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A small wooden statue, known as Our Lady of Camarin, stands watch over the people of Guam in the apse of the Agana Cathedral Basilica.   Oral tradition relates that Santa Marian Kamalen, Patroness of the island, floated into the shores of Merizo escorted by two crabs with lit votive candles on their backs over three hundred years ago. Made of ironwood, which does not float, her arrival by way of sea was a miracle in of itself. It is told that the statue was brought in by a fisherman who presented her to the Spanish Governor. Legend relates that the fisherman drew near to the statue repeatedly but it drifted away. It was until he fully clothed himself that the floating statue could be approached and touched. Our Lady was housed in a proa shed or camarin until she could be moved to the church in Agana.   This exquisite image of Our Lady, with hands and face of ivory and a cap of natural hair, is bedecked with a jewel-studded crown of gold and gold jewelry as befits a Queen. For centuries, Chamorros have honored this image of the Immaculate Virgin which has survived fires, earthquakes, typhoons and WWII. Government Code of of Guam Sect.1 Chapt 10 paragraph 1000 designates Our Lady of Camarin Day as an official holiday on December 8th

Legend of Halu'u

A long, long time ago in the days of the Great Maga'lahi Atdao (Sun), the lord of the paradise Tano' Guahan and beyond, there lived a simple fisherman named Halu'u.

He was a man with simple means and simple dreams. He lived with his wife and family in a very modest home made of latte stones and palm leaves. His life was simple because he believed that simplicity brought happiness and meaning to his existence.

Since the Great Maga'lahi Atdao (Sun) became the exulted ruler of Tano' Guahan and beyond, there has been peace among the peoples of Oceania, which stretches from the Mongolian kingdom in the West to the Indio  continent, far to the East.  The Great War with the yellow warriors of  Mongolia had united the many peoples of Oceania under one ruler supported by the Council of the Gods.  The Great War bought peace and cooperation among the seafaring explorers who inhabited the islands of the Pacific.

And now, the people were happy and lived in harmony because they were at peace with themselves; at peace with the sea; at peace with the lands; and at peace with the Gods.

Halu'u was never an ordinary Taotao Tano'. His physical features  portrayed a man of great agility and great strength.  He was quite tall,  muscular and remarkably handsome.  His brown skin and long, wavy hair made him look more like a god than a man.  He was a Matua.

On this day, as in every day, Halu'u was out beyond the reefs in his masted canoe trawling for toson (Wahoo). It was here that Halu'u first  encountered the giant Gaga' Tasi (sea animal) many seasons ago.  He was  massive and enormous in size with pointed nose and wide dorsal fins. He was a daily visitor to these fishing grounds and Halu'u sometimes wondered whether the Gaga' Tasi came-by to feast on the tosons or just to taunt him.

"hafa che'lu! Kao guaha minaolek?" (Hello brother, any luck?), asked the  Gaga' Tasi in a sarcastic tone.

Sige! Sige! Mungnga yu' ma kasi, pa'go!" (Go away! Go away! Don't tease  me, today!), replied Halu'u.

"Hafa ga'chong! Kao ti ya-mu yu'?" (What's the matter my friend. You don't like me?), the Gaga' Tasi asked.

"Hagu na gaga' ti ga'chong-hu," (Animal, you are no friend of mine),  echoed Halu'u.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!, Ha! Ha! Ha!" laughed the creature.

"Chalek nai, atmariao!" (Laugh, you crazy!), said Halu'u.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Hunggan ya-mu yu' sa' ya-hu hao!" ( yes you like me because I like you!), the Gaga' Tasi cried back with a snicker.

"Sige! Atmariao!" replied Halu'u as he threw his long harpoon spear and  narrowly missing the fish.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" laughed the Gaga' Tasi as he swam away from his reach.

Halu'u disgustedly reeled in his harpoon on to the canoe.  He thought out  loud, "One day, one day I will catch you with the tip of my spear and my  people will have you for dinner."

In seasons past, Halu'u has been haunted by the Gaga' Tasi. For too long,  he has been unsuccessful in catching any toson because of the dreaded  creature.  Each day he came to fish and each day the Gaga' Tasi has  frustrated his efforts.  As the sun rises in the talo'ani (midday),  Halu'u could be seen paddling his canoe back through the Tomhom (Tumon)  channels, dejected and somber.  Another day, another failure.

"It would be nice to return with the Gaga' dragging at the ends of my  spear. Then the Taotao Songsong (village people) will rejoice at my  feat.  But today will not be the day. I am coming home with nothing,"  Halu'u said to himself.

"I have to find a way to catch the Gaga' Tasi," he thought. "Maybe if I  use my Taotaomo'na spear.  Maybe if I use more sennit rope.  Maybe....Maybe..." his thoughts died out as he stepped off the canoe and  on to the sandy shores.

"Tata" (Father), he heard his youngest son Ayuyu calling from the distant  shoreline. "Tata! Alula! Mamamaila' i pakyu!" (Father! Hurry! The typhoon  is coming!), the boy cried out.

"Sige, hanao nahgong gi kantit!" (Go, take shelter in the cliffs!), Halu'u ordered. "Sige! Sige!" (Go! Go!), he shouted.

Hearing his father's commands, the boy obediently turned around and  headed for the cliff-lines, where all the Taotao Songsong took refuge  from the impending storm.

The winds were blowing hard now and the rains came. Halu'u was suddenly  struck with a passionate desire to seek his revenge on the Gaga' Tasi.   He ran home and secured his family's belongings. He took a large spool of  sennit rope, his Taotaomo'na harpoon and returned to the shore. He  quickly commandeered his proa back through the channels. He fought hard  against the winds and the rain enroute to the fishing grounds.  And that  was the last time the people of Guahan ever saw Halu'u again.

When the pakyu subsided, the Great Maga'lahi ordered a search party to go out and find Halu'u.  They searched for days and days.  They searched as  far North as Agrihan and as far South as Belau.  After weeks of searching  in vain, the party returned and reported their fruitless efforts to the  Maga'lahi.

As is the custom of the land, a ceremony was held at the shorelines to  honor and remember the passing of a Taotao Tano'. The men of the Songsong began exchanging ideas and thoughts about Halu'u and what may have happened to him.

"I think he was overcame by the winds and the rain and he was swept out  to sea," one Matua said.

"I believe the pakyu swept him all the way to Mongolia and he is now the  prisoner of the yellow people," another cried.

"If you ask me, I think Halu'u was eated by the Gaga' Tasi," a third man  added.

Just then, the Great Maga'lahi Atdao overheard the rumors circulating  among the men.  He interceded and said, "Don't fear, my good people. Our  brother Halu'u is alive and well.  I spoke to him just last night in my  dreams."

The people were shocked.  They begged and pleaded for the Maga'lahi to  them more ...

The Maga'lahi continued, "Here is what happened. Halu'u went back to the  sea to seek his revenge on the Gaga' Tasi.  He found the abominable  creature in the fishing grounds and he speared him.  As big as the animal  was, fifty canoe size, he dragged Halu'u and his proa all the way to  Sa'ipan and back. He dragged him all the way to Chuuk and back.   Somewhere enroute to Guahan, the Gaga' Tasi thought he had rid himself of  Halu'u because the canoe hit a small mass and it broke up.  But Halu'u  saw this in time and he grabbed at the sennit rope.  My people, Halu'u is  still riding the great beast until he tires."

The people awed in wonder. Then they smiled and rejoiced.  They hugged  and congratulated each other on the mighty feat of thier brother, Halu'u.

The Maga'lahi went on, "My people, let us celebrate the great feat of our  brother. We can now fish for the toson.  I proclaim this day in honor of  Halu'u. Let us know this day as "Ha'anin Halu'u" and let us know the  dreaded creature as "Gaga' Halu'u"."

As generations past, the Gaga' Halu'u became known only as "Halu'u".  Every shark in the ocean became known as "Halu'u". And up to this day,  the seafarers and seamen continue to report sightings of the long-hared  Matua riding a giant shark and shouting victoriously, "Ha! Ha! Ha! I have  you now, Gaga'."

Masala's Powerful Son Leaps to the Island of Rota

There was a time when strength and power were the  measure of a person on Guahan.  Masala was such a human  being, strong, powerful and able to defeat any person who  lived on the island.  When his spouse bore him a son,  Masala was so full of joy and pride that he showed the  baby to everyone he knew.

As the boy grew older, he became more and more like  his father, strong, powerful and able to beat any boy in  the village.  The worst of it all, he was getting more  attention than his father.  Masala noted this and became  more envious of his son every day.

One day, at the tender age of two, Masalas ?son  caught a coconut crab and spent many hours playing with  it.  He thoroughly enjoyed playing with the crab, but he  became so engrossed in an activity that he did not notice   the crab disappearing into a hole near a coconut tree.   When the child noticed the crab had run away, he noticed  a hole near the coconut tree and tried reaching down into  it, with all his strength, he tried so hard to get his  pet out.  It was very hard to capture his pet.  With his  strength that he had inherited, he pulled the coconut  tree completely out of the ground to retrieve his pet  crab.

Masala saw what his son was doing, that his envy  came to a boil.  Before the father realized what he was  doing, running and yelling with all his hatred and fury,  the father was chasing after his son to annihilate the  boy, who was his arch enemy.  The boy was surprise at the  change in his father?s behavior.  The youngster had been  so used to being the proud son of his father, that   little had he known that his proud father was going to  turn into his worst enemy.

The son sprang up and ran as fast as his little legs  could carry him to the northern tip of the island.  He  took one great leap off the cliff and landed on the  island of Rota, which is forty miles away from Guahan.

To this day, the footprint of the child, called,  "The Child Point,(Puntan Patgon)," could still be seen on  the northern tip of Guahan. The identity of the boy is generally believed  to be  'Taga', the Chief who ruled over the Northern Marianas Islands  [Chamorro Archipelago].