Where the people from the cnmi came from?
This traditional sailing canoe from the CNMI shows the strong maritime culture shared with Southeast Asia.
What is the proa?
This upper caste in ancient Chamorro society controlled the land and resources.
Who were the chamorri?
This Portuguese explorer arrived in the Mariana Islands in 1521 during his expedition around the world.
Who is Ferdinand Magellan?
This island became the administrative center of German rule in the Marianas.
What is Saipan?
Chamorros often ask these ancestral spirits for permission before entering certain lands.
What are the Taotaomo’na?
This genetic anthropologist traveled to Guam and the CNMI to study the origins of the Chamorro people by analyzing blood samples.
Who is Miguel G. Vilar?
This Chamorro system of reciprocal sharing and exchanging goods between families is an important social tradition.
What is chenchule’?
This Jesuit missionary arrived in 1668 and began spreading Christianity, marking the start of Spanish colonization.
Who is Diego Luis de San Vitores?
This product made from coconuts was the main economic focus during the German administration.
What is copra?
This legend is about a girl who got cursed by her mother.
What is the Lengend of Serena about?
The first settlement of the Mariana Islands occurred around this many years ago.
(What happened _____ years ago?)
What happened 3,500–4,000 years ago?
This farming method involved cutting vegetation, drying it, and burning it to enrich the soil with nutrients.
What is slash-and-burn farming?
After the first encounter with Chamorros, Magellan named the islands this, meaning “Islands of Thieves.”
What is Islas de los Ladrones?
Vaccination campaigns during German rule targeted this disease.
What is smallpox?
This Chamorro cooking method “cooks” food by marinating it in lemon juice and salt.
What is Kelaguen?
This type of DNA is passed only from mothers to their children and is commonly used to trace maternal ancestry.
What is mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)?
This fishing method involved catching fish by hand.
What is mano’cho?
This church established in 1856 showed Spanish religious influence in the islands.
What is the San Isidro Church/Kristo Rai Church?
This event in October 1914 ended German rule in the islands.
When did the Japanese navy seized the islands during World War I?
This mythical figure was baptized with the name Sebastian Hurtado de la Corcuera in historical records.
Who is Cheif Taga?
Genetic research shows that about 90% of Chamorros carry this mitochondrial haplogroup.
What is haplogroup E?
Chamorro, Tagalog, and Indonesian all belong to this large language family spread across the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
What is the Austronesian languages family?
In 1565, this Spanish leader officially claimed the Mariana Islands for Spain.
Who is Miguel López de Legazpi?
Germany controlled the Northern Mariana Islands during these years.
What happened in 1899–1914?
Many Chamorro tools such as axes and hammerstones were made from this strong volcanic rock.
What is basalt?