ask for a variety by name at the market, so the word turns up on labels and in conversation

   Grammar Note

   From the homographic adjective ugam, "intense in colour". The pale variety is chångnga

7. chupa

   Tobacco; to smoke

   Usage

   Both the leaf and the act of smoking. A smoking area is fañupåyan. Guam is a US jurisdiction, and indoor public spaces are almost entirely smoke-free

   Grammar Note

   A separate word chupa is a dry measure of about one cup, used for grain. In a rice-measuring context that is the meaning

8. sigariyu

   Cigarette

   Usage

   The cigarette. It is also used as a warning: "Ti maolek i sigariyu para hågu." On Guam the minimum age to buy is 21

   Grammar Note

   From Spanish cigarrillo. Do not spell it sigåyu or sigarilyu

9. binu

   Wine

   Usage

   Wine from fermented fruit juice. The colour is agaga' (red) or å'paka' (white), as in "Ya-hu gumimen i agaga' na binu." (I like to drink red wine)

   Grammar Note

   From Spanish vino. CHamoru has no letter v, so the spelling is binu, not vino or bino

10. atkahót

    Alcohol

    Usage

    Covers both the alcohol in a drink and rubbing alcohol. To ask for none, say "Tåya' atkahót"

    Grammar Note

    It goes back through Spanish alcohol to Arabic al-kuḥl; the syllable-final l became t in borrowing (al- to at-)

11. aguayente

    Aguayente (strong spirit distilled from tuba)

    Usage

    The local spirit distilled from tuba. Note that it is high in strength: "Fotte yan piligru i aguayente na gimen." — strong and dangerous

    Grammar Note

    The short form is agi. From Spanish aguardiente, but that spelling is not used

12. maneska

    Liquor, alcoholic drink

    Usage

    The general word for liquor. It names what a shop stocks: "Jose has a cigarette and liquor store." On Guam the minimum age to drink or buy alcohol is 21, and you may be asked for ID

    Grammar Note

    It is paired with refresko (cold drinks and light refreshments) — the frame that separates alcoholic from non-alcoholic

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