Inarajan (Inarajan Municipality)
The village history predates the 1521 discovery of Guam by the Spanish. It was the home to the legendary Chief Gadao, and was one of the few villages with sizable populations at the end of Spanish rule in 1898. In 1950 it had a population of 1,494 with 814 living in the village itself. Today, it is the best preserved of the Spanish era villages and is known for its rich history and culture, and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The village's population has increased slightly since the island's 2010 census.
Places of interest include the village's pre-World War II church, statue of Chief Gadao, the Gef Pa'go Chamorro Village, the ancient Paintings of Chief Gadao's Cave, and historic village architecture. The municipality of Inalåhan includes the community of Malojloj, in the hills north of the central village. Malojloj and Inalåhan each celebrate separate village fiestas. Many residents from the Malojloj section of Inalahan, claim themselves to be a separate village, seeing as they celebrate different fiestas and they have their own land boundary. In Southern Guam, it is easily recognisable as to what part is proper to Inalahan, and what is proper to Malojloj.
The Dandan region of Malojloj was the site of a NASA Apollo tracking station and is the current the site of the Layon Municipal Sanitary Landfill for Guam replacing the Ordot Dump. The Landfill was opposed immensely by the residents of the village as well as many environmentalists, but the government of Guam overruled them.
On April 9, 2021, Governor Lou Leon Guerrero signed Bill 60 into law, which changed the official name of the village of Inarajan to Inalåhan.
Map - Inarajan (Inarajan Municipality)
Map
Country - Guam
People born on Guam are American citizens but are politically disenfranchised, having no vote in the United States presidential elections while residing on Guam. Guam delegates to the United States House of Representatives have no vote on the floor. Indigenous Guamanians are the Chamoru, historically known as the Chamorro, who are related to the Austronesian peoples of Malay archipelago, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Polynesia. But unlike most of its neighbors, Chamorro language is not classified as a Micronesian or Polynesian language. Rather, like Palauan, it possibly constitutes an independent branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language family. As of 2022, Guam's population is 168,801. Chamorros are the largest ethnic group, but a minority on the multi-ethnic island. The territory spans 210 mi2 and has a population density of 775 /mi2. The Chamorro people settled the island approximately 3,500 years ago. Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, while in the service of Spain, was the first European to visit the island on March 6, 1521. Guam was colonized by Spain in 1668. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, Guam was an important stopover for the Spanish Manila Galleons. During the Spanish–American War, the United States captured Guam on June 21, 1898. Under the 1898 Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Guam to the U.S. effective April 11, 1899.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
USD | United States dollar | $ | 2 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
CH | Chamorro language |
EN | English language |