Wednesday, May 18, 2011

CHIEF GÅDAO


INALÅHAN'S PROUD MAGA'LÅHE

This is something I had trouble deciding how to classify.

Legend?  Or historical person?

We have no documentation written at the time he allegedly lived.

But we cannot rule out the possibility that there was a man, the chief of Inalåhan, named Gådao.

Many times in life, historical fact becomes embellished.  A warrior who killed three men becomes a warrior who killed twenty men....single-handedly....with his bare hands....and so on.

But the myth is built on historical foundations.

And the embellishments serve a purpose.  Not a historical one but a didactic one.

So I'll classify Gådao under "Taotao/People."

To learn more about Gådao, go to



*** Maga'låhe is a contraction of "må'gas låhe," or "great man."
It meant "chief."
The pre-contact Chamorros had no king but each community
had its own maga'låhe.

*** In modern times, an older man from Inalåhan, whose name escapes me now, went by the
nickname Gådao.  He was a tall and imposing figure.

No comments:

Post a Comment