Resources for Learning
This page is intended to empower indigenous CHamorus and our islands' visitors to delve into learning the history behind the spondylus in our culture. Below, you will find good reads, videos, and information on what spondylus means to our CHamoru people.
*We do not own any of these articles, videos, or take any credit for them. It is our intention to use these resources for educational purposes.
Read:
Common misconceptions: Spondylus vs. Chamidae
A common mistake is to identify Chamidae "the jewelry box" as a "purple spondylus." These shells are bivalve mollusks like the spondylus, however they belong to an entirely different species.
*We would like to point out that we ourselves have made this mistake before and it is evident in the What is Spondylus video on 6:02.
Fortunately, we have never sold Chamidae as purple spondylus. This was a learning experience and we would like to educate others to debunk this common mistake of identifying Chamidae as "purple spondylus." Chamidae is NOT a family of spondylus and was never used as ancient Chamoru body ornaments. We would like to continue to spread this knowledge so that carvers and people purchasing are more aware of the difference in shells for the sake of keeping true to our culture.
We would like to thank you for empowering yourself to read and watch all these resources. We hope that it provided you valuable information and that you encourage others to learn more about spondylus and Chamoru culture.
Si yu'us ma'åse.
- Ginen i Tåsi
We would like to thank you for empowering yourself to read and watch all these resources. We hope that it provided you valuable information and that you encourage others to learn more about spondylus and Chamoru culture.
Si yu'us ma'åse.
- Ginen i Tåsi