I METGOT NA PÅTGON

The strong child, the metgot na påtgon, always a son, is a recurring theme in Chamorro folk tales.

The interesting thing is that the strong child is seen as a threat, to the father, of all people.  The father usually makes a move against his own son.

Two versions of this story are :

I

Un taotao gai nene låhe. Annai man aliligao pånglao, ha bo'ok i haigue* ni tres åños esta.
(A man had a male child. When the child looked for a crab, he pulled up a three-year-old coconut tree.)

Annai lini'e as tatå-ña ni che'cho'-ña, pinino'.
(When his father saw what he did, he killed him.)

II

Ma såsångan na ginen guåha un nene na gof metgot, sa' ha bo'ok ni haigue annai man aliligao pånglao un biåhe.
(It is said that there was a child who was very strong, because he uprooted a young coconut tree when he looked one time for crab.)

There is also a more developed story that starts with the premise of the "strong child," but we'll save that for another post.


* Haigue : a recently sprouted coconut tree