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Ancient Burial in Achugao, Sa'ipan
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
This site consists of the remains of a 40-year old female. Located around the area of her throat were remnants of a shell necklace consisting of ten spondylus beads (in Plate 13-4, e), ranging in the size of 7.5mm to 12.1mm. The spondylus beads were described as having a white or cream-colored interior with exterior layers that are pink to reddish in color.
What was also interesting about this burial site was that they found a small spherical metal object, later identified as a brass flushloop bell, near her ilium bone (hip). This suggests that the item was attached to a belt or other garment worn around the waist. Because of the metal object, the theory is that this burial occurred sometime between 1668 to 1730* (early History Period).
While most of the CHamoru people residing in the islands north of Rota were force relocated (Reduccion) to Guam in the 1690s, some sources suggest that there were some mission villages in Sa’ipan through the 1730s.
Brian M. Butler.1995. Archeological Investigations in the Achugao and Matansa Areas of Saipan, Mariana Islands.
Wake Island's Guam Memorial 2017 Rededication
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
On June 8 2017, the Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center and Wake Island’s Detachment 1 leadership paid honor to 45 Chamorros with a rededication ceremony of the Wake Island’s Guam Memorial.
Aguiguan
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
Aguiguan is a very difficult and challenging island to access. There are approximately 32 prehistoric sites documented. Prehistoric artifacts recovered on Aguiguan are dated to be as early as the pre-latte period before A.D. 800. However, the archeological evidence also supports the notion that the permanent occupation of Aguiguan likely occurred sometime after A.D. 1000 during the latte period; as also evidenced by the latte sets found on Aguiguan.
Aguiguan was one of the last islands to be conquered by the Spaniards in 1695. Some of the CHamoru people that resided on Tinian even fled to Aguiguan to seek refuge during the CHamoru-Spanish wars. Sadly, in the historical setting of this book, only two CHamorus were named: Maga’låhi Taga (pg.22) and an infant baptized on Aguiguan by Father San Vitores in August 1668 with the name Ignacia (pg.23).
Aguiguan, later, became more frequently referred to as “Goat Island.” Sometime after 1818, the residents of Tinian introduced goats to Aguiguan. Other than for fishing and goat hunting the island was seldomly visited during the Spanish colonization and pretty much silent on information under the German administration.
Under the administrative rule and colonization of the Japanese, they were more aggressive in pursuing economic expansion and opportunities under the sphere of Japan. Workers from Okinawa and laborers from Korea were brought into the Mariana islands to help meet those objectives. Aguiguan was primarily used by the Japanese for cultivating sugar cane fields.
As a result, there are CHamoru people with Okinawan and Korean ancestry from some of these workers/laborers.
In 1943, there were 356 people on Aguiguan. Over 40% were Korean laborers (mostly unmarried), while the remainder were Okinawan workers (some had families).
“Our knowledge of the plantation and plantation life on Aguiguan has been greatly increased by Mr. Joaquin S. Borja of Tinian. Mr. Borja, who kindly consented to be interviewed for this project, lived on Aguiguan as a small boy. He was born in 1936 and was 9 years old when the population was removed in 1945. Mr. Borja not only has his recollections but also a body of information imparted to him by his parents. At the time of the survey Mr. Borja's mother was still living but in ill-health and could not be interviewed. Mr. Borja's father was an Okinawan who married a local woman on Rota, which is where Joaquin was born. The father was later transferred to Aguiguan where he served as one of the winch operators at the landing complex. The family lived in one of the housing units at that site.”
Brian M. Butler.1992. An Archeological Survey of Aguiguan (Aguijan) Northern Mariana Islands.
Website Updates
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
I have applied several major required updates to the website. I apologize for any inconveniences that may occur until we are fully functional. Please do let me know if you are experiencing anything unusual. Thanks. ~Bernard
Rain Cloud from Washington State
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
Meet Rain Cloud - He stopped by our CHamoru Roots Genealogy booth at the CHamoru Day Festival, June 21, 2025 in Tacoma, Washington and shared with a familiar story related to what I have been recently tracking. He is a Native American with CHamoru Roots.
His mother, a CHamoru, who became an orphaned child on Saipan during the tragedy of World War II. She had siblings, but thinks they too were unfortunately killed on Saipan during the war. She was adopted by an Okinawan family that eventually migrated to the United States. He does not know his mother’s original surname, but she was born in Garapan, Saipan. She recalls being on the island of Yap, but not much else is known about that.
Some historical background that is linked to Rain Cloud’s story…After World War II many of the Japanese, Okinawan and Korean people and their families that were brought in as laborers during the Japanese administration (post-World War I/Japan mandate under the United Nations), were repatriated back to their countries or origin. Granted, some of those Japanese, Okinawan and Korean families were allowed to stay. Also, we are reminded that the Ryuku Islands, which Okinawa was a part of, and the Ogasawara Islands (where you find descendants with CHamoru Roots, but that’s another story), were retained and governed by the U.S. Those islands remained under the administration of the U.S. and were not fully restored back to the the sovereignty of Japan (1971 Okinawa Reversion Agreement) until 1972.
I present this story out here in hopes that more pieces of the puzzle will trickle in to help him find his mother’s long lost family and reconnect him to part of his heritage. Many children were orphaned throughout the entire Mariana Islands during World War II. They and their descendants feel their spirit calling them to learn more of their CHamoru heritage.
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