Cultural Ritual Honors Burials at Sabånan Fadang Area of Camp Blaz

Credit: Gunnery Sgt. Rubin Tan | Date Taken: 07/27/2023
A CHamoru burial ritual was hosted by the Government of Guam at a Sabånan Fadang burial site on Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz, Guam, July 27, 2023. Toni ‘Malia’ Ramirez, a cultural representative from the State Historic Preservation Office, and Para I Probechu’n I Taotao-ta, Inc. performed the traditional CHamoru ritual. Following the ritual, the guests were invited to pay respects to those buried at the site and visit the other burial sites located in the area. During the construction of the Blaz main cantonment, five sites each with at least one burial dating to the Latte Period, were discovered. In 2021 a similar ceremony was held at a different Sabånan Fadang site where a monument would later be constructed in 2022. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Gunnery Sgt. Rubin J. Tan)