Guampedia Newsletter, May 2020 | Page 2
wife. The ancient CHamorus also believed that the world and its people were created by gods who were brother and sister: Puntan and Fu’una. Learn more in this Guampedia entry: "Folktale: Puntan and Fu’una: Gods of Creation" May 3: • National Paranormal Day – Cue the spooky theremin music! National Paranormal Day seems tailor-made for the corona lockdown. Since we’re all shut in at home and our sleep schedules are completely out of whack, why not pop the popcorn, prep the drinks and settle in for a spooky film festival right in your living room, courtesy of the streaming service of your choice. The web is full of gems like “The Shining,” “The Babadook,” “The Blair Witch Project,” “Rosemary’s Baby” and many more. For more good ones, ranging from terrifying to hilarious, check out this list on IMDb. For a peek into Guam’s spirit world, check out this.
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infrastructure needs (water, power, road systems, and healthcare). So, the US and the newly independent government of the Republic of the Philippines in May 1947 negotiated an agreement for “the recruitment and employment of Philippine citizens by the US military forces and its contractors in the Pacific, including Guam.” Soon, companies began bringing in Filipino labor to provide support construction services for Andersen Air Force Base and the Guam Naval Supply Depot. Thousands of skilled and unskilled Filipino laborers eagerly migrated to Guam in 1947. By the mid-1950s, more than 17,000 Filipino laborers lived in makeshift camps, which later became cities, then
disappeared upon completion of contracts. Such camp-cities included Marbo (later Magsaysay Village located opposite the present-day Ben Franklin shopping complex in Yigo); Camp Quezon, a large, rambling site near the present-day University of Guam; and, Camp Roxas, which housed laborers near Naval Station in Santa Rita. Roxas was the largest camp, with more than 7,000 male laborers and one female. It contained miles of barracks, a 15-acre beachfront, an open-air movie theater, post office, sports facilities, and a bakery. Countless others, though, lived in less than idyllic conditions and suffered horrific abuses. To learn more, go to the Guampedia entry “Filipino Migration to Guam 1945 – 1975.”
May 4: • Star Wars Day – “May the Fourth be with you!” • Inarajan village fiesta for St. Joseph, the Worker May 5: • Cinco de Mayo May 6: • National Nurses Day and National Tourist Appreciation Day – While we currently have no tourists to whom we can show our appreciation, we certainly have plenty of nurses who are working as hard as ever – and risking their own health and lives – to protect ours. Here are some ways to thank them: • Help keep them safe: Help provide personal protective equipment (masks, gloves, gowns, etc.) to Guam’s healthcare workers Continued on Page 3
Parishioners of St. Joseph Church in Inarajan walk in a religious procession. MARC
Inarajan: Gåni islanders find new home on Guam Not much is known about the early inhabitants of Inarajan, which was a village before the Spanish arrived on Guam. The village was officially established in 1680 by the Spanish, along with St. Joseph Church, and was one of the main villages on Guam during the Spanish era. The village was designed in the Spanish custom with the church as its focus.
The Spanish were also responsible for an unusual addition to the residents of the village, as the residents of the northernmost Mariana Islands, known as Gåni (including Anatahan, Sarigan, Alamagan, Pagan, Agrihan, and Asuncion), were relocated to Inarajan and Merizo in the late 1600s. The Spanish relocation of the CHamorus, including the consolidation of the villages of Guam, was done to better control the local people during the CHamoru rebellion that was going on Continued on Page 3
