OFISIÅLES HÅGAT

In a list of Chamorro government officials in the 1830s, we find the following officials for Hågat.

JOSÉ BABAUTA was the "Mayor" or Gobernadorcillo ("little governor").

MARIANO MATANANE was the second-in-command or Teniente.

RAYMUNDO BABAUTA was the Agricultural Officer or Juez de Palmas, Sementeras y Animales (Judge of Palms, Fields and Animals).

BLAS QUINTANILLA, JOSÉ BABAUÑA and ALVINO GUIGILO were the neighborhood leaders or Cabezas de Barangay (heads of the barangay). A barangay was a district or neighborhood.

Because the Hågat baptismal records go back to the late 1860s, we can actually say a little about some of these people.

JOSÉ BABAUTA was more than likely the husband of Ana Jocog. These are the forefathers of the Min branch of the Babautas, which include the late Hågat mayor Antonio "Min" Babauta. Another branch of this family moved to Saipan in the early 1900s and became known as the Sa'i branch of Babautas.

RAYMUNDO BABAUTA was the patriarch of the second clan of Babautas. He married Joaquina Taimanglo. They have many descendants. It seems almost all the Hågat Babautas are either descendants of José and Ana Jocog or of Raymundo Babauta and Joaquina Taimanglo.

There was also a BABAUÑA family in Hågat, but I cannot find more information about a José Babauña going back to the 1830s.

Both names, Babauta and Babauña, come from the old word båbao, which was later dropped from common usage, which meant "flag, emblem, sign, banner." We know the meaning of the word thanks to the Spanish missionaries who wrote it down.

ALVINO GUIGILO's last name seems to be GIHILO' meaning "on top of" or maybe it's GEHILO' which means "higher." The name died out.

Blas Quintanilla, by the way, is the only one who has a Spanish last name. This means his ancestor was a soldier brought to Guam, and the Quintanillas eventually mixed with the Chamorro population. His first name Blas means "Blaise" in English. The first name "Blas" became a last name, just as Pablo ("Paul") and Francisco ("Francis") are first names that became last names.