Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands

The flag of the Northern Mariana Islands was adopted on July 1, 1985, and looks like a blue solid field with the traditional symbols of the islands: the Caroline wreath “Mwaar”, the Chamorro stone “Taga”, and a white five-pointed star.

Meaning of the flag of the Northern Mariana Islands

• The blue background represents the Pacific Ocean, symbolizing the location of the islands;
• The white star in the center represents the Northern Mariana Islands as part of the United States. It also represents the unity between the islanders;
• The latte stone (Chamorro: Taga stone) is a traditional Chamorro stone, which is a pillar-like structure used in ancient buildings. The stone symbolizes the strength and resilience of the Chamorro people, who have survived colonization and external domination throughout their long history, including Spanish, German, Japanese and American periods of influence;
• Mwaar - a traditional Caroline wreath of flowers and shells that symbolizes peace, respect and the unique cultural identity of the Caroline people, one of the two main ethnic groups on the islands.

The Taga stones found on Tinian Island in the Northern Mariana Islands are monumental latte stones that served as the foundation for ancient Chamorro structures. These megaliths consist of two parts: “haligi” (a stone pillar) and ‘tasa’ (a cornerstone, often in the shape of a hemisphere or bowl).

According to legend, the chief Taga, possessing superhuman strength, built his house from massive stone pillars himself. Some believe that he even founded a quarry where these stones were quarried. Such architecture is not found in any other culture except the Marianas.

Legend has it that the sturdy Taga, who was born on the island of Rota, was dissatisfied with his father's (the chief's) rule from a young age. So at the age of 15 he challenged him, but was defeated and forced to move to the neighboring island of Tinian. There he grew up and married a beautiful woman. At the same time, he built a large house for his family, standing on latte stones that he could lift and move by himself.

At the peak of his power, Taga experienced a tragedy. When his son was five years old, he gave him a coconut crab, which later escaped under a young coconut tree. The son asked his father to cut down the tree, but was refused because it was still young and had to bear fruit. Then the son got angry and pulled the tree up by the roots, which frightened Taga. Seeing that his son was extremely strong, Taga decided that in the future the boy might become even stronger than him, and fearing this, he strangled his son at night. His wife and daughter could not accept this grief and left Taga devastated and alone. Later, after a vision, he converted to Christianity, which further contributed to the adoption of the new religion among the Chamorros.

History of the flag of the Northern Mariana Islands

The first Europeans to discover the Northern Mariana Islands were the Spaniards. In 1521, during Fernand Magellan's voyage around the world, these islands were first mapped. However, Spain finally established its control over them only in 1668, colonizing the islands and officially adopting the Spanish flag. The islands were named in honor of Mariana of Austria, the widow of Spanish King Philip IV.

In 1899, after being defeated in the Spanish-American War, Spain sold the rights to the Northern Mariana Islands to Germany for $4.2 million. The German Empire established its control over the islands by incorporating them into German New Guinea. The official flag was the German imperial flag.

After the end of the First World War, according to the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations in 1919 transferred the Northern Mariana Islands under the mandate of Japan. The Japanese national flag was used in all territories administered by Japan, including the Northern Mariana Islands. The Japanese actively developed the infrastructure and economy of the region, focusing on fishing and agriculture. According to the 1939 census, 60% of the total population was made up of resettled Japanese.

Initially, Japan was only focused on sugar production, i.e. growing sugar cane, but in the 1940s they built military installations and began to use them to plan the invasion of Guam, which was already part of the United States at the time. On December 8, 1941, Japan launched its offensive and invaded the territory of Guam, relocating some of the indigenous population of the Marianas to Guam. In 1944, the United States attacked the capital of the Marianas, Saipan, and in less than half a month defeated all Japanese defenses, and then recaptured Guam in the same time. Thus, in a little over a month, the United States completely de-occupied the territories from Japan.

After the defeat of Japan in World War II, the Northern Mariana Islands were placed under the administration of the United States under UN Security Council Resolution 21, becoming part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. The United States was responsible for the defense and foreign relations of these territories. Four referendums on the status of the islands were held in 1958, 1961, 1963, and 1969, in which the majority voted in favor of integration with Guam, but this never happened because Guam rejected unification in its own referendum in 1969.

In 1975, nearly 80% of the islanders voted in favor of US Commonwealth status, and in 1977, over 93% supported the new constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). This constitution came into partial effect in 1978, after which the Northern Mariana Islands officially became part of the United States on November 4, 1986. On the same day, the inhabitants of the islands became U.S. citizens.