Guam Latte Stones

The topic of this post is going to be about Guam Latte Stones. I received an email from one of Traveling Project’s readers, named Jeffrey, for the “Ask TravelDude A Question” feature of this blog. Jeffrey, who wrote to me from Canada, saw the latte stone picture I posted in This Thread a few days ago, and wanted to know more about latte stones because he said the picture reminded him of the Maoi stone statues on Easter Island.

Latte Stones, although they look like some kind of monument, were stone pillars used to hold up ancient Chamorro houses. The latte stones are actually made up of two pieces; the top round piece or capstone is called “tasa” in Chamorro, and the longer bottom column is called “halagi”. These stone pillars can be found throughout the jungles of the island of Guam, and wherever you find them there was usually an ancient Chamorro village around the latte stone site. The local Chamorros respect the latte stone sites as part of their ancient culture, and it is important tourists visiting the latte stone sites also have respect while in the surrounding area. Archeologists who have examined the latte stone sites have found ancient Chamorro bones and burial sites, and the locals believe these sites are places where the ancient ancestral spirits of the Chamorro people, known as taotaomonas, are still present. Latte stones can also be found throughout the many islands in the Marianas, and they have become the signature of these islands.

A popular tourist attraction to see latte stones is at Senator Angel Santos Latte Stone Park which is located in the village of Hagatna. Eight latte stone pillars were moved to this park as a tourist attraction, and many tour companies now bring tour buses to the park. The pictures I took of the latte stones are actually from Senator Angel Santos Latte Stone Park.