Chamorro (people)

Chamorro members (1915)

The Chamorro people (self-designation Chamoru ) are native to the Marianas . Chamorro (language) belongs to the Austronesian language family .

history

Around 2000 BC The Chamorro came from the Philippines . They were experienced seafarers and had a great deal of craftsmanship in weaving and pottery. Their society was organized in castes until European colonial powers , particularly Spain , subjugated Chamorro. In 1698 the members of the people were brought to Guam , in 1710 only about 4,000 lived there. The Spanish rule lasted until 1898 and was marked by numerous sometimes violent missionary attempts.

Today the people again have around 177,000 members, most of whom still live in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands , but also in the United States . They are mostly Catholic.

See also

• History of Oceania

literature

• Georg Fritz : The Chamorro. A history and ethnography of the Mariana Islands . Ethnologisches Notblatt 3,3 (1904), pp. 25-110. English translation by Scott Russell 2001.
• Paul Carano; Pedro C. Sanchez: A Complete History of Guam. Charles E. Tuttle, Tokyo 1964

Web links

• Worldwide Chamorro community (Engl.)
• Micronesian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2003: Pre-Contact Marianas Folklore, Legends and Literature. A critical commentary. by Robert Tenorio Torres (engl.pdf; 204 kB)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Laura Thompson: The Native Culture of the Marianas Islands. Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu 1945
2. ↑ 2000 census