The kåmyo or coconut grater has been an essential part of CHamoru life for millennia.

The kåmyo or coconut grater has been an essential part of CHamoru life for millennia.

Originally created using carved shell, it would be attached to a piece of wood that acted as a bench, allowing one to grate out the coconut meat. The grated coconut could then be used to make coconut milk and more recently dishes such as bukåyu (coconut candy) or kelaguan.

With the introduction of lulok or metal by the Spanish, CHamorus adapted the kåmyo and other tools to use metal instead of shell or stone. Although traditional tools such as the kåmyo are no longer considered daily necessities by most, they continue to occupy a special role in CHamoru culture, as gifts and family heirlooms.

In this image from the Marjorie Maguire Collection, an unnamed CHamoru woman uses a kåmyo in Guam in 1945.