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109-671: The indigenous inhabitants are the Chamorro people . Archaeologists in 2013 reported findings which indicated that the people who first settled the Marianas arrived there after making what may have been at the time the longest uninterrupted ocean voyage in human history. They further reported findings which suggested that Tinian is likely to have been the first island in Oceania to have been settled by humans. Spanish expeditions, beginning with one by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in

218-606: A U.S. territory following its exit from the TTPI pursuant to Security Council Resolution 683 . Although now both under U.S. control, the Northern Mariana Islands are separate from Guam . Efforts at reunification have failed in part due to residual post-war tensions resulting from the very different histories of Guam (occupied by Japan for only 31 months, in wartime) and the Northern Mariana Islands (more peacefully occupied by Japan, for about 30 years). Tourism in

327-655: A geologic structure known as the Izu–Bonin–Mariana Arc system and range in age from 5 million years old in the north to 30 million years old in the south (Guam). The islands are formed as the highly dense and very old western edge of the Pacific Plate plunges downward to form the floor of the Mariana Trench and carries trapped water under the Mariana plate as it does so. This water is super-heated as

436-486: A geologic structure known as the Izu–Bonin–Mariana Arc system, and range in age from 5 million years old in the north to 30 million years old in the south (Guam). The island chain arose as a result of the western edge of the Pacific Plate moving westward and plunging downward below the Mariana plate , a region which is the most volcanically active convergent plate boundary on Earth. This subduction region, just east of

545-456: A "finger-length" amount of hair at the crown. This hairstyle has often been portrayed in modern-day depictions of early Chamorros, but the first European descriptions of the physical appearance of the Chamorro people in the 1520s and '30s report that both sexes had long black hair, which they wore down to their waists or even further. Another description, given about 50 years later, reported that

654-450: A considerable civilization. On the island of Tinian are some remains attributed to them, consisting of two rows of massive square stone columns , about 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 m) broad and 14 feet (4.3 m) high, with heavy, round capitals called latte stones . According to early Spanish accounts cinerary urns were found embedded in the capitals. When Spanish settlement started on 14 June 1668, they were subordinate to

763-447: A course along which the winds can be expected to blow in the direction of travel. During the Age of Sail , the pattern of prevailing winds made various points of the globe easy or difficult to access, and therefore had a direct effect on European empire-building and thus on modern political geography. For example, Manila galleons could not sail into the wind at all. By the 18th century,

872-744: A few of the islands. The island chain saw significant fighting during World War II. Guam , a possession of the United States since 1898, was captured by Japan in an attack from the Northern Mariana Islands that began on the day of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (December 8, 1941, the same time as the Pearl Harbor attack across the International Date Line). In 1944, the United States captured

981-447: A formal "religion" in the sense of worshiping deities. At least one account by Christoph Carl Fernberger in 1623 holds that human sacrifice was practiced to placate a "great fish". This claim may be related to a Chamorro legend about why the island of Guam is narrow in the middle. According to the legend, a gigantic fish was gradually eating away at the island from both sides. Although the ancient Chamorros supposedly had magical abilities,

1090-481: A hemispherical capstone , was used by early Chamorros as foundation for buildings, and has since been appropriated as a national symbol. Chamorro society was based on what sociologist Lawrence J. Cunningham termed the " matrilineal avuncuclan ", one characteristic of which is that the brother(s) of the female parent plays a more primary paternal role than biological male parent of a child. Spanish colonial records show that Chamorro farmers planted seeds according to

1199-477: 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 denatured in whole or in part by citric acid rather than heat; tinaktak ,

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1308-522: 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

1417-476: A monstrous form. On March 6, 1521, Ferdinand Magellan and his men, after having crossed the Pacific Ocean , had 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. Over

1526-406: A northern group of ten volcanic main islands, all are currently uninhabited; and a southern group of five coralline limestone islands (Rota, Guam, Aguijan , Tinian and Saipan ), all inhabited except Aguijan. In the northern volcanic group a maximum elevation of about 2,700 feet (820 m) is reached; there are craters showing signs of activity, and earthquakes are not uncommon. Coral reefs fringe

1635-455: A particular religion. The CHamoru dance is accountable for many cultural practices; chant, dance, and storytelling. Across the United States, many states are introduced to a Guma , and those ' Guma's ' are led by Chamorro dance instructors who have been in historical Guam dance groups. The concept of Guma is housed by Chamorro people that is centered around providing an educational experience for those interested about vibrant culture -

1744-465: A piece of a turtle shell or in some cases matting. Both sexes at times wore hats of woven leaves to protect themselves from the sun. Father Pierre Coomans wrote of the practice among Chamorro women of teeth blackening/dental lacquering (also a widespread custom in ancient Maritime Southeast Asia , Japan , Southeastern China , and parts of Indochina ), which they considered beautiful as a distinction apart from animals. Fernberger wrote in his account of

1853-535: A resurgence of interest in reviving the language has occurred, and all public schools on both Guam and the Northern Marianas are now required by law to teach the Chamorro language as part of the elementary-, middle-, and high-school curriculum. A commonly spoken phrase in Chamorro is håfa adai , a greeting which approximates "hello" in English. The Chamorros are commonly believed to have arrived in

1962-527: A rift that would become the main reason Chamorros rejected the referendum on reunification approved by the Northern Marianas in the 1960s. During the occupation, Chamorros were subjected to forced labor, incarceration, torture, and execution. American forces recaptured the island on July 21, 1944; Liberation Day commemorates the victory. After World War II, the Guam Organic Act of 1950 established Guam as an unincorporated organized territory of

2071-520: A round-trip range of American B-29 bombers . In response, Japanese forces attacked the bases on Saipan and Tinian from November 1944 to February 1945. At the same time and afterwards, the United States Army Air Forces based on these islands conducted an intense strategic bombing campaign against the Japanese cities of military and industrial importance, including Tokyo , Nagoya , Osaka , Kobe , and others. Both US bombers

2180-448: A skiff which was fastened to the poop of the captain's ship. At which he, being very angry, went ashore with forty armed men. And burning some forty or fifty houses with several boats and killing seven men of the said island, they recovered their skiff. Pigafetta also described the boats the inhabitants used, including the sail shaped like a "lateen sail" (actually the crab claw sail ), hence the name Islas de las Velas Latinas (Islands of

2289-459: A stopover for Spanish galleons en route from Acapulco , Mexico to Manila , Philippines in a convoy known as the Galeon de Manila . Following the 1872 Cavite mutiny , several Filipinos were exiled to Guam, including the father of Pedro Paterno , Maximo Paterno, Dr. Antonio M. Regidor y Jurado and Jose Maria Basa. The islands were a popular port of call for British and American whaling ships in

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2398-548: A tradition of raised buildings with capstones. The word haligi ("pillar") is also used in various languages throughout the Philippines; while the Chamorro word guma ("house") closely resembles the Sumba word uma . The first Europeans to see the island group were a Spanish expedition, who on March 6, 1521, observed a string of islands and sailed between two of them during a Spanish expedition of world circumnavigation under

2507-571: Is a core value of traditional Chamorro culture. Respect for one's family, community, and the elderly ( man åmko' ) are major components, although this varies from person to person and family to family. The culture is now strongly influenced by American customs and values, largely because the Marianas archipelago ( partitioned into Guam and the CNMI ) is currently possessed by the United States of America, as organized but unincorporated territories; in addition, most people of Chamorro descent now live outside of

2616-435: Is a nonvoting member. They do, however, get to vote for party delegates in presidential primaries. The increasing numbers of Chamorros, especially Chamorro youth, relocating to the U.S. mainland, has complicated both the definition and preservation of Chamorro identity. On Guam, a Chamorro rights movement has developed since the United States gained control of the island. Leaders of the movement seek to return ancestral lands to

2725-546: Is caused by descending air aloft from within the subtropical ridge . The weaker the trade winds become, the more rainfall can be expected in the neighboring landmasses. The trade winds also transport nitrate- and phosphate-rich Saharan dust to all Latin America , the Caribbean Sea , and to parts of southeastern and southwestern North America. Sahara dust is on occasion present in sunsets across Florida . When dust from

2834-700: Is known as a temperature inversion. When it occurs within a trade wind regime, it is known as a trade wind inversion. The surface air that flows from these subtropical high-pressure belts toward the Equator is deflected toward the west in both hemispheres by the Coriolis effect . These winds blow predominantly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere . Because winds are named for

2943-408: Is unique in the pre-contact Pacific Islands . The reasons for these changes is still unclear, but it is believed that it may have resulted from a third wave of migrants from Island Southeast Asia . Comparisons with other architectural traditions makes it likely that this third migration wave were again from the Philippines, or from eastern Indonesia (either Sulawesi or Sumba ), all of which have

3052-522: Is warm, trade winds are stronger within the tropics. The cold phase of the AO leads to weaker trade winds. When the trade winds are weaker, more extensive areas of rain fall upon landmasses within the tropics, such as Central America . During mid-summer in the Northern Hemisphere (July), the westward-moving trade winds south of the northward-moving subtropical ridge expand northwestward from

3161-582: The Enola Gay and the Bockscar (which dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki , respectively) flew their missions from Tinian's North Field . According to Werner Gruhl: "Mariana Island historians estimate that 10 percent of Guam's approximately 20,000 population were killed by violence, most by the Japanese Imperial Army and Navy ." The direct result of World War II on

3270-591: The Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean . In meteorology , they act as the steering flow for tropical storms that form over the Atlantic, Pacific, and southern Indian oceans and cause rainfall in North America , Southeast Asia , and Madagascar and East Africa . Shallow cumulus clouds are seen within trade wind regimes and are capped from becoming taller by a trade wind inversion , which

3379-451: The Caribbean Sea into southeastern North America (Florida and Gulf Coast). When dust from the Sahara moving around the southern periphery of the ridge travels over land, rainfall is suppressed and the sky changes from a blue to a white appearance which leads to an increase in red sunsets. Its presence negatively impacts air quality by adding to the count of airborne particulates. Although

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3488-476: The German-Spanish Treaty of February 12, 1899 to sell the Northern Marianas and its other remaining islands to Germany for 837,500 German gold marks (about US$ 4,100,000 at the time). The Northern Marianas and other island groups were incorporated by Germany as a small part of the larger German Protectorate of New Guinea . The total population in the Northern Marianas portion of these islands

3597-627: The Guam page for more details about this topic.) Cockfighting and cockfight-related gambling were introduced by the Spanish and have long been a significant pastime in Chamoru culture, especially among men. It is still popular among the members of older generations and with Filipino immigrants, who raise roosters for cockfighting purposes; however, mixed martial arts fighting competitions have grown in popularity as spectator sports, particularly among

3706-769: The Indigenous people of the Mariana Islands , politically divided between the United States territory of Guam and the encompassing Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia , a commonwealth of the US. 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

3815-593: The Korean War and Typhoon Karen . In the '70s, another wave of Guamanians arrived in the US. In 1986, the US acquired the Northern Marianas Islands , which favoured migration from islands to the US. As of 2020, Pierce County, Washington , has the largest Chamorro population with 4,931 persons or 0.62% of the total population. Trade wind The trade winds or easterlies are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in

3924-507: The Lateen Sails ), the name used as Magellan claimed them for the Spanish crown. San Lazarus archipelago, Jardines ('gardens') and Prazeres are among the names applied to them by later navigators. In 1667, Spain formally claimed them, established a regular colony there and in 1668 gave the islands the official title of Las Marianas , in honor of Spanish Queen Mariana of Austria , widow of King Philip IV of Spain and Queen Regent of

4033-574: The Northern Marianas is split mainly between Filipino , Japanese, American, Korean , Taiwanese and Chinese tourists. There are several large tour operators in Saipan that cater to Asian tourists coming into the island. By far, the majority of tourism in the Northern Marianas is in Guam. Several flights a day land in Guam, mostly in the early hours between 1:00 AM and 3:30 AM. With the close of

4142-557: The Northern Marianas since this time. Following the Philippine–American War , Apolinario Mabini and other Filipino leaders were exiled to Guam in 1901. Weakened from its defeat in the Spanish–American War, Spain could no longer effectively control and protect the nearly 6,000 islands it retained throughout Micronesia , including the Northern Marianas, Carolines and Pelew Islands . Therefore, Spain entered into

4251-547: The Philippines in Southeast Asia. On December 8, 1941, hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor , Japanese forces from the Marianas launched an invasion of Guam . Chamorros from the Northern Marianas, who had been under Japanese rule for more than 20 years, were brought to Guam to assist the Japanese administration. This, combined with the harsh treatment of Chamorros during the two-and-a-half-year occupation, created

4360-419: The Sahara travels over land, rainfall is suppressed and the sky changes from a blue to a white appearance which leads to an increase in red sunsets. Its presence negatively impacts air quality by adding to the count of airborne particulates. The term originally derives from the early fourteenth century sense of trade (in late Middle English ) still often meaning "path" or "track". The Portuguese recognized

4469-599: The Spanish Empire ruling during the minority of her son King Charles II . They then had a population of more than 50,000 inhabitants. With the arrival of passengers and settlers aboard the Manila Galleons from the Americas, new diseases were introduced in the islands, which caused many deaths in the native Chamorro population. The native population, who referred to themselves as Taotao Tano (people of

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4578-815: The Spanish–American War , the United States captured Guam on June 21, 1898. Under the Treaty of Paris , signed on December 10, 1898, Spain ceded Guam to the United States effective April 11, 1899. Guam is among the 17 nonself-governing territories listed by the United Nations . Before World War II , five American jurisdictions were in the Pacific Ocean: Guam and Wake Island in Micronesia, American Samoa and Hawaii in Polynesia, and

4687-422: The haligi pillars capped with another stone called tasa (which prevented rodents from climbing the posts). These served as supports for the rest of the structure which was made of wood. Remains of structures made with similar wooden posts have also been found. Human graves have also been found in front of latte structures, The Latte period was also characterized by the introduction of rice agriculture, which

4796-467: The 17th century also introduced cattle, leading to dishes like tinala' katne . 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

4905-652: The 19th century. The first such visit on record was that of the Resource to Guam in October 1799. The last known visit was made by the American whaler Charles W. Morgan in February 1904. The Marianas remained a Spanish colony under the general government of the Philippines until 1898, when, as a result of its loss in the Spanish–American War , Spain ceded Guam to the United States. Guam has been separate from

5014-636: The Chamori. The Chamori caste was further subdivided into the upper-middle class Achoti / Acha'ot and the highest, the ruling Matua / Matao class. Achoti could gain status as Matua, and Matua could be reduced to Achoti, but Manachang were born and died as such and had no recourse to improve their station. Members of the Manachang and the Chamori were not permitted to intermingle. All three classes performed physical labor, but had specifically different duties. Le Gobien theorized that Chamorro society comprised

5123-551: The Chamorro people, and attain self-determination . Chamorro culture has over the years acquired noticeable influences from Spanish, Mexican, American, Japanese, and Filipino cultures, as well as the presence of fellow Oceanic (mostly Micronesian) groups. Influence from the German era in the Northern Marianas is most visible in the form of certain given names and family surnames. The prehistoric concept of inafa'maolek ("doing good for each other", often translated as interdependence)

5232-552: The Chamorros that " penis pins " were employed as a chastity measure for young males, a type of genital piercing similar to those employed by inhabitants of precolonial maritime Southeast Asia. The Chamorro creation story revolves around two celestial siblings named Puntan and Fu'una. In time, this creation story underwent a series of modifications due to the complications in passing the story along from generation to generation. In this Chamorro creation story, Puntan and Fu'una create

5341-552: The Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere , strengthening during the winter and when the Arctic oscillation is in its warm phase. Trade winds have been used by captains of sailing ships to cross the world's oceans for centuries. They enabled European colonization of the Americas , and trade routes to become established across

5450-547: The Indigenous population, as well as among non-Indigenous Oceanic people living in the Marianas, particularly the Carolinian Refaluwasch . Traditional healers called suruhånu (or suruhåna for women) are still greatly respected for their knowledge of herbal treatments and spirits. Most Chamorros are Roman Catholic and few in the Marianas still maintain some customs and beliefs from the time before

5559-479: 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. The digraph ch is treated as a single letter, hence both characters are capitalized at the beginning of a sentence or proper noun, much like ij in Dutch . Some people theorize that Spanish definitions of

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5668-638: The Mariana Islands chain from Japan : the Northern Mariana Islands were desired by the U.S. as bombing bases to reach the Japanese mainland , with the invasion of Saipan being launched for that reason in June before the U.S. even moved to recapture Guam; a month later the U.S. recaptured Guam and captured Tinian . Once captured, Saipan and Tinian 's islands were used extensively by the United States military as they finally put mainland Japan within

5777-499: The Mariana Islands was that, after the war, the Northern Mariana Islands came under the control of the United States in the same way they had earlier come under the control of Japan after World War I. However, this time they became part of the U.S.-administered Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) established pursuant to Security Council Resolution 21 . The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands later became

5886-680: The Marianas Islands from the Philippines c.  1,500 BC . They are most closely related to other Austronesian-speaking natives from the Philippines, eastern Indonesia (specifically in Maluku and Sulawesi ), Taiwanese aborigines , and peoples of the Caroline Islands to the south (in particular the outer islands of the Federated States of Micronesia state of Yap ). Recent advanced DNA testing conducted on

5995-612: The Marianas and early Lapita settlers in the Bismarck Archipelago . This may indicate that both the Lapita culture and the Marianas were settled from direct migrations from the Philippines, or that early settlers from the Marianas voyaged further southwards into the Bismarcks and reconnected with the Lapita people. The Marianas also later established contact with and received migrations from the Caroline Islands at around

6104-403: The Marianas in the United States. The American military has a major cultural influence among the Chamorro; enlistment rates are higher in the Marianas than in any other place in the US. On Guam, the enlistment rate is around 14 people per 10,000; by contrast, the US state of Montana , which has the highest per capita enlistment, has a rate near half that, with about eight people per 10,000. (See

6213-595: The Mexican colony (soon viceroyalty) of New Spain , until 1817, when they became subordinated to the Philippines , as part of the Spanish East Indies . Research in the archipelago was carried out by Commodore Anson , who in August 1742 landed upon the island of Tinian. The Ladrones were visited by Byron in 1765, Wallis in 1767 and Crozet in 1772. The Marianas and specifically the island of Guam were

6322-668: The Philippines. Genetic analysis of pre- Latte period skeletons in Guam also show that they do not have Australo-Melanesian ("Papuan") ancestry, which rules out origins from the Bismarck Archipelago , New Guinea , and eastern Indonesia . The Lapita culture itself (the ancestral branch of the Polynesian migrations) is younger than the first settlement of the Marianas (the earliest Lapita artifacts are dated to around 1350 to 1300 BCE), indicating that they originated from separate migration voyages. Nevertheless, DNA analyses also show close genetic relationships between ancient settlers of

6431-789: The Southeast US has some of the cleanest air in North America, much of the African dust that reaches the United States affects Florida. Since 1970, dust outbreaks have worsened due to periods of drought in Africa. There is a large variability in the dust transport to the Caribbean and Florida from year to year. Dust events have been linked to a decline in the health of coral reefs across the Caribbean and Florida , primarily since

6540-405: The U.S. Census. According to the 2000 Census, about 64,590 people of Chamorro ancestry live in Guam and another 19,000 live in the Northern Marianas. Precolonial 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

6649-457: The US in the '50s. Many of them moved to California. In 1952, Guamanian immigrants founded their first organization in US, the Guam Territorial Society (later renamed as the Guam Society of America), in Washington, D.C., where many worked for the Department of Defense and developing military operations. In the 1960s, hundreds of Guamanians migrated to the United States, when the largest numbers emigrated to this country. Most of them were fleeing

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6758-402: The United States , provided for the structure of the island's civilian government, and granted the people U.S. citizenship. The governor of Guam was federally appointed until 1968 when the Guam Elective Governor Act provided for the office's popular election. Since Guam is not a U.S. state, U.S. citizens residing in Guam are not allowed to vote for president and their congressional representative

6867-473: The Western United States, where they worked as farmers. The population of Guam got the American citizenship in 1929. So, after the end of World War II , many more Guamanians emigrated to the US. Most of them were in the military or married with military people. In 1950, the population of Guam gained the full American citizenship, which favoured Guamanian migration to the US. So, the first major Guamanian migration emerged and more of 160 Guamanians emigrated to

6976-403: The ancestors of the Chamorro peoples. The Taotaomona is a supernatural ancestral spirit that Chamorros and some neighboring islanders from Rota and Saipan believe in. The Taotaomona possess a strength that far exceeds man and has the ability to cause sickness and death to those who offend them. The appearance of a Taotaomona can vary as they can be a female or male and can take an attractive form or

7085-475: The area and the volcanic activity which formed the Mariana Islands. All the islands, except Farallon de Medinilla and Uracas or Farallon de Pajaros (in the northern group), are more or less densely forested , and the vegetation is dense, much resembling that of the Carolines and also of the Philippines, from where species of plants have been introduced. Owing to the moistness of the soil cryptogams are numerous, as are also most kinds of grasses. On most of

7194-442: The canoe by, galaidé, of the hand movement or using traditional wooden sticks. During the ancient times, outrigger canoes were used during the war, fishing, and sailing era. 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 . The Spanish settlement in

7303-434: 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. The Chamorros are primarily of Austronesian ancestry, but began to significantly interact with Spanish and Filipinos during the Spanish colonial era (1521–1898 AD). Primarily since

7412-439: The coasts of the southern isles, which are of slight elevation. The lowest point on the Earth's crust, the Mariana Trench , is near the islands and is named after them. The majority of islands in the Marianas still retain their indigenous names ending in the letters -an; for example, Guahan (the indigenous name of Guam), Agrigan , Agrihan , Aguihan /Aguigan, Pagan , Sarigan, Saipan , and Tinian . The islands are part of

7521-536: The command of Ferdinand Magellan . Historically, the southern village of Umatac, Guam has been credited as the site of the Spanish landing. As confirmation, a scholarly study of the navigator's diary, now kept in preservation in the Philippines , revealed a drawing of the islands with a tiny island to the south of a much larger island above it. The described placement of the islands confirms that Magellan had actually sailed between Guam and Cocos Island , and not Guam and Rota , as some originally thought, especially since

7630-427: The conventional spelling Chamorro . The Chamorro language is included in the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of the Austronesian family. Because Guam was colonized by Spain for over 300 years, Chamorro has acquired many loanwords from Spanish . An example is how the traditional Chamorro number system was replaced by Spanish numbers. Chamorro is often spoken in many homes, but this is becoming less common. However,

7739-402: The data, market crop sales decreased and a number of agricultural production is unrecognized. According to early Chamorro legend, the world was created by a twin brother and sister, Puntan and Fu'uña. As he lay dying, Puntan instructed his sister Fu'uña to make his body into the ingredients of the universe. She used his eyes to create the Sun and Moon, his eyebrows to make rainbows, and most of

7848-620: The direction from which the wind is blowing, these winds are called the northeasterly trade winds in the Northern Hemisphere and the southeasterly trade winds in the Southern Hemisphere. The trade winds of both hemispheres meet at the Doldrums . As they blow across tropical regions, air masses heat up over lower latitudes due to more direct sunlight. Those that develop over land (continental) are drier and hotter than those that develop over oceans (maritime), and travel northward on

7957-485: The early 16th century, were the first Europeans to arrive; eventually, Spain annexed and colonized the archipelago, establishing their capital on the largest island, Guam. The Marianas were the first islands Magellan encountered after traversing the Pacific from the southern tip of South America. The fruits found there saved the survivors from scurvy , which had already killed dozens of crewmembers. The Mariana Islands are

8066-514: The equator while the flow aloft is towards the poles . A low-pressure area of calm, light variable winds near the equator is known as the doldrums , near-equatorial trough, intertropical front, or the Intertropical Convergence Zone . When located within a monsoon region, this zone of low pressure and wind convergence is also known as the monsoon trough . Around 30° in both hemispheres, air begins to descend toward

8175-427: The first European conquests; some residents of the Marianas will still ask permission from ancestral spirits before entering parts of jungles. Among the 56 states and territories of the United States, the Mariana Islands have the highest rate of religious self-identification, with a combined percentage of only 1.75% of the population (Guam at 2.5% and the CNMI at just 1%) not claiming membership in or affiliation with

8284-460: The first millennium CE. This brought new pottery styles, languages, genes, and the hybrid Polynesian breadfruit . The period 900 to 1700 CE of the Marianas, immediately before and during the Spanish colonization, is known as the Latte period . It is characterized by rapid cultural change, most notably by the massive megalithic latte stones (also spelled latde or latti ). These were composed of

8393-649: The garment industries in the Northern Marianas, tourism has grown slowly and is now a major part of the economy of the CNMI. Amateur radio operators conduct DXpeditions to the Islands at intervals. Common dishes in the Mariana Islands include red rice, meat or poultry on the grill or in coconut milk, chicken kelaguen , apigigi (young coconut with cassava paste wrapped in banana leaf), and tropical fruits. Chamorro people The Chamorro people ( / tʃ ɑː ˈ m ɔːr oʊ , tʃ ə -/ ; also CHamoru ) are

8502-458: The geographical convergence of peoples of different ethnic origins. This idea may be supportable by the evidence of linguistic characteristics of the Chamorro language and social customs. Prior to Spanish contact, Chamorro boys and men wore no clothing and went about fully nude at all times. Chamorro girls went nude until around the age of eight to ten, at which point they began to wear a small genital covering made either of bark, one or more leaves,

8611-471: The huge creature eluded them. When the men were unsuccessful in hunting it down, the women used their hair to weave a net, which grew larger as they sang. The singing enchanted the fish, and lured it into the giant net. Enraged that Father Diego Luis de San Vitores had baptized his child, a Chamorro man and his friend killed the priest and Filipino catechist Pedro Calungsod in April 1672, dumping their bodies in

8720-624: The importance of the trade winds (then the volta do mar , meaning in Portuguese "turn of the sea" but also "return from the sea") in navigation in both the north and south Atlantic Ocean as early as the 15th century. From West Africa, the Portuguese had to sail away from continental Africa, that is, to west and northwest. They could then turn northeast, to the area around the Azores islands, and finally east to mainland Europe. They also learned that to reach South Africa, they needed to go far out in

8829-528: The importance of the trade winds to England's merchant fleet for crossing the Atlantic Ocean had led both the general public and etymologists to identify the name with a later meaning of "trade": "(foreign) commerce". Between 1847 and 1849, Matthew Fontaine Maury collected enough information to create wind and current charts for the world's oceans. As part of the Hadley cell , surface air flows toward

8938-479: The island chain, forms the noted Mariana Trench , the deepest part of the Earth's oceans and lowest part of the surface of the Earth's crust. In this region, according to geologic theory, water trapped in the extensive faulting of the Pacific Plate as serpentinite , is heated by the higher temperatures of depth during its subduction, the pressure from the expanding steam results in the hydrothermal activity in

9047-404: The islands after World War II, leading to a dietary shift. According to the 2010 census, 148,220 Chamorros are living in the United States, mostly from Guam, but also from the Northern Marianas and Saipan. The early Chamorros who migrated to the US were Guamanians who moved in the first decade of the 20th century. In the following decades, small groups of Guamanians emigrated to Hawaii and

9156-403: The islands of Ladrones." Pigafetta writes, And the captain-general wished to approach the largest of these three islands to replenish his provisions. But it was not possible, for the people of those islands entered the ships and robbed us so that we could not protect ourselves from them. And when we wished to strike and take in the sails so as to land, they stole very quickly the small boat called

9265-482: The islands there is a plentiful supply of water. The fauna of the Marianas, though inferior in number and variety, is similar in character to that of the Carolines and certain species are indigenous to both island groups. The climate though damp is healthy, while the heat, being tempered by the trade winds , is milder than that of the Philippines; the variations of temperature are not great. The islands are part of

9374-435: The land of Guam and Northern Mariana Islands. Chamorro dance costumes were traditionally weaved and crafted. The women wore traditional mestizas dresses and men wore a sadí made from cotton or linen. Both costumes represent the people from Guam, highlighting the Spanish colonial time, and symbolizing the resilience of its people. A significant dance move is traditionally shaped by a canoe . The Chamorro people practiced

9483-477: The land) but were known to the early Spanish colonists as Chamurres or HachaMori , eventually died out as a distinct people, though their descendants intermarried. At the Spanish occupation in 1668 , the Chamorros were estimated at 50,000, but a century later only 1,800 natives remained, as the majority of the population was of mixed Spanish-Chamorro blood or mestizo . They were characteristic Micronesians , with

9592-645: The late 19th century onward, many Chamorros have intermarried with other Pacific Islanders, mainland Americans, Filipinos, Chinese , and Japanese . During the Spanish era, the Spaniards 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 . Spanish soldiers settled in Guam and all Chamorro have Spanish ancestry. During

9701-457: The members of more recent generations. Large-scale events are held throughout the year on Guam and Saipan , which feature local competitors and guest participants from abroad. Chamorro life has long centered on one's matriarchal clan . The concept of a "clan" stemming from a common female ancestor is still observed. Large extended families remain central to life in the Marianas. Diabetes and heart disease have become increasingly common among

9810-433: The names of the villages on Guam as they are named after body parts. Barrigada translates to flank, Tiyan translates to stomach, Hagatna translates to blood and Mongmong translates to a heartbeat. 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. Taotaomona essentially translates to "people of early times," referring to

9919-728: The natives at that time were tying up their hair into one or two topknots. 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

10028-400: The northern areas of Guam do not have safe coves or harbors to anchor. Moreover, the waters of Northern Guam are often rougher and the currents are even more treacherous in comparison to the safer coves and currents seen by the southwestern side of Guam. Regardless of where they landed, the Spanish ships arrived in Guam and were unable to get fresh food as the inhabitants, Chamorros , "entered

10137-521: The ocean, head for Brazil, and around 30°S go east again. (This is because following the African coast southbound means sailing upwind in the Southern hemisphere.) In the Pacific Ocean, the full wind circulation, which included both the trade wind easterlies and higher-latitude westerlies , was unknown to Europeans until Andres de Urdaneta 's voyage in 1565. The captain of a sailing ship seeks

10246-434: The ocean. Chamorro society was divided into two main castes , and continued to be so for well over a century after the Spanish first arrived. According to historical records provided by Europeans, such as Father Charles Le Gobien , apparent racial differences existed between the subservient Manachang caste, and the higher Chamor[r]i , the Manachang being described as shorter, darker-skinned, and physically less hardy than

10355-579: The period between 2000 and 1300 BC. Comparative and historical linguistics also indicate that the Chamorro language is most closely related to the Philippine subfamily of the Austronesian languages , instead of the Oceanic subfamily of the languages found in the rest of Remote Oceania. Mitochondrial DNA and whole genome sequencing of the Chamorro people strongly support an ancestry from

10464-523: The phases of the moon. For example, farmers on Guam often plant tuber crops such as sweet potato and yams at full moon during low tide. According to the University of Guam (UOG) , Unibetsedåt Guåhan , the history of Agriculture on Guam had an outstanding number of farms reported in the year of 1940. With a high number of reports in 1975 and a decline in 2007, those involved field crop production, livestock and poultry, fish and agriculture. Based on

10573-486: The plate is carried farther downward and results in the volcanic activity which has formed the arc of Mariana Islands above this subduction region. The Mariana Islands were the first islands settled by humans in Remote Oceania . Incidentally it is also the first and the longest of the ocean-crossing voyages of the Austronesian peoples into Remote Oceania, and is separate from the later Polynesian settlement of

10682-571: The remains of ancient Chamorros showed that the lineage of both the Unai and the Latte periods originated during the Holocene Epoch in eastern Indonesia, most likely Sulawesi, with no direct prehistoric connection to the Philippines. They were expert seafarers and skilled craftspeople familiar with intricate weaving and detailed pottery-making. The latte stone , a megalithic rock pillar topped with

10791-555: The rest of Remote Oceania. They were first settled around 1500 to 1400 BCE by migrants departing from the Philippines . Archeological studies of human activity on the islands have revealed pottery with red-slipped, circle-stamped and punctate-stamped designs found in the Mariana Islands dating from between 1500 and 1400 BC. These artifacts show similar aesthetics to pottery found in Northern and Central Philippines, particularly Nagsabaran ( Cagayan Valley ) pottery, which flourished during

10900-638: The rest of his parts into various features of the Earth. Once her work was complete, she descended on an island called " Guåhan ", and transformed herself into a giant rock. This rock split, and from it emerged all human beings. Some believe that this rock was once located at the site of a church in Agat , while others believe it is the phallic-shaped Laso de Fua located in Fouha Bay in Umatac . Ancient Chamorros engaged in ancestor veneration , but did not practice

11009-491: The ships and stole whatever they could lay their hands on", including "the small boat that was fastened to the poop of the flagship", according to Spanish crewman Antonio Pigafetta. The Spanish crew, in retaliation, attacked the Chamorros and dubbed the islands Islas de los Ladrones (Islands of the Thieves). Wrote Pigafetta, "Those people are poor, but ingenious and very thievish, on account of which we called those three islands

11118-463: The southern part of a submerged mountain range that extends 1,565 miles (2,519 km) from Guam to near Japan. Geographically, the Marianas are part of a larger region called Micronesia , situated between 13° and 21°N latitude and 144° and 146°E longitude. The Mariana Islands have a total land area of 1,008 km (389 sq mi). They are composed of two administrative units: The island chain geographically consists of two subgroups,

11227-433: The surface in subtropical high-pressure belts known as subtropical ridges . The subsident (sinking) air is relatively dry because as it descends, the temperature increases, but the moisture content remains constant, which lowers the relative humidity of the air mass. This warm, dry air is known as a superior air mass and normally resides above a maritime tropical (warm and moist) air mass. An increase of temperature with height

11336-605: The trade wind inversion. Trade winds originate more from the direction of the poles (northeast in the Northern Hemisphere, southeast in the Southern Hemisphere) during the cold season, and are stronger in the winter than the summer. As an example, the windy season in the Guianas , which lie at low latitudes in South America , occurs between January and April. When the phase of the Arctic oscillation (AO)

11445-416: The western periphery of the subtropical ridge. Maritime tropical air masses are sometimes referred to as trade air masses. All tropical oceans except the northern Indian Ocean have extensive areas of trade winds. Clouds which form above regions within trade wind regimes are typically composed of cumulus which extend no more than 4 kilometres (13,000 ft) in height, and are capped from being taller by

11554-410: The word Chamorro played a role in its being used to refer to the island's Indigenous inhabitants. Not only is "Chamorro" a Spanish surname ; in Spanish it also means "leg of pork", "beardless [wheat]", "bald", "close-cropped", or "shorn/shaven/[hair or wool] cut close to the surface". Around 1670, a Catholic missionary reported that men were sporting a style in which their heads were shaven, save for

11663-422: The world with their body parts and souls. Puntan's various body parts were turned into the land, his chest into the sky, his eyebrows into rainbows, and his eyes into the sun and moon. Fu’una having the ability to give life, brought the sun, soil, and waters to life, and with a final transformation, she turned into stone and gave birth to the Chamorro people. Evidence supporting this creation story can be seen through

11772-537: Was only 2,646 inhabitants around this time, with the ten most northerly islands being actively volcanic and thus mostly uninhabited. Japan, allied with the Entente Powers during World War I , seized all of Germany's colonial possessions in East Asia and Micronesia, including the Northern Mariana Islands, and held them through the end of the war. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, Germany

11881-509: Was stripped of all her colonies worldwide, including the Palau, Caroline, Northern Mariana and Marshall Islands. By international agreement, these were all placed into trusteeship under the management of League of Nations which assigned them to Japan as the Class C South Seas Mandate . During this time, Japan used some of the islands for sugarcane production, modestly increasing the population of

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