FAMILIA : QUITUGUA

QUITUGUA
Ketugua'

"Attempting to knock down, cut down"

Almost all authentic Chamorro surnames that begin with "Qui" are names that mean "attempting to," or "tending towards."  The actual Chamorro word is "ke." 

Ketungo' means "trying to know."
Kematai means "tending towards death."

So, in the surname Quitugua, one must find out what tugua' means.  It means "to fell, to cut down or throw down an object to the earth."  When one cuts down a tree to fall to the earth, that is tugua'.  When you play båtu and knock down the stick, that is tugua'.

Quitugua, or ketugua', therefore means "attempting to knock/cut down."

Our ancestors gave children curious names like that.  Taitano (no land), Terlaje (no son/male), Chargualaf (to hunt crab in the moonlight badly).  Naming babies with cute names like Ha'åne (day), Pution (star) or Tåse (ocean) was not something our ancestors did much.

MAINLY A HAGÅTÑA NAME

In the 1897 Census, most of the Quituguas on Guam lived in Hagåtña.  You remember that in the 1700s, Hagåtña was where the newcomers lived, many of them married to Chamorro women and their children mestiso, carrying on most of the culture and language.  Very few Hagåtña residents in the 1700s had Chamorro last names; they mainly had Hispanic names (Cruz, Santos, Leon Guerrero, etc).

It was in the outlying villages (Mongmong, Asan, Tepungan, Sinajaña, Pago) where the more Chamorro-blooded and Chamorro-named people lived.  So the Quituguas were more than likely originally from one or more of these outer villages who, by 1897, moved in large part to Hagåtña.

From the 1897 Census :

JUAN QUITUGUA, a widower and 73 years old
his son Demetrio, still single at 44
Juan could have been the father of some of the people below, if only we had more complete records.

QUITUGUA-SALAS
Joaquin Salas Quitugua (married to Soledad Campos de Leon Guerrero)
and possibly his brother
Jose Salas Quitugua (married to Juliana Quisalao Merfalen)

QUITUGUA-BENAVENTE
the children of Jose Quitugua and Maria Benavente

QUITUGUA-QUINTANILLA
Justo Quitugua (married to Lorenza Quintanilla)
and his probable two sons :
Ramon Quintanilla Quitugua (married to Nicolasa Mangloña)
Joaquin Quintanilla Quitugua (married to Maria Camacho)

QUITUGUA-DUEÑAS
Juan Quitugua (married to Josefa Dueñas)

QUITUGUA-SANTOS
Jose Quitugua (married to Maria Santos)

QUITUGUA-ACOSTA
Jose Quitugua (married to Vicenta Acosta)
their son Vicente Acosta Quitugua (married to Maria Manalisay Dueñas)

QUITUGUA-LIZAMA
Juan Lizama Quitugua (married Maria Santos Diaz) They moved to Saipan

ASAN QUITUGUAS

Seem to be the descendants of Tiburcio Quitugua, whose middle name may have been Rodriguez

SUMAY QUITUGUAS

Juan Quitugua, his wife Antonia Camacho and their children lived in Sumay