On March 6, 1521 Ferdinand Magellan and his men had after having crossed the Pacific Ocean encountered the first "indios" since leaving South America. In the 60s hundreds of Guamanians emigrated to the United States. The Chamorro are commonly believed to have arrived in the Marianas Islands from Southeast Asia circa 2,000 BC. A family gathers in the dining room of their home for a house blessing in Dededo, Guam. Island culture and local Catholic culture are shaped by the legacy of the Chamorro people, the original settlers; by 200 years of Spanish rule that linked Guam to the Philippines and Mexico; and by more than a century of American influence. Chamorro is often spoken in many homes, but this is becoming less common. Locally distinct foods include kelaguen, a dish in which meat is cooked in whole or in part by citric acid rather than heat; Tinaktak, a meat dish made with coconut milk; and kå'du fanihi (flying fox/fruit bat soup). The relational perspective of the other interviewees was different. Under the Treaty of Paris, signed on December 10, 1898, Spain ceded Guam to the United States effective April 11, 1899. One form of promesa, called an intrega in Chamorro, is a multi-generational legacy. Additionally, Chamorros emphasize respect for older generation of manamko.

This blog is dedicated to tell the world about the Chamorro people's culture, myths, and history in the world. Intergenerational, long-term commitments (and the Chamorro matrilineal legacy) are also manifest in the role and status assigned to techas (pronounced tet-zas), women charged with leading prayer, primarily novenas, on particular occasions. Americans gained control of the territories in 1898, following the Spanish-American War, and tried to Americanize the people by limiting  “Spanish” Catholic practices. The Chamorro people believed that when a person died their spirit remained alive. Large extended families remain central to life in the Marianas. According to historical records provided by Europeans such as Father Charles Le Gobien, there appeared to be racial differences between the subservient Manachang caste, and the higher Chamor[r]i, the Manachang being described as shorter, darker-skinned, and physically less hardy than the Chamori. There were, however, during this particular time in history, many giants who roamed the planet. Cunningham, Lawrence J. Michael Lujan Bevacqua. Having claimed the islands more than a century earlier, Spaniards established a stopover base there in 1668 for the galleons that traveled between Mexico and the Philippines. On Guam, the enlistment rate is around 14 people per 10,000;[22] by contrast, the US state of Montana, which has the highest per capita enlistment, has a rate almost half that, with approximately eight people per 10,000. While it is polite to accept these gestures, most people won’t give it a second thought if you turn a cheek-kiss into a handshake. Pre-colonial society in the Marianas was based on a caste system, "Chamori" being the name of the ruling, highest caste.[13]. This hairstyle has often been portrayed in modern-day depictions of early Chamorros. Many Chamorros have been working in recent decades to preserve Chamorro language and to recover Chamorro culture, even building a new museum to celebrate it. “The right words are important, and if a techa (a prayer leader) makes a mistake during prayer, people notice.” But right prayer, one woman insisted, even if rote, is not about exchange or magic. One important way that United States values seem not to have changed Chamorro ones concerns attitudes toward death and remembering the dead. Interacting with different cultures is unavoidable, but it’s also a lot of fun – before moving to Guam, I never knew how to make kelaguen, open a coconut with my teeth, or swear in any language other than English. Since Guam is not a U.S. state, U.S. citizens residing on Guam are not allowed to vote for president and their congressional representative is a non-voting member. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture For some Catholics, the promise is to say a novena as a family every year at a certain holiday. For two interviewees, prayer and devotion were primarily “moral” — they make you a better person. Because it is not customary to tip in China, Japan, or Korea, many restaurants will calculate 10 to 20 percent gratuity and add it to the bill, but usually print that on the menu. We do some for the benefit of the deceased. Mes Chamoru — Guam’s annual month-long celebration of Chamorro culture, language and history — has been overshadowed by a number of blatantly disrespectful acts against the Chamorro … Chamorro Catholics in Guam say that showing proper respect for the dead is one of the most important values in their culture. [27], According to the 2010 census, there are 148,220 Chamorros living in the United States, mostly from Guam, but also from the Northern Marianas and Saipan. These spirits are believed to be those of our ancestors and can be easily offended when people neglect to ask permission to use the land or when they disrespect nature. Several interviewees suggested that something of their pre-Christian religiosity lives side by side with Christianity insofar as many Chamorro people retain a sense that there is an invisible realm in their midst, partly peopled by saints, but also by spirits in the forest.

A large graffitti mural on a commercial in building in Tamining, Guam. In fascinating ways Guam can still be thought of — in Catholic cultural terms — as a middle place on a cultural galleon route, today between the Philippines and the United States, rather than Mexico. Once her work was complete, she descended on an island called Guåhan (Guam), and transformed herself into a giant rock. This idea may be supportable by the evidence of linguistic characteristics of the Chamorro language and social customs.

At the same time, our people survived and thrived through their Catholic identities, so that's a very important part of our Catholicism today. Over the centuries, the Mariana Islands have been occupied by several foreign countries (Spain, Germany, Japan, United States), and present-day Chamorro society is almost entirely multiethnic, with the inhabitants of Luta/Rota being the least so. She divided the great rock into small stones and tiny pebbles. At a family event, one interviewee said, “The first thing the kids have to do before you go and find your cousins to play, you go find all the aunts and uncles and you kiss them… You have to ask for a blessing.” The ritual for offering respect to an elder is known as mangnginge. Many restaurants in Guam, like this Japanese restaurant, have Lenten menus during that season. Though most of us speak English, drink Coca-Cola and get ample amounts of vitamin D, how to get along in a culturally diverse place isn’t always obvious. This custom symbolizes a living cultural institution of respect in CHamoru society. Bevacqua: Respect the Chamorro people. But it’s not necessarily an expected outcome, put in a quarter and press a button and a soda comes out.”, Several interviewees pointed to the promesa as a distinctive and important element of Chamorro Catholic life, particularly for women.9 A promesa entails a commitment to do some act of devotion for a long period of time, typically as long as a person is able.

A kind of ritual among CHamoru people, this “smelling of the hand” is still often done upon meeting, as recognition of the importance of showing respect and honor toward elders. These are advertised in the paper, and Catholics seemed aware of what feasts were held at what time of year, in what parishes. Michael C. McFarland, S.J.

As one lay woman put it, there is a “bittersweet connection or relationship” between Catholic and Chamorro identity. [8][9], Spanish colonial records show that Chamorro farmers planted seeds according to the phases of the Moon. During the Spanish Colonial Era, the Chamorro population was greatly reduced by the introduction of European diseases and changes in society as well as all out war under Spanish rule.

Guam is among the 17 non-self-governing territories listed by the United Nations. “You do it because it’s a promise.” Some may start it at a time of sickness, he said, but it carries on beyond that and is to some degree detached from outcomes. This, combined with the harsh treatment of Guamanian Chamorros during the two and a half year occupation, created a rift that would become the main reason Guamanians rejected the reunification referendum approved by the Northern Marianas in the 1960s. In other words, the ancient Chamorro people believed in a form of ancestral worship or ancestor veneration. For them, relationships persisted, even as mistakes were made; we just have to keep trying to overcome them.

Parishes are half-full at weekly Masses, packed out the doors at Christmas, Easter and Ash Wednesday. If you’re like me, you have definite travel moods. Historical records do not reveal the origin of the Chamorros. They still pass along those stories to children, mostly, they claim, to scare them in a light-hearted way. Call me an idealist, but I believe most people are cool, in their own strange way, and through mutual respect and understanding, we just might be able to get along. By 1800, there were under 1,000. Most Chamorros are Roman Catholic[24] and few in the Marianas still maintain some customs and beliefs from the time before the first European conquests; some residents of the Marianas will still ask permission from ancestral spirits before entering parts of jungles. One interviewee thought it important to stress that Chamorro fervor is just as strong as Filipino fervor, though it doesn’t show the same way because in Guam, “we don’t have the huge numbers. I worked tirelessly in the hot, humid weather, sweat dripping down my face, looking forward to the end of the day. A family gathers in the dining room of their home for a house blessing in Dededo, Guam. Chamorro-English Dictionary Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1975. On Guam a Chamorro rights movement has developed since the United States gained control of the island. [30] So, after the end of World War II, many more Guamanians emigrated to the USA. For PDN. Cockfighting and cockfight-related gambling were introduced by the Spanish and have long been a significant pastime in Chamoru culture, especially among men. Chamorros also identified differences. Two giants instrumental in making many of these changes were Puntan and his sister, Fu‘una. [29] The population of Guam got the American citizenship in 1929. Through this, they were given Spanish surnames through Catálogo Alfabético de Apellidos or Alphabetic Catalog of Surnames. Before colonial rule, Chamorros recognized the power and authority of clan elders. Many people still pray the traditional nobenan Niño (novena of the Child) around a crèche at home, either from December 16-24 or between Christmas and Three Kings Day. A Guide to Guam’s Northern Sights, 7 Things You Need to Know About Marrying a Chamorro. One Chamorro interviewee said about practice in Guam, devotion means “you have a statue with flowers and candles… the prayer leader does everything and we respond and once it’s over you can let your hair down.”  Traditionally, “you went to church and you say nothing. The Chamorro people (/tʃɑːˈmɔːroʊ, tʃə-/)[4][5] are the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, politically divided between the United States territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia.

Religious candles for sale at the supermarket checkout near Hagåtña, Guam. Parental respect is still important in Guam, but interviewees who know Micronesian island contexts say that Guam is much, much more individualistic than the neighboring islands are.8 Compared to Chuuk, one said, “there’s a real freedom here to be a nonconformist.”, Finally, prayer, at least for those interviewed, seemed to be fundamentally relational in purpose. You’ll learn about island-time soon enough, but many social cues are subtle and easily overlooked. She would have little trouble in carrying out his wishes because she would receive his magical powers.

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