Today, significant Chamorro populations also exist in several US states, including Hawaii, California, Washington, Texas, Tennessee, Oregon, and Nevada, all of which together are designated as Pacific Islander Americans according to the US census.

The digraph ch is treated as a single letter, hence both characters are capitalized at the beginning of a sentence or proper noun, much like ij in Dutch.

Some people theorize that Spanish definitions of the word Chamorro played a role in its being used to refer to the island's Indigenous inhabitants.

[10][11][12] Around 1670, a Catholic missionary reported that men were sporting a style in which their heads were shaven, save for a "finger-length" amount of hair at the crown.

Recent advanced DNA testing conducted on the remains of ancient Chamorros showed that the lineage of both the Unai and the Latte periods originated during the Holocene Epoch in eastern Indonesia, most likely Sulawesi, with no direct prehistoric connection to the Philippines.

The latte stone, a megalithic rock pillar topped with a hemispherical capstone, was used by early Chamorros as foundation for buildings, and has since been appropriated as a national symbol.

For example, farmers on Guam often plant tuber crops such as sweet potato and yams at full moon during low tide.

With a high number of reports in 1975 and a decline in 2007, those involved field crop production, livestock and poultry, fish and agriculture.

She used his eyes to create the Sun and Moon, his eyebrows to make rainbows, and most of the rest of his parts into various features of the Earth.

[27] Enraged that Father Diego Luis de San Vitores had baptized his child, a Chamorro man and his friend killed the priest and Filipino catechist Pedro Calungsod in April 1672, dumping their bodies in the ocean.

[9][29] Le Gobien theorized that Chamorro society comprised the geographical convergence of peoples of different ethnic origins.

Chamorro girls went nude until around the age of eight to ten, at which point they began to wear a small genital covering made either of bark, one or more leaves, a piece of a turtle shell or in some cases matting.

[13] Father Pierre Coomans wrote of the practice among Chamorro women of teeth blackening/dental lacquering (also a widespread custom in ancient Maritime Southeast Asia, Japan, Southeastern China, and parts of Indochina), which they considered beautiful as a distinction apart from animals.

Puntan's various body parts were turned into the land, his chest into the sky, his eyebrows into rainbows, and his eyes into the sun and moon.

[31] On March 6, 1521, Ferdinand Magellan and his men, after having crossed the Pacific Ocean, had encountered the first "Indios" since leaving South America.

[32] Over the centuries, the Mariana Islands have been occupied by several foreign countries (Spain, Germany, Japan, United States), and present-day Chamorro society is almost entirely multiethnic, with the inhabitants of Luta/Rota being the least so.

Primarily since the late 19th century onward, many Chamorros have intermarried with other Pacific Islanders, mainland Americans, Filipinos, Chinese, and Japanese.

Father Frances X. Hezel stated that Chamorros caught or reported engaging in pagan "sorcery" were publicly punished.

Under the Treaty of Paris, signed on December 10, 1898, Spain ceded Guam to the United States effective April 11, 1899.

On December 8, 1941, hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces from the Marianas launched an invasion of Guam.

The prehistoric concept of inafa'maolek[33] ("doing good for each other", often translated as interdependence) is a core value of traditional Chamorro culture.

The culture is now strongly influenced by American customs and values, largely because the Marianas archipelago (partitioned into Guam and the CNMI) is currently possessed by the United States of America, as organized but unincorporated territories; in addition, most people of Chamorro descent now live outside of the Marianas in the United States.

The American military has a major cultural influence among the Chamorro; enlistment rates are higher in the Marianas than in any other place in the US.

Large-scale events are held throughout the year on Guam and Saipan, which feature local competitors and guest participants from abroad.

Diabetes and heart disease have become increasingly common among the Indigenous population, as well as among non-Indigenous Oceanic people living in the Marianas, particularly the Carolinian Refaluwasch.

[35] Traditional healers called suruhånu (or suruhåna for women) are still greatly respected for their knowledge of herbal treatments and spirits.

The concept of Guma is housed by Chamorro people that is centered around providing an educational experience for those interested about vibrant culture - the land of Guam and Northern Mariana Islands.

[43] Red rice made with achoti is a distinct staple food that strongly identifies Chamorro cuisine among the many dishes of fellow Pacific Island cultures.

It is commonly served for special events, such as parties (gupot or "fiestas"), nobenas, and occasions such as a high-school or college graduations.

[44] Spam and other canned meats were introduced to the islands after World War II, leading to a dietary shift.