KARAKOT GI HALOM TÅSI

Karakot gi halom tåsi
(Shell inside the sea)

A'anok yan lalamlam;
(visible and shiny;)

i linamlåm-ña yan i bunitu-ña
(its brightness and beauty)

ti chumilong yan i guinaiya-ko.
(are not equal to my love.)



Ya i napu gi taddong tåsi
(And the waves in the deep sea)

måfåtto yan humåhånao;
(come and go;)

taggam, taggam yanggen siña
(block it, block it if you can)

lao adahe hao nu i chaochao.
(but be careful of the turbulence.)

~ Author unknown

NOTES

Karakot. Borrowed from the Spanish caracol, meaning "snail, seashell, conch, shell or cochlea in the ear."

Chilong. To match, balance, make equal. A synonym is the Spanish loan word pareho. Na' chilong i che'cho'-mo yan i apås-mo. Make equal your work and your pay. In other words, work for your pay.

Taggam. To block, stop, confront, repress. It also came to mean "to meet someone arriving," because, in one sense, to meet someone arriving at the airport or dock is to stop their movement traveling. Taggam is also used to describe how the priest meets the casket of the dead when it arrives at the church door for the funeral rites.