The religion of Ancient CHamorus

The religion of Ancient CHamorus was focused around the veneration of ancestors, who upon death became aniti or ancestral spirits that could provide protection and support for their living family. As part of their beliefs, Ancient CHamorus engaged in a series of rituals to ensure the successful transition for a dying family member into the afterlife.

Here is an excerpt from the account of Fray Juan Pobre, and what he witnessed while living on the island of Rota in 1602:

“Near this house, they had constructed a scaffolding of palms and trees. On top of it, there was a chair in which they placed the already foul-smelling body of the dead indio. The other leaders were gathered around it, some weeping and wailing and saying many things to him that I could not understand.

Then they lowered the body and together they carried it down to the beach, where they placed it in front of the house of one of his brothers who was his heir…They prepared a grave and lowered the body into it. They filled it and covered it with a new mat.

At the corners of the grave, they placed posts on which they constructed a small platform that they covered with new woven mats in such a way that it resembled a covered bier. Then they left that place and accompanied the brother to the house of the deceased where, amidst their tears, they made a great fiesta.”