Where the CHamoru culture was born

By Johanna Salinas

Litekyan, an archeological site at the northern point of Guam, is the birthplace of pre-Spanish CHamoru civilization before it later became a front of the natives’ resistance against the European colonizers. These days, the ancient CHamoru village site embodies the conflict between the growing military presence on Guam and the effort to preserve the island’s culture.

 “Litekyan is probably the most significant piece of property in Guahan’s history,” said Dr. Robert Underwood, a cultural scholar and former president of the University of Guam.

Also known as Ritidian, the cultural site in Yigo is Guam's only designated critical habitat, which is home to some of the last confirmed populations of endangered species. The Ritidian wildlife refuge, which is under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's jurisdiction, provides habitat for Mariana fruit bat, Mariana crow, and the Serianthes nelsonii tree. The Ritidian Unit is an active sea turtle nesting area. 

Robert Underwood

Underwood said Litekyan symbolizes the CHamoru people's feat as "the first people to sail over the remote ocean in human history," marking the beginning of "a remarkable journey."

On Dec. 13, about a hundred people joined the Micronesian Climate Change Alliance’s second annual Walk for Water, which looped one mile around the Litekyan jungle and coast. The yearly event aims to educate residents about the protected area's historical and cultural significance.

“To imagine that this environment shifted and the ocean receded, and then it created a new, different environment; it created the latte culture. Then the invaders came in. This village was one of the first ones to rebel against the invaders,” said Underwood, a former congressman.

In December 1675, Jesuit Brother Pedro Diaz, a Spanish missionary, was killed by young CHamoru men after he tried to control their behavior in the mission school. The tragedy led to conflict over cultural differences and missionary efforts to Christianize the island.

Underwood said the killing was the result of Diaz’s attempt to burn down a guma uritao, where young men were trained to hunt, fish and be a good family man.

Lourdes Manglona

“That history reminds you of what happened to the people of Litekyan. Subsequently, CHamorus came back, a different group of people to farm and fish and have a history here,” Underwood said.

“Then a new group of invaders came and this new group of invaders took the land for a different purpose. That’s where we’re at today. If we contemplate Litekyan and understand this history, you can understand the history of the CHamoru people.”

Lourdes Manglona, a traditional healer known as “Mama Lou,” led the rosary to pay respects to CHamoru ancestors.

“The people from this land aren’t here anymore. We’re doing the rosary and we’re doing this walk to be with the ocean water and ocean air,” she said. “You can feel Litekyan in the air and the ocean. It’s like feeling the spirits of the ancestors.”

Manglona said the Walk for Water is an important event that encourages young people to continue visiting Litekyan and learn about the island’s history.

The U.S. military controls the land in and around Ritidian Point, which has been the site of the new Mason Live-Fire Training Range Complex as part of the Marine Corps realignment from Okinawa to Guam. The establishment and operation of the training facility have faced strong opposition from local activist groups, including Prutehi Litekyan: Save Ritidian and descendants of the original landowners. 

“The military was using this place. A lot of medicine is here and people can’t get medicine without authorization from the military. People have to learn how to get a pass to collect medicine,” Manglona said.

Shannon McNamus

Shannon McManus, a CHamoru singer, expressed sorrow over the loss of the land she had visited as a child.

“Just driving into here, sometimes I get puti (hurt). There's a lot of piniti (grief) when you see the fences, when you see how much the military has destroyed, but as soon as you turn the corner and see the cliff line, you’re just arrested by that beauty,” she said.

“Even if your family isn’t originally from here, or your ancestors did come here, you feel the ka’na, the spirit, of this place," McNamus said.

She underscored the importance of "knowing what’s at risk with the 700 acres they deforested for the firing range above the land" and "how sacred this place is not only for our culture but for our ecosystem, because of how fragile it is and how abundant the land is.”

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