I CHIBA

GUAM CHIBA

Chiba is taken from the Spanish feminine word "chiva," which, along with the masculine form "chivo," mean "young goat."

The Spaniards brought them to the Marianas.  Our mañaina ate the meat but they also drank the milk, but not regularly. Goats were also easy to raise; no special food was needed, just let them eat the grass. This made them cheap "lawn mowers," as well as food disposal units.

I was driving around Agaña Heights the other day and bumped into a few chiba keeping the grass short in the village.

The Spanish word for "female goat" is "cabra."  Our mañaina never adopted this word.  But what the Chamorros called the island of Apapa the Spaniards called Cabras Island, meaning "She-goat Island," because of the many goats that were allowed to roam there. Up to now, everybody, Chamorros included call it Cabras Island. Very few people even know its original, Chamorro name.

APAPA OR CABRAS

Both the Chamorro and Spanish names of this island appear in this 1904 map

The island of Aguiguan - also known as Aguijan - is also called Goat Island, for the same reason as Cabras; the abundance of goats living there. Officially, it retains its Chamorro name.

Although our ancestors did not adopt the Spanish word cabra, they did adopt the Spanish words cabrito and cabrón, our kabrito and kabron.

A kabrito is a "baby goat, or kid."

Kabron literally means "male goat" but was often used as a demeaning name for a disliked man, and kabrona for a vexacious woman.

Depending on what Spanish-speaking country you go to, cabrón can be a highly insulting word and is best not said.