People and Places

The village probably derives its name from the phrase “entalo’ i fe’fo’,” which means between the cliffs. It’s possible that the name is derived from another word, fo’fo’, which means a bubbling spring.

It is said that wild yams grew plentiful in the lands nestled above the capital village of Hagåtña. These yams were harvested and cooked in earthen ovens dug into the ground, a process known as chinåhan. The village name of Sinajana is believed to derive from this word, from which comes chinahån-ña – “his or her cooking ground.”

Sånta Rita-Sumai is one of two villages that does not have a name derived from the CHamoru language. The other is Tamuning, a Carolinian word given to the area that was a temporary settlement for Carolinians in the 17th century.

The village name is probably derived from the CHamoru word puti, which means to hurt or ache.

Always known as a place for fishing, the village’s original name, Malesso’, derives from the CHamoru word lesso’, a juvenile stage in the growth of rabbit fish. Juvenile rabbit fish, or mañåhak in CHamoru, run in schools at certain times of the year in the bays and inlets of the village.

The village’s CHamoru name, Inalåhan, probably refers to the åla or large woven coconut-leaf harvest baskets for which the village was noted. The name could also be derived from the word hålla, meaning to pull something or move something with a rope tied to it.