Inarajan, Guam

Inarajan is a village located on the Southeastern coast of the Marianas Island of Guam. The village's original name in Chamoru, Inalåhan, was altered when transliterated during Spain's rule of the island.

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.

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 Inarajan includes the community of Malojloj, in the hills north of the central, village. Malojloj and Inarajan 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 boundary of land as well. In Southern Guam, it is easily recognizable as to what is Inalahan, and what is Malojloj.

The Dandan region of Malojloj was the site of a NASA Apollo tracking station and is currently the site of the proposed landfill for Guam replacing the Ordot Landfill. The Landfill issue has been opposed immensely by the residents of the village as well as many environmentalists, but the government of Guam has overruled them.

Education

Guam Public School System serves the island.

Inarajan Elementary School and Inarajan Middle School are in Inarajan. Southern High School in Santa Rita serves the village.

Inarajan High School, formerly located in Inarajan, closed in 1997.

References and external links

[http://www.guamportal.com/villages/Inarajan_Guam.html Inarajan Guam] at Guam Portal
[http://www.pacificworlds.com/guam/index.cfm Pacific Worlds, 2003]
[http://www.guampdn.com/communities/maps/inarajan.html Inarajan Map from PDN]
Rogers, Robert F (1995). Destiny's Landfall: A History of Guam: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 0-8248-1678-1

Translation of "Inarajan, Guam"

Chamorro: Inalåhan, Polish: Inarajan.