Our Heritage - Guampedia

Ancient Guam: Religion

Animism

Ancient religious philosophy. Animism is the belief that everything in nature – living and non-living – contains a spirit or soul. In ancient CHamoru society,

Fu'una, goddess of creation and sister of Puntan, gave life to the earth and humanity. I Tinituhon, Guampedia

Chamorro Culture

Mythological Depictions of Women

Source of life. Ancient Chamorros/Chamorus believed that women held the power of life and controlled the environment.

Chamorro Culture

Physical Anthropology of Ancient Guam and the Mariana Islands

Of the different regional groups of the Pacific, the physical anthropology of the peoples of Micronesia is probably the least studied. While archeologists have collected

Ancient Guam Era

Matao and Acha’ot

Early accounts of traditional Chamorro/CHamoru society describe at least two distinct social castes—the chamorri, or upper caste, and the manachang, or lower caste. The chamorri

Women are shown smoking tobacco near a shrine. One is carrying a bamboo water container and another is with a child. Illustration from the collection of Dumont d’Urville. Micronesian Seminar (MicSem)

Chamorro Culture

CHamoru/Chamorro Women’s Legacy of Leadership

CHamoru women have a legacy of leadership that helped keep the culture and history of their people alive. The earliest accounts of ancient CHamoru society

Show of respect for elder or clan leader. Freycinet collection from the Guam Public Library System.

Ancient Guam Era

Social Classes in Traditional CHamoru/Chamorro Society

The social ranking of individuals, whether by age, gender or social status, has always been important in Chamorro society. In pre-Spanish times, social status dictated

Guma' Uritao. Image courtesy of Bess Press, Inc.

Ancient Guam Era

Fino’ Gualåfon: Moonlight Talk

Fino’ gualåfon was a style of language developed and used by young bachelors in ancient CHamoru society. The term fino’ gualåfon translates as follows: “fino’”

Taotaomo'na still taken from Alex Munoz's Return of Hurao.

Ancient Guam Era

Mo’na: Circular Concept of History

The Chamorro/CHamoru word mo’na points to the idea that the CHamoru cosmology, in particular during the ancient period of Marianas history, was a circular one

Agriculture on Guam. Freycinet collection, 1824. Courtesy of the Guam Public Library System.

Chamorro Culture

Pattida: Dividing Family Land Among Children

Ancient Chamorro/CHamoru people formed a matrilineal society and so inheritance and descent was through the mother’s family. Land was communal property that the clan used

A male elder teaches children how to fish. Children were sent to their mother's clan to learn skills, responsibilities, and their role in the family. Victor Consaga/Guampedia

Chamorro Culture

Mother’s Brothers

Ancient Chamorros were a matrilineal society, where family connections were traced through the mother’s clan. Land ownership was through women, and was distributed through these