Ancient Chamorro

Ancient Chamorro

Where did the Ancient Chamorros come from? The Chamorro race has never been definitively proven, the original inhabitants of Guam are believed to have been of Indo-Malaya descent originating from Southeast Asia as early as 2,000 BC, and having linguistic and cultural similarities to Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Where did the word "Chamorro" come from? Chamorro comes from the native words "chamorri' or "chamoli" words which signify "NOBLE". Spanish dictionaries indicate that the word "Chamorro" means "to have the head shaved or to be bald."

The study of language is one of the best ways ethnologists can find a people's origin. Usually, an area of many related languages indicates an area that many people have migrated from. By examining the languages of the world, we can see if any are similar to Chamorro. Linguists have found that Chamorro does not correlate closely enough to any other language to be part of a sub branch or even a branch. Therefore, Chamorro stands as a unique subfamily. The Chamorro language is like a person with relatives, but no close living relatives.Chamorro's closest relative is a "distant cousin" Bareic, a Hesperonesian Subfamily member.

Ancients Chamorro's customs point to a Southeast Asian origin. The original inhabitants of the Mariana Islands had a social structure, including castes, matrilineal clans, men's houses, marriage customs, and government by headman leadership and decision making by consesnsus. Even their style of a deep-pit cooking, funerals, strategy in way, reciprocal gift-giving (chenchule') and sports seems to have Southeast Asian origins.

The first historical document relating the general physical features of the ancient Chamorros, written by Pifigetta in 1521, described them as being tall, big-boned, and robust with tawny brown skin and long black hair. A typical adult male was five feet six inches tall. The present day Chamorros are mixtures of various ethnic compositions consisting of the many cultural groups originating from Asia, Europe, and America. In 1962, President Kennedy lifted the Naval Clearing Act which allowed other ethnic groups to make Guam their home. Since that time, many Filipinos, Caucasians, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Indians, and Pacific Islanders have moved to Guam. The present population is a rich blend of many races which makes Guam a cosmopolitan community of various customs and traditions.

Why did the Chamorros migrate to the Mariana Islands? Ethnologist will probably never know to that question. The best ethnologist can do is offer some hypotheses to explain the migration. Some of the reasons for migrations: overpopulation, famine, war, quarrels among leaders, accident, adventure, or a natural catastrophe.

The chamorros needed food to survive. The natural environment of the Mariana Islands provides many opportunities for satisfying this basic need. Ancient chamorros took advantage of their rich natural environment to satisfy their nutritional needs. Chamorros used a variety of methods to obtain their food. They farmed, fished, and gathered their food. Some of their food was found naturally in the Mariana Islands. These are the indigenous foods. Chamorros brought other food plants with them when they settled the Mariana Islands. The sharing of food continues to be very important of Chamorro culture.

Most historical accounts agree that ancient Chamorro men went naked. Ancient Chamorro women wore a small triangular apron called a tifi, or a skirt of grass or leaves suspended from a belt. On special occasions women wore grass skirts with a pandanus belt strung with daddek (baby coconuts). Early historical accounts and archaeological give us some understanding of how the ancient Chamorros