Tuesday, March 6, 2012

WHAT PIGAFETTA SAW



Antonio Pigafetta was a member of Magellan's crew.  He survived the voyage and we learn from his journal what he saw in these islands they called the Ladrones on account of some Chamorro men stealing (ladrón is Spanish for "thief") a small skiff (boat) from Magellan's ship :

  • well-built men with a lot of energy, sailing out to the Europeans, trying to entice them to linger with offers of fish, then throwing stones at them when that didn't work
  • people perfectly at home on the sea as on land
  • boats (sakman, proa) that were so fast and agile that they resembled dolphins leaping from wave to wave
  • women who were lighter-skinned than the men; who stayed indoors weaving
  • people who chewed pugua' (betel nut), coloring their teeth red and black

No comments:

Post a Comment