Friday, September 27, 2013

FORGOTTEN CHAMORRO : KÅTSA


Who can forget Margaret Dumont, the actress, always bedecked with the most elegant jewelry.

In Chamorro, we call that kåtsa.

It means to dress elegantly, with fine jewelry, or the smartest fashion for the men.

In the old days, "dressing up" made one stand out, and standing out in a Chamorro context always invites teasing.

A guy dressed to the nines walks into a store.

Says one, "Håfa?  Ginen mamano hao mågi?  Sa' ma kåtsa si pendeho!"

"So?  Where are you coming from?  Because the rascal is all dressed up!"

Again, this word is borrowed from the Spanish calza, a fashion term but it doesn't mean to be "dressed up."  We borrowed it, but gave it our own meaning.

1 comment:

  1. Rota people still use that word today in every day speech.

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