Legend

Tano, from the village of the Land, was a strong man; he could climb mountains with one step, and smash one hundred coconut shells with his little finger. Tasi, from the village of the Sea, was a beautiful and kind woman. The fish and dolphins would jump out of the sea just to catch a glimpse of her face. Tano and Tasi were faithful lovers.

One day there was a powerful typhoon which destroyed all of Guam’s food, and scared away the fish. The two villages became so overcome with hunger that they started to fight each other.

After this event, Tano and Tasi were forced to meet in secret, away from their warring villages. They met in a cave in Inalåhan, where they drew an image of themselves on the cave wall and pledged their eternal love. They also met at Hagåtña Bay, playing under the palm trees and swimming in the aquamarine sea.

One evening as Tano prepared to visit Tasi, he found delicious fruits and vegetables growing on the cliffline of Maite. He was about to take these to Tasi, when she appeared, carrying a vessel of purified water from thesea of Hagåtña. They decided to mix the food of the Land with water from the Sea.

And as they mixed the sun fell below the horizon on Hagåtña, lighting up the sky with a golden flash. The couple’s love burned as they looked down at their mixture, and they realized it had become a glowing liquid.

Tano and Tasi wanted to share the golden drop with their friends and family. The Land people and Sea people gathered together reluctantly at first, but one sip of the liquid gold had them smiling and laughing together, as they had before the typhoon. The people realized that to overcome adversity, they must combine as one force, Land and Sea, together. As soon as the people of Guam again become one, the power of the unity brought back the fish from the sea, and the land was once again abundant with fruits and vegetables. The people of Guam gathered together for a fiesta, to celebrate the golden miracle liquid.

Everyone decided to call the drink Guam 1, as it had united Land and Sea, and from that day forth the villages joined together under one ruler, Tano, who became known as The Island King. Tasi wanted to share Guam 1 to surrounding islands and countries, so she called the sea turtles from the ocean and they carried the legacy on their backs, delivering happiness to people around the world.