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 »
There is little doubt that CHamorus today live very different lives than Chamorros/CHamorus did 400 years ago, and have different ideas about what is and isn’t CHamoru culture. We would be hard pressed however, to find any culture which didn’t change drastically in some ways, over such a long period of time.
Transmission of Christianity into CHamoru Culture Read Post »
First used in the 16th Century. Inscribed on the Great Seal of Guam are the words “Tano I’ ManChamorro,” or Land of the Chamorros/CHamorus.
Origin of CHamoru as an Ethnic Identifier Read Post »
An important part of Guam’s Spanish-era history is the dramatic decline of the CHamoru population, particularly in the context of the Father Diego Luís de San Vitores’ watershed mission that began in 1668, and the nearly thirty years of subsequent resistance of the CHamorus, the indigenous peoples of Guam and the Marianas.
Spanish Response to CHamoru Depopulation Read Post »
Herreron CHamoru. Blacksmithing, in the form that it is most known today, has only existed on Guam for a few centuries. On the surface blacksmithing on Guam might appear to be something which was introduced by the Spanish.
The Age of European Exploration in the Pacific began in 1521 with Ferdinand Magellan’s search for the Spice Islands (now the Moluccas). He was soon followed by many others, and by 1565 Spain had virtually full control of navigation routes across the Pacific. Oceania became, as Pacific historian Oskar Spate called it, a “Spanish lake.”
European Colonization’s Impact on Trade in Micronesia Read Post »
Not all CHamorus fought valiantly against Spanish occupation. There were some who chose to side with the Spanish for a variety of reasons.
For almost 300 years, the Spanish overseas Catholic missions took firm root in the Marianas. Spanish clergy and superiors — Jesuit, Augustinian Recollect or Capuchin — governed the Catholic Church in the Marianas. However, on 26 October 1945, that era came to a close with the departure of Miguel Angel Olano Urteaga, OFM Cap., the last Spanish bishop of Guam.
Bishop Miguel Angel Urteaga Olano 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 »
