Skip to content

Chamorro Folktales

Ancient Guam Era, Chamorro Culture, Chamorro Folktales, Early Historic Accounts, Historic Eras of Guam, Our Heritage, People, People and Places

Taga

Largest latte house in the Marianas. Found nowhere else in the world, latte first appeared in the Mariana Islands about 800 years ago, during a period known as the Latte Era of Chamorro/CHamoru culture. Each stone is comprised of a vertical pillar (haligi) topped with a hemi-spherical capstone (tasa). Organized in two parallel rows of three to seven stones, the latte likely served as foundation posts for wood and thatch houses that were built on top of them. Representing the apex of CHamoru latte architecture, the massive stones of Taga House, located in Tinian, are 15 feet in overall length.

Taga Read Post »

Folktale Alu and Pang
Ancient Guam Era, Chamorro Culture, Chamorro Folktales, Historic Eras of Guam, Our Heritage

Folktale: Alu and Pang

In ancient times the people of the Mariana Islands lived in villages ruled by a maga’låhi or maga’håga (chief or high-ranking son or daughter), who made all the rules and decisions for his or her people. In the area of Guahan now known as Tamuning, there lived a great maga’låhi whose name was Alu. People say he had supernatural strength. If he wanted a drink, he could shake a niyok (coconut) tree and the juice-filled, young, green coconuts would fall to the ground.

Folktale: Alu and Pang Read Post »

Scroll to Top