Christmas is an important holiday in the Mariana Islands, filled with activities that celebrate Christ’s birth. Many families have their own traditions they participate in every year. It is a […]
Addresses misrepresentations focused in missionization. The research project Aberigua investigates the impact that Spanish colonialism had on CHamorus from a decolonial-depatriarchal standpoint aimed at redressing misrepresentations of communities, territories, practices, values, cultural logic and ways of being. It scrutinizes the case-specific details of colonial strategies, with a focus on Jesuit missionization, and subsequent native responses, including processes of cultural identity, change and continuity. It endorses a long-term perspective that includes investigations on Latte rationalities to understand the real impact brought by the colony.
Spanish Colonialism and CHamoru Responses: The Aberigua Project Read Post »
Conquest of the Marianas. A well-born Spaniard, José de Quiroga y Losada, was a major figure in the subjugation of the Chamorro/ CHamoru people, dedicated to their Christianization, killing many of them in the process.
José de Quiroga y Losada Read Post »
Santa Marian Kamalen, also known as Our Lady of Camarin, is the patron saint of Guam. The 300-year-old Santa Marian Kamalen statue is a revered icon, and although its origins are unknown, they are explained through oral tradition.
Santa Marian Kamalen Read Post »
Every year, during the Christmas season, Catholic families gather for nine nights of devotional prayers reciting the Nobenan Niño, a nobena (novena) in honor of Christ’s birth. For Chamorro families, the nightly prayers may be said in Chamorro or English.
Nobenan I Niño Jesus-Novena to the Christ Child Read Post »
Pedro Calungsod arrived in Guam 15 June 1668, along with Father Diego Luis de San Vitores and a group of Jesuit missionaries and lay assistants from the Philippines. Father San Vitores believed that young men, strong in their faith like Calungsod, would be helpful in influencing the youth in the Marianas.
Padre Don Jose Bernardo Palomo y Torres (1836 – 1919) was the first CHamoru priest. He is most often referred to as Father Jose Torres Palomo or Padre Palomo.
Padre Jose Bernardo Palomo Read Post »
The Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits, first brought the Catholic faith to the Mariana Islands in 1668. In 1769, however, they were expelled from Guam due to powerful enemies in Rome and replaced by the Order of the Augustinian Recollect friars.
Jesuits: Society of Jesus Read Post »
In March 1602, Franciscan lay brother Fray Juan Pobre de Zamora deserted a ship off the shores of Rota, an island just north of Guam. Although he was only in the Mariana Islands for seven months, he provided an invaluable historical contribution through descriptive written accounts of the lives, customs, and culture of Chamorros/CHamorus in the early 17th century.
Fray Juan Pobre de Zamora Read Post »
Fray Francisco Resano del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus (1851 – 1914), a member of the Order of the Augustinian Recollects, spent several years in the Mariana Islands and was known for his judicious and pacifist manner during times of trial.
Fray Francisco Resano Read Post »
