Chamorros

## Taotao CHamoru

Credit to AJ

* Chamorro<
* >CHamoru

## Related Ethnic Groups

Micronesians Austronesians Carolinians

The **Chamorro people** (/ t͡sæ.mo.ru/; also **CHamoru**) 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. Today, significant Chamorro populations also exist in several U.S. states including Hawaii, California, Washington, Texas, Tennessee, Oregon, and Nevada, all of which together are designated as Pacific Islander Americans according to the U.S. Census. According to the 2000 Census, approximately 64,590 people of Chamorro ancestry live in Guam and another 19,000 live in the Northern Marianas. Another 93,000 live outside the Marianas in Hawaii and the West Coast of the United States. The Chamorros are primarily Austronesian, but many also have European (such as Spanish) and Southeast Asian ancestry. Chamorros descend primarily from Austronesian peoples and may also have other ancestries, such as Spanish, Filipino, and Japanese. Chamorros and other Micronesians constitute about half the current population of Guam.

Fanohge CHamoru, the anthem of Guam.

## Etymology

Pre-colonial society in the Marianas was based on a caste system, *Chamori* being the name of the ruling, highest caste. After Spain annexed and colonized the Marianas, the caste system eventually became extinct under Spanish rule, and all of the indigenous residents of the archipelago eventually came to be referred to by the Spanish exonym *Chamorro*. The name *CHamoru* is an endonym derived from the indigenous orthography of the Spanish exonym.

Chamorro institutions on Guam advocate for the spelling *CHamoru*, as reflected in the 2017 Guam public law 33-236. In 2018, the Commission on the CHamoru Language and the Teaching of the History and Culture of the Indigenous People of Guam announced *CHamoru* as the preferred standardized spelling of the language and people, as opposed to the conventional spelling *Chamorro*.

## History (Histora)

The Chamorros are commonly believed to have arrived in the Marianas Islands from Southeast Asia circa 2,000 BC. They were expert seafarers and skilled craftspeople familiar with intricate weaving and detailed pottery-making. The latte stone, a megalithic rock pillar topped with a hemispherical capstone, was used by early Chamorros as foundation for buildings and has since been appropriated as a national symbol.

On March 6, 1521 Ferdinand Magellan and his men had after having crossed the Pacific Ocean encountered the first "indios" since leaving South America. Later Spanish visitors named the inhabitants "Chamurres", derived from a local term for the upper caste; this was then converted to "Chamorros", an old Spanish term for "bald", perhaps in reference to the local habit to shave.

During the Spanish Colonial Era, the Chamorro population was greatly reduced by the introduction of European diseases and changes in society during the Spanish-Chamorro Wars. The Spanish killed many Chamorro men and relocated most others to Guam, where they lived in several parishes to prevent rebellion. Some estimate that as many as 100,000 Chamorros may have populated the Marianas when Europeans first settled in 1667. By 1800, there were under 1,000. Within the parishes, the Spanish eventually focused their efforts on converting the natives to Catholicism. Father Frances X. Hezel stated that Chamorros caught or reported engaging in pagan "sorcery" were publicly punished. Through this, they were given Spanish surnames through Catálogo Alfabético de Apellidos or Alphabetic Catalog of Surnames.

## Religion (Hinengge)

Most Chamorros are Roman Catholic 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 as0k permission from ancestral spirits before entering parts of jungles. Traditional beliefs among the Chamorros include tales of *taotaomo'na* and *birak*, as well as the Spanish-introduced concepts of *duendes* and hauntings in places such as in Yona, other old buildings, schools, hotel elevators, and the Ma’ina bridge. Taotaomo'na are spirits of ancient Chamorros. Birak is a broader term that may refer not only to the undead, but also to demons or general elemental types. Ancient Chamorros engaged in ancestor veneration, but did not practice a formal "religion”" in the sense of worshiping deities.

## Food (Néngkanno)

Chamorro cuisine is influenced by various cultures. Examples of popular foods of foreign origin include various types of sweet or savory *empanada*, originally introduced by Spain, and pancit, a noodle dish from the Philippines. Archeological evidence from islands in the Marianas reveals that rice was cultivated there since prehistory. Red rice made with achoti is a distinct staple food that strongly identifies Chamorro cuisine among the many dishes of fellow Pacific island cultures. It is commonly served for special events, such as parties (*gupot* or "fiestas"), *nobenas*, and occasions such as a high school or college graduations. The condiment fina'denne' accompanies most meals. Fruits such as lemmai, mangga, niyok, and bilimbines are consumed in various local recipes. In the Marianas, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and American cuisine are also commonly available. Local cookies are known as guyuria.

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). Fruit bats and local birds have become scarce in modern times primarily due to the World War II-era introduction of the brown tree snake, which decimated the populations of local birds and threatens the fanihi (fruit bat) population as well. Illegal hunting of fruit bats also threatens existing populations.

Spam and other canned meats were introduced to the islands after World War II, leading to a dietary shift and numerous health problems.

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