It is said, not as a matter of history, but in jest, that when a man on Luta (Rota) first saw an airplane flying in the air, he gazed in amazement and said,
Agila reåt
mundi kåña
sa' gai tekpung dagån-ña!
Agila reåt : Literally "royal eagle," from the Spanish águila (eagle) and real (royal).
Mundi kåña : my informant, fluent in Chamorro, has no idea what this means. When making up songs or expressions, Chamorros often added nonsense phrases. Or, this could be a Chamorro rephrasing of a line taken from a foreign song or expression the person heard.
Sa' : Because
Gai : It has
Tekpung : The root word is tokpung ("handle," as in a broom handle)
Dagån-ña : Its buttocks
So, the man was marveling that this bird's bottom had a handle on it! Obviously he was looking at the tail end of the plane.
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