GINEN I MAÑAINA-TA
GALLERY 3 | OUR ANCIENT HERITAGE
Our islands were among the first in the Pacific to be settled by people who were expert voyagers searching for a new homeland. Over time, they settled throughout the archipelago, including the islands to the north, referred to as Gåni. Our ancestors actively traveled throughout the region, engaged in trade and intermarried with other islanders.
About a thousand years ago, changes in sea levels stabilized the reefs and increased the amount of habitable land. Our ancestors moved inward as their populations grew. They built homes on latte foundations, the remains of which today are tangible reminders of our ancient past and symbolize the endurance of our culture.
Kinship and inheritance were determined through matrilineal clan lines and extensive family networks. They observed a complex system of exchange and reciprocity. Oral history and lineage were passed down through a rich storytelling tradition. The highest-ranking members of the clan were the maga’haga and her brother, the maga’lahi. The social order included the matao or manmå’gas who were the highest caste. Members of the acha’ot caste were skilled canoe builders, craftsmen, herbal healers and sorcerers (makåhna yan ka’kåhna). The manåchang performed menial duties but lived away from the main latte settlements.
GUMA’ HIGAI
Fañagåyan Haligi yan Åtof Hågon (Pole-and-thatch dwelling).
Our earliest ancestors built wooden homes with thatched palm roofs. These either rested on the ground or on wooden pole foundations in a similar style to homes in Island Southeast Asia.
ARCHEOLOGICAL STUDIES - INESTUDION GUINADDOK SIHA
The Marianas are the most archeologically studied archipelago in Micronesia with the longest material and written record of the Remote Oceanic islands. By looking at skeletal remains and artifacts, archeologists can construct a picture about how people lived, what they ate, their general health and how they buried their dead.
CHamorus believed that the soul never died. They buried clan members beneath their homes to keep them close, and used their skulls to communicate with their spirits for favors and guidance. Typically, people were buried along coastlines with their feet oriented toward the sea. Pre-Latte burials were more elaborate and included more material possessions.
THE MAN FROM TAGA’, TININAN, CNMI
A 500- to 800-year old skull found at the Tåga’ site in Tinian was reconstructed in 1998 to show what the person may have looked like. Bone analysis revealed he was in his mid-50s at death. The healed bone scar on his skull possibly came from a penetrating stab wound to his face as a young man.
Tooth Art
Although most adults had betel-stained teeth, some cosmetically carved a fine lattice of lines on the visible surfaces. Matao women stained their teeth black or brownish-red in a painful 14-day process, and celebrated this adornment with a formal gupot (feast).
CANOES - SÅHYAN TÅSI SIHA
Carving a canoe was sacred traditional knowledge that was passed down through generations. The wood had to be cut and shaved perfectly for all the pieces to fit tightly together. The largest canoe on record was said to have been 52 feet in length, but 26- to 28-foot vessels were more common.
The asymmetrical hull and outrigger were unique features of the såhyan CHamoru and Micronesian canoes. The låyak (sail) made of woven pandanus was moved from one end of the hull to the other. To the first European observers, the proa seemed to “fly, gliding over water at a speed of up to 20 miles per hour.”
Our ancestors used sailing canoes like the sakman, lilek, duding and duduli to travel between islands for trade, deep sea fishing and networking. Pangnga and galaide were paddling canoes used to fish and travel inside the reef.
NAVIGATION I HINANAO TÅSI
The most sacred and ancient of our traditions relate to navigation and canoe-building. Through advanced seafaring knowledge and canoe designs, our ancestors traveled thousands of miles to reach the Mariana Islands. These adept mariners voyaged by following Timek (Polaris, or the North Star) and other constellations, by observing cloud formations, wave patterns, ocean hues, the presence of sea birds and sea life.
Navigation was taught at an early age to young male apprentices. By puberty, they could sail on their own.
The presence of fahang dångkolo (brown noddy birds) signals that land is nearby. The birds fly out to sea to feed and return to land at night.
Clouds often cluster over islands, and sometimes reflect the green of vegetation.
Star Map of Knowledge
The Star Map of Knowledge is a sidereal star compass that helps navigators learn their position and then the direction of specific islands by orienting themselves to the relative position of stars in the night sky.
A. Each swell’s direction changes as it wraps around an island.
B. On the far side, swells overlap. The criss-cross pattern indicates the position of the island.
C. A swell also bounces back. The shape of the rebounding swell shows the distance and direction of the island.
VOYAGING AND TRADE - TUMÅSI YAN INÁTULAIKA
While on open ocean voyages, our ancestors sailed their sakman throughout the Marianas, the Caroline Islands and elsewhere for trade. They may even have travelled as far as the Philippines, Taiwan, the Ryukyu Islands off of Japan, and beyond.
Our ancestors had knowledge of iron and metal (lulok), which they valued for tools. As adept ocean traders, it is likely that they exchanged supplies of fresh water, fish and fruits for iron when they encountered other sailing vessels.
Object: Lusong
Lusong are stone mortars used with lommok (stone pestles) to process foods or medicinal herbs. Stone surfaces used as lusong have been found near caves, but others were semi-portable boulders found in latte’ sites.
LATTE’ ARCHITECTURE - I FINA’TINAS GUMA’ LATTE’
While on open ocean voyages, our ancestors sailed their sakman throughout the Marianas, the Caroline Islands and elsewhere for trade. They may even have travelled as far as the Philippines, Taiwan, the Ryukyu Islands off of Japan, and beyond.
Our ancestors had knowledge of iron and metal (lulok), which they valued for tools. As adept ocean traders, it is likely that they exchanged supplies of fresh water, fish and fruits for iron when they encountered other sailing vessels.
Our ancestors built latte’ stone foundations, which consisted of a haligi (pillar) and tåsa (capital). Structures such as guma’ sahyan tasi (canoe house) and guma’ urritao (bachelors’ house) rested on rows of latte’, which were oriented parallel to the coastline or cliffline.
Latte’ first appeared around 900 AD, before other Pacific megaliths such as Nan Madol in Pohnpei and moai statues of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) were constructed.
Varying in size, latte’ were erected in parallel rows in even sets of six to fourteen. The most impressive latte’ (15 feet) are at the Taga’ site in Tinian. The As Nieves Quarry in Rota contains the largest known haligi and tåsa, which remain in the ground.
The latte’ provided a stable base for wooden flooring, keeping it secure during earthquakes. Latte’ elevated the guma’ above the damp ground, kept out vermin, and provided ventilation and a shaded work or storage space under the structure.
Latte’ builders used various geological material found throughout the island such as reef rock, coral, limestone, sandstone, volcanic sandstone and basalt.
WAY OF LIFE - I LINA’LA’ I MANAOTAO MO’NA
By the turn of the 17th century, our ancestors were a highly organized society based on matrilineal (or maternal) kinship ties. They enjoyed gupot (feasts) where families would gather, share food, and engage in games, storytelling, debates and competitions of strength and skill.
They practiced a system of reciprocity and exchange, called chenchule’. The ancient social order placed great emphasis on famagu’on (children) and mañaina (elders).
Using only what they needed, they respected the land and the sea profoundly as the stewards of these natural resources. Our ancestors were distinguished for their hospitable, generous ways. Values of mana’daña (collaboration), manafa’maolek (cooperation), and mana’gofli’e (seeing the best in others) are a true testament to the philosophy of harmony, reconciliation and conflict resolution.
I Mesngon, Ayu Åpman
Our ancestors were great orators. Their play of words and use of metaphors and humor came alive in the Kantan Chamorita and storytelling traditions. These forms of art, reflecting the beauty and richness of our Fino Haya (the indigenous language of the Marianas) persist to this day.
The material culture of our ancestors was well developed and highly technical. They adapted the knowledge and skills of their ancestors in Island Southeast Asia to their homeland in the Marianas. Their seafaring craft, elaborate tool-making and architecture reflect their ingenuity, familiarity with the environment and capacity to create a signature footprint among world cultures.
ISLA DELAS LA DRONESS - MAGELLAN'S ARRIVAL
I TASI YAN I TANO’ – THE SEA AND LAND
GINEN I MAÑAINA-TA | OUR ANCIENT HERITAGE
FANATAHGUIYAN I HA’ÅNI | TIME OF CHANGE
TI GERAN MAMI | A WAR NOT OF OUR MAKING
HINALOM AMERIKÅNU TÅTTE | AMERICANS RETURN 1944 – 1945
I FINALOFFAN YAN I MA’MAILA | OUR PAST AND OUR FUTURE
I HINANAO-TA NU I MANAOTAO TANO’ | THE JOURNEY OF THE CHAMORU PEOPLE
FANATAHGUIYAN I HA’ÅNI | TIME OF CHANGE