MÅTAN KATO

In Chamorro culture, blue or green eyes are called MÅTAN KATO, "cat eyes." You can see why from the picture above.

The term also applies to other shades. Anything other than black or brown eyes. The more the shade heads towards light and translucent, the greater the chance it will be called måtan kato.

Måtan kato is esteemed among Chamorros. They are considered beautiful.

They are often associated with Caucasian blood, but not necessarily. You often hear older people describe their father or grandfather being part Spanish or some other kind of Caucasian and, as if to bolster the claim, they will say he had måtan kato. 

AMERICAN SOLDIERS

A lady in Saipan told the story how she and her family hid in a cave during the American invasion of the island in 1944. People in Saipan didn't see many Caucasians during Japanese rule, although the Catholic missionaries at the time were Spanish.

So on the day she and her family were rescued from battle, she was peering through a hole in the cave when she thought she heard people moving about outside. As she looked, another eye was peeping through the same hole right back at her.

She turned around and told her family in the cave, "Måtan kato!"

It was an American soldier, accompanied by other American soldiers, and they were moving in the area looking for the enemy, or to get civilians out of harm's way. The soldier put this family on a truck to take them to the civilian refugee camp.

A SUPERSTITION

Chamorro folk beliefs and superstitions are not always universal.  Sometimes, they can be found only among some families or certain individuals.

Recently only did I learn that one such belief is that, if you're grating coconut and want to increase the yield of coconut meat, you have to look into the eyes of a cat.

Yanggen mangåkåmyo i taotao, debe de u atan i matan kato para u misen.