During the Spanish occupation of the Mariana Islands (and other areas of the world taken over by the Spaniards), the Spaniards forced the natives to follow their beliefs or die. However, let us take a look at what the ancient Chamorro people believed.
The ancient Chamorro people had a powerful respect for their elders and ancestors to the point that they believed the spirit or soul was immortal. One's death did not end the love and honor of an ancestor. In other words, the ancient Chamorro people believed in a form of ancestral worship or ancestor veneration. Through this belief, the ancients preserved their ancestors' skulls before burying their dead under or near their homes. There are also cases where they also preserved the deceased's hands.
They also respected and feared their ånti (Chamorro term for "soul, spirit, ghost"). They believe that their ånti cared about their descendants, even if they believed that these forces were both good AND evil. The ånti were thought to punish those who did not behave properly or if the descendants did not meet their kinship obligations. They also believed that their ånti would protect them from the aniti (Chamorro term for "evil spirit, demon, or Satan"). These aniti were believed to cause violent deaths. In addition, they were thought to cause a person's soul to dwell in jungles, caves, the sky, or trees instead of near his/her home land.
The ancient Chamorro people believed that the aniti could send a person's soul into sasalaguan, a kind of volcano-like hell. Opposite of sasalaguan was the Chamorro's interpretation of Heaven. The Ancient Chamorros believed it to be an underground paradise, where there were good food and good things to do (similar to the Scandinavian Valhalla or Helgafjell). In sasalaguan, there dwells the god of wind, waves, and fire known as Chaifi. Chaifi was believed to beat a person's soul forever on a forge (clearly a Spanish influence). These concepts were most likely influenced by the early Spaniards who settled in the Mariana Islands. What the ancient Chamorro people believed beforehand, however, was much different.
It was believed that the ancients' equivalent of "hell" was to reside away from their descendants and live in the jungle or a cave. These spirits who lived away from their descendants would become unhappy and became dangerous. Today, these spirits would come to be known as tåutåumo'na (ghosts, demons, disembodied souls, or specters). Literally translated, tåutåumo'na means "people of before". An ancient Chamorro's equivalent of "heaven" would mean dwelling near their descendants.
The ancient Chamorro people believed that the aniti could send a person's soul into sasalaguan, a kind of volcano-like hell. Opposite of sasalaguan was the Chamorro's interpretation of Heaven. The Ancient Chamorros believed it to be an underground paradise, where there were good food and good things to do (similar to the Scandinavian Valhalla or Helgafjell). In sasalaguan, there dwells the god of wind, waves, and fire known as Chaifi. Chaifi was believed to beat a person's soul forever on a forge (clearly a Spanish influence). These concepts were most likely influenced by the early Spaniards who settled in the Mariana Islands. What the ancient Chamorro people believed beforehand, however, was much different.
It was believed that the ancients' equivalent of "hell" was to reside away from their descendants and live in the jungle or a cave. These spirits who lived away from their descendants would become unhappy and became dangerous. Today, these spirits would come to be known as tåutåumo'na (ghosts, demons, disembodied souls, or specters). Literally translated, tåutåumo'na means "people of before". An ancient Chamorro's equivalent of "heaven" would mean dwelling near their descendants.
The ancient Chamorro people believed that a person's character depended on the strength of one's own spirit or soul. If someone had a weak spirit, that person was lazy or cowardly. Great warriors were believed to have held strong souls. These strong souls could overcome the forces of an aniti.
The ancient Chamorro people believed that women and children were easily susceptible to illness caused by the ånti. Some researchers believed that this was because their souls weren't considered as strong as a man's soul. However, there are stories that show that women were just as capable, if not more so, than a man (as seen in the myth of Guam's citizens battling a giant parrot fish).
According to researchers, the ancient Chamorros believed that the type of life one lived had no bearing on what kind of afterlife he/she would have. Peaceful death would lead to paradise, whereas a violent death would lead to an afterlife of torture. If people died violently, it was believed that the person had offended the ancestral spirits and lost their support.
According to researchers, the ancient Chamorros believed that the type of life one lived had no bearing on what kind of afterlife he/she would have. Peaceful death would lead to paradise, whereas a violent death would lead to an afterlife of torture. If people died violently, it was believed that the person had offended the ancestral spirits and lost their support.
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