chamoru

Alternative form of Chamorro (ethnicity)

Japan occupied Guahan from 1941 to 1944, after which, the United States reoccupied Guahan, seizing 42 percent of the landmass that displaced the CHamoru people.

Traditional CHamoru Cultural Values Ancient CHamorus have been described as kind and peaceful people (Russell, 1998) who strove to live in harmony with the land, air, sea, and one another. CHamoru villages were comprised of the family unit, and sustained their livelihood through fishing, hunting, and trading with their neighbors. Modern-day CHamorus continue to have a deep sense of spirituality in which ancestral spirits, or taotao mo’na, are venerated and elders, or the manamko’, are held in high regard for their wisdom, life experience, and age. Modern-day CHamoru norms and values are referred to as kustumbren CHamoru.

Alternative form of Chamorro (language)

Origin of village name in CHamoru 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.”