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Americans Bring Upheaval in Religious Practices
Organized western religion has created two major upheavals in the daily lives of the Chamorro people of the Mariana Islands throughout history, both taking place with the arrival of two colonial powers: Spain and the United States.
Malesso’/Merizo
Always known as a place for fishing, the village’s original name, Malesso’, derives from the CHamoru word lesso’, a juvenile stage in the growth of rabbit fish. Juvenile rabbit fish, or mañåhak in CHamoru, run in schools at certain times of the year in the bays and inlets of the village.
Mangilao
Mangilao derives its name from the word ilao, which means to look for something. In the past, hunters and fishermen would go to Mangilao to search for crabs, deer, wild pigs, and fish.
Inalåhan (Inarajan)
The village’s CHamoru name, Inalåhan, probably refers to the åla or large woven coconut-leaf harvest baskets for which the village was noted. The name could also be derived from the word hålla, meaning to pull something or move something with a rope tied to it.
Pedro Calungsod
Pedro Calungsod arrived in Guam 15 June 1668, along with Father Diego Luis de San Vitores and a group of Jesuit missionaries and lay assistants from the Philippines. Father San Vitores believed that young men, strong in their faith like Calungsod, would be helpful in influencing the youth in the Marianas.
Hagåtña
Hagåtña is derived from the word haga, meaning blood. It is believed that this village came about due to the bloodlines of the families that established the village. Appearing as “Agadña” or “Agaña” in Spanish maps, and later, “Agana” in American maps, the Guam Legislature in 1998 changed the official spelling to “Hagåtña” to reflect the original CHamoru pronunciation of the village’s name.
Dededo (Dedidu)
The origin of the village name Dededo, Dedidu in CHamoru, may come from the practice of measuring using fingers. The Spanish word for finger is “dedo.” It can be theorized that someone measured out the original village this way. Another possibility is that the word “dededo” is a version of the word “dedeggo,” which means “heel of the foot,” or that it comes from the word “deggo” which means to “walk on tiptoes.”
Chalan Pago-Ordot (Chålan Pågu-Otdot)
Chalan Pago is a CHamoru word that means “Pago Road.” Chalan Pago referred to the area traveled through to get from Hagåtña to Pago, which may lend to the naming of the area, which is covered with Pago trees (hibiscus tiliaceus). Pago was one of the reducción villages established by Father Diego Luís de San Vitores, who established the Catholic mission in the Marianas in the 1670s.
Padre Jose Bernardo Palomo
Padre Don Jose Bernardo Palomo y Torres (1836 – 1919) was the first CHamoru priest. He is most often referred to as Father Jose Torres Palomo or Padre Palomo.
Barrigada (Barigåda)
Barrigada comes from the CHamoru word meaning “flank” (the side of the stomach). The first written mention of the word “Barrigada” comes from Recollect Father Aniceto Ibanez del Carmen, who served on Guam for 40 years and in 1866, referred to people hunting deer in the region called “Barrigadan Tiyan.”