An indigenous
Pacific Ocean group and culture from the Mariana Islands. The Mariana Islands are politically divided between Guam and The
Northern Mariana Islands. The Chamorus have been depicted as being Filipinos but this has proven to be untrue culturally and genetically. The Chamorus are a distinct cultural and linguistic group seperate from other Pacific Island groups, e.g. Hawai'ians, and Asian groups, e.g. Filipinos. The next closest language related to Chamoru is a "distant cousin" language from the Toraja Cluster of Celebes, Indonesia.
Chamoru is also spelled
Chamorro.
A: Are you
Guamanian or Chamoru?
B: I'm both.
A: How's that?
B:
Guamanians are Chamorus from the island of Guam and not from the
Northern Mariana Islands. If I were from the Northern Mariana Islands then I would be a Chamoru, but not a Guamanian.
