In the social organization of Chamorro/CHamoru society, individuals from the lowest class were known as manachang. In her study of early CHamoru culture, anthropologist Laura Thompson noted in the early Spanish mission accounts that the manachang were supposedly of smaller stature and had a darker complexion than the noble class matao.
Under Spanish colonial rule, the introduction of Spanish customs, social systems and land tenure disrupted traditional practices of land ownership and social class structure of the Chamorro/CHamoru people.
Mannakhilo’ and Mannakpåpa’ Read Post »
Early accounts of traditional Chamorro/CHamoru society describe at least two distinct social castes—the chamorri, or upper caste, and the manachang, or lower caste. The chamorri caste was further divided into the social rankings of matao and acha’ot.
The social ranking of individuals, whether by age, gender or social status, has always been important in Chamorro society. In pre-Spanish times, social status dictated occupations and activities, living situations, marriage rules, social etiquette and taboos, and access to power, wealth and prestige in the form of control over land and ocean resources.
Social Classes in Traditional CHamoru Society Read Post »
The story of the two lovers who tied their hair together and leapt to their death on Guam was first recorded by French researcher Louis Claude de Freycinet in 1819. Over the years various versions of the story have come to light.
Folktale: Puntan Dos Amantes Read Post »
In Spanish colonial times criollo referred to a full-blooded Spaniard born in the Spanish colonies in Asia and the Americas. It was a term mostly used to differentiate from the peninsulares (full-blooded Spaniards born in Spain) and mestizos (persons of both Spanish and Native American or Asian ancestry).
ndios were defined as the native indigenous peoples in all the Spanish American and Asian possessions. During the Spanish colonial period in the Mariana Islands (17th through 19th centuries) the CHamoru people were classified as indios.
nsulares was the specific term given to criollos (full-blooded Spaniards born in the colonies) born in the Philippines or the Marianas. Insulares were part of the second highest racial class in Spanish hierarchy below the peninsulares, or full-blooded Spaniards born in Europe.
During the Spanish colonial period (1668-1898), persons of mixed African and Spanish ancestry were known to the Spaniards as mulatos. They were mostly hired for labor in the Carribean and American colonies.
Mulatos and Negros Read Post »
Manma’gas is the Chamorro/CHamoru word for leaders when referred to as a group. In ancient Guam, CHamoru leaders were usually the oldest members of clans and were looked up to for their guidance and wisdom. The male leader of a clan is referred to as the maga’låhi (eldest son) and the female as maga’håga (eldest daughter).
Manma’gas: Leaders Read Post »
