One latte stone from Rota and two from Guam were taken from the Marianas and brought to Hawai’i in the 1920s now displayed at the Bishop Museum. 

Over the weekend, Chamorros from the Marianas and states gathered to honor them, in what is believed to be their first time on public display in several decades.

Director of the Joeten-kiyu Public Library on Saipan Erlinda Naputi spoke at the ceremony, which was part of the celebrated Micronesia festival. 

“I see the unification, I see un Marianas, and I see un chamorro that day. It was beautiful,” Naputi said. 

We interviewed her when she returned to Saipan this week.

“I saw many people, many of our Chamorro people, shed tears. They were crying, because the latte stone is only found in the Marianas and the beauty of it was that is was found in the Marianas,” she said. 

 

 The latte stones from Guam were taken in the 1920s by U.S. military spy Hans Hornbostel. 

The latte stone from Rota is believed to have been taken separately and placed at the Honolulu Academy of Arts before it was moved to the museum but the story of how the Rota latte stone came to be displayed today is more recent. 

Erlinda’s husband, Martin, joined her on a 2022 trip for the NHPI Museum Institute.

“When he followed us to the back part of the bishop museum, we saw all of the haligi laying down in a very sad area. He was looking at it and he came to realize that there were missing pieces,” she said. 

“And when I saw the haligi I asked the group, even the instructors, I said ‘where is the tasa for this haligi?’ and they said, ‘no, this is it. what you see is what you get,’” said Martin.

The museum said it is working with community members to determine long term stewardship options.

“It is so nice to see Guam and CNMI together to celebrate the latte stone…so that it could be reunited with the rest of the latte stone,” said Erlinda.