Tan Dolores Flores Paulino

Tan Dolores Flores Paulino was born in 1925 and learned from a young age the tradition of tinifok akgak (pandanus weaving). Her primary teacher was her grandmother, who created large sleeping mats, lunch bags, hats, handbags and baskets of various sizes which could be round or square. After marrying and raising a family, Tan Dolores continued this tradition, practicing and perfecting her weaving, while tending the pandanus plants that she had growing around her house. Having plenty of pandanus close by ensured that she always had a ready supply of weaving fiber.

Woven products were a natural and necessary part of CHamoru life for the first half of the 20^th century. Prior to World War II and even through the 1950s, it was common practice for children and sometimes whole families to sleep on pandanus mats on the wooden floor. Well-made, comfortable and durable mats could spell the difference between a good or bad night of sleep.  

The si’i is an essential tool in pandanus weaving. It is a flat piece of metal elongated into a triangle shape usually about 6 inches long. The point is used to split and separate pandanus leaves into even strips, and to thread them into a weave. The flat end is sharpened and can be used to trim strips while weaving. Tan Dolores took great pride in using a si’i given to her by grandmother, an acknowledgement of her role in carrying on this CHamoru tradition from one generation to the next.

Tan Dolores was regularly recognized in the 1980s and 1990s for her role in perpetuating CHamoru culture. She demonstrated at numerous schools, fairs and even represented Guam as part of its FESTPAC delegate to Townsville, Australia in 1988. She took on apprentices and also taught middle and high school children about weaving and CHamoru pride, in Inalåhan through an Artist in Education residency program. She could be seen for many years demonstrating her love of weaving and culture at the Gefpa’go Cultural Village in Inalåhan.

Tan Dolores passed away in 1997, but for her lifetime dedicated to teaching about CHamoru weaving techniques and helping to keep traditional knowledge alive, the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency (Guam CAHA) made her a Master of CHamoru Culture for pandanus weaving.