The coconut is one of Guam’s most important native plants. It appears on the Guam seal and the Guam flag, illustrated with its branches leaning over the Agana River flowing out to sea.Inarajan is one of two villages that celebrate the coconut, or the niyok in Chamorro. The Historic Inalåjan Foundation revived the festival in 2010 in conjunction with the annual fiesta honoring the village’s patron saint, Saint Joseph or San Jose.
On the day, young coconuts full of fresh coconut juice are popped open and handed to thirsty visitors, empanadas are fried up, farmers sell fresh local produce and artists sell jewelry made from shells and even bones from the brown tree snake. The Coconut Queen and her court are escorted into GefPa’go Cultural Village, where families watch their relatives compete in coconut husking and talaya, or fishing net, throwing competitions.
Combined with the Catholic celebration of Inarajan’s patron saint, the Coconut Festival is a lively party that can’t be missed.