Previous Story
Film on traditional Chamorro ovens this Friday
|
Posted on Feb 22 2012
The Northern Marianas Humanities Council invites the public to a screening of a film titled Hotnun Ladriyu (Chamorro brick oven) that will be held at Visitors Center Theater, American Memorial Park, Friday evening, Feb. 24, starting at 6pm.
The film, produced by oral historian and videographer Rlene Santos Steffy, documents the use of the traditional Chamorro oven, commonly known as hotnon sanhiyong (outside oven) and its significance to the local culture.
These ovens, introduced during the Spanish period, were used to bake and roast food, most commonly bread. They were fashioned from bricks and locally made cement and came in two principal forms: barrel-shaped and dome-shaped.
Hotno were present on Guam, Rota, Tinian and Saipan in the pre-World War II years. Although most of the old ones were destroyed during World War II, a number were built during the immediate post-war period with some remaining in use until the widespread availability of electric ovens in the 1980s.
Steffy’s video uses archaeological research and oral history to present a detailed picture of this important but nearly forgotten part of Chamorro culture.
Included in the film are stories about Steffy’s grandmother, Maria Pangelinan Flores, who owned two hotno on Saipan in the pre-war years: one at the family bakery in Garapan and a second at their farm in Chalan Kiya.
Following the screening, the audience will be invited to share their memories of the hotno so that they can be added to a growing body of oral historical information about this significant aspect of traditional culture.
For more information about this upcoming event, contact Council staff at 235-4785. (PR)
