Mile High Tatiza (Tateyas) Recipe

Tateyas, a Chamorro flat bread, similar to tortillas but light and sweet.

When we moved to the Rocky Mountains we had to adjust our recipe to account for the high altitude. In the Chamorro spirit of giving, we want to share this delicacy with you all.

Tateyas are simple to make and this recipe will yield about a dozen 8 inch pieces of wonderful flat bread. They are good right off the griddle with melted butter and in the morning with coffee or tea.

INGREDIENTS:
6 Cups of All Purpose Flour
2 Table Spoons (TBS) of Baking Powder
9-12 TBS of Sugar
1/2 Cup of Butter (1 Stick)
1/2 Tea Spoon (Tsp) of Salt
1 14oz Can of Coconut Milk - GATA

1. Thoroughly mix your dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Melt the butter and whip with coconut milk.
3. Slowly pour the milk and butter into the flour mixture and mix until you have a sticky dough. Add small amounts of flour if dough is too wet and sticky or milk (preferably condensed milk) if dough is too dry and crumbly.
4. Kneed dough only until thoroughly blended. Do not kneed too much as your dough will be too dense. Dough should still be fluffy with a light consistancy.
5. Cover the bowl of dough with a lightly damp dish cloth and let stand for about 30 minutes to rise.
6. Pinch off small clumps and lighly roll making small three to four inch diameter balls of dough.
7. On a floured surface, roll your tateyas thin and cook on a dry skillet on medium/high heat. We usually cook them on an electric griddle and set the temperature to about 350-370 degrees F.
8. Cook them evenly on each side using a spatula to turn them over.
9. When they are cooked, place them on a clean dish towel and cover. As each one cooks, place it on the stack. Covering the cooked tateyas will keep them warm and ensure that they are cooked thoroughly.
10. Enjoy!

 

 

 



 

 

Nylon Acho Atupat

A modern version of a Marianas sling. This was made from 1 & 3mm Micro Cord. 

Guam Seal - Sling

Guam Seal tooled into the sling's leather pouch finished off with braided hemp strings. 

 

 

Chamorro Slings - Acho' Atupat

From the left: The first sling has a stone weighing 10oz. The second sling has a stone weighing 6oz and the last sling has a stone weighing 5oz.

For reference the slingstone pictured at the bottom weighs 2.3oz which is a typical weight of stones made of stone, clay or lead used around the world during ancient times.

 

All slings are braided using 5 strands of your garden variety jute. Jute is made of vegetable fiber http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jute and is one of the types of fibers I use for making these Chamorro slings.

Pandanus Sling

This is the first sling I made from twisted and braided pandanus fiber.

 

More Sling Stones

 

 

Sling Stones

In the continued quest for recreating the Chamorro sling and stone, these clay stones have been created by following the design of my only Chamorro sling stone artifact and a decrerative sling stone made of blue coral purchased in the Chamorrow Village Market in Agana.

The black/white coloring on the practice stones makes them easier to see during flight and to find in the field afterwards.

The sling pictured here is a five strand jute sling with tapered cords.

 

EDIT: November 8, 2012

I just picked up my newest batch of clay slingstones from the pottery shop today.

 

 

 

The clay used for this batch was more dense than my first batch which gave a slightly heavier stone at a slightly smaller size. The stone on the right is from the first batch.

Taotao Mo'na

The Taotao Mo'na (people before history or ancient people), the spirits of our ancestors.

Through the camera lens you could clearly see a face looking back at you. How many faces can you see here?

Acho' Atupat

A signature weapon of the Chamorro warrior besides the spear and machete-style club was the sling and slingstone, Acho' Atupat.

A warrior's sling were made of Pandanus or Coconut fiber and were so revered that they were passed from father to son or from mother to son through a brother or other close relative.

The stones were skillfully shaped, sharpened on both ends and usually made from either limestone, basalt or fire-hardened clay.

I have been working with Jute, Sisal, Coconut and Pandanus fibers to create replicas of these ancient weapons and try to maintain the spirit of the craft and skill. The style of these slings are consistent with artifacts and illustrations from various collections.

The preferred materials to make the slings are Pandanus and Coconut however these are in short supply here in the Rocky Mountains and so far away from home. Jute and Sisal make fine and functional reproductions.

These slings are for sale or trade here. You can also find these and other styles of slings at the Che'lu Store in the Chamorro Village on Guam. Ask for Jose and tell them his Che'lu George sent you.