Many of our words were also taken out of context and the definitions were changed to demonize our ancestors spirits and make our people afraid of our indigenous beliefs
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The word taotaomo'na in our grandparents generation meant evil spirits that will make you sick. It just means human spirits. The people from before, in English. The word mo'na also means forward so it could also mean the spirits we become. They are both good and bad
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The word 'aniti' means a benevolent human spirit. They are freely roaming and help whomever they please. They can be your "ancestor" or not.
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Then there's "anti" or "ante" these are spirits connected to non-human entities like plants and animals. They can also helpful and kind.
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Then there's "animas" which are malevolent human or human like spirits. These are the ones that can cause harm from pinching people to full on spirital possession and even death. They often lived or died in traumatic ways and their spirits live in this cycle of harm
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Lastly there's the word "saina" which means elders. I use it to mean my personal ancestors, my grandparents who have passed on and their parents and family going back generations.
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To wrap up this thread I want to share what I understand about the ancient Chamoru belief of the afterlife. Heaven is staying around your family and offering them guidance and protection from the spiritual realm. Hell is being someplace unfamiliar with no one to help or love
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When we left ancestor veneration behind to survive Catholic colonization we also left our spirits behind, the ones whose names were forgotten by time. The ones whose skulls were crushed by the Spanish They went from heaven to hell and some may have changed from aniti to animas
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So when we pray now to our ancestors we can pray to all of them. We can pray FOR all of them, to remind them they are still remembered and loved and needed by us.
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Otherwise there are those that were evil in life and are evil in death. They prey on those that are in pain or are harboring negative energy. The best way to stay protected is to cultivate love for yourself and to be connected to your helpful spirits, work on healing emotionally
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Its important to know the difference between the spirits because you have to be specific in who you're calling to help you. Be specific in your intentions, but not afraid. Fear calls the animas. If you knew how many aniti are on your side you would never be afraid


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For anyone wondering what my references are these are all words used by my father in law who is a makåhna or spirit healer. (But I've always had strong connection to my saina which I learned from my mom who was taught thru the dream realm

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If you have more words to add to this list please feel free to do so! I left a few out like "animas tåsi" and names of specific taotaomo'na. But I love these kinds of stories


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