Cha'-mo tumattitiye i sihek yanggen chineflålågue hao.
(Don't dare follow the sihek if it is whistling to you.)
The sihek is a member of the kingfisher bird family. Besides being a pretty bird, it has a chirp that is just as pretty and which can be heard from a distance. But, if you're in the jungle and are attracted to its chirping, you will get lost if you follow it.
There is a story about the origin of the sihek and its loud chirping. There was once a loud woman in the village and the taotaomo'na (ancestral spirits) turned her into the sihek! That'll show you!
There are different versions of this saying, apparently because more than one bird can lead you astray in the jungle. In Saipan they even call one type of bird nossan na' abak. Na' abak means "to lead astray." Some identify this bird as the chichirika.
As birds often move from tree to tree, or perch to perch wherever that may be, and since birds can fly and change location quickly and over more space, following the bird will lead you in all sorts of directions and you can easily lose your bearings or find yourself in a dangerous spot in the jungle.
Whatever the zoological details, the saying is a metaphor for the care we should take about the people, things and ideas that can lead us astray.
You can listen to various birds of our islands here :
https://www.guampedia.com/guam-birds-audio-files/
I am trying to find the original source for this story?
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Oral tradition passed down from older generation.
Delete