Gadao is a legendary chief of the
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
of
Inarajan in southern
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
. In the
Chamorro Chamorro may refer to:
* Chamorro people, the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific
* Chamorro language, an Austronesian language indigenous to The Marianas
* Chamorro Time Zone, the time zone of Guam and the Northern Mar ...
language of ancient Guam, he would have had the title maga'lahi as a high-ranking male. In addition to being featured in legend, he is the namesake of Inarajan's Chief
Gadao's Cave containing ancient
cave paintings
In archaeology, Cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric origin, and the oldest known are more than 40,000 y ...
. Some stories claim Gadao himself drew the figures.
Legends
Two legends featuring Chief Gadao include the Legend of the Three Feats of Strength and the Legend of the Battle Between Chiefs. The legends and their specifics vary.
In the Legend of the Three Feats of Strength, Gadao traveled to
Humatak to help its starving people. Some proposed that Gadao become their leader to protect them from foreign threats. For the villagers to accept him as their ruler, Gadao was given three impossible tasks: 1. to swim multiple times around the island without stopping, 2. to crack and grate coconuts with his bare hands, and 3. to level the highest peak on the island. Gadao succeeded and ordered his sons to construct a fence around the island using boulders before daybreak. However, Gadao's sons mistook a twinkling star for the rising sun and rushed home, leaving a boulder in the reef. The foreigners then came and conquered the island.
The Legend of the Battle Between Chiefs tells of an encounter between Gadao and Chief Mataquana. Mataquana was considered one of the strongest chiefs in Guam. When he heard of Gadao's strength, he went to Inarajan and asked someone where he could find Gadao: Mataquana wanted to prove that he was the strongest chief of Guam. Unbeknownst to Mataquana, he was speaking to Gadao. Gadao said that he would introduce Mataquana to Gadao after he rested and ate. When Gadao broke open coconuts with his small finger and wrung them with his hands, Mataquana was impressed at his strength and feared that Gadao's would be greater. Mataquana asked Gadao for the way back home. Each man rowed back to their villages in canoes.
Other Chiefs of Guam
*
Kepuha or Quipuha
*
Matå'pang
*
Hurao
Hurao was a Chamorro chief on the island of Guam who led resistance against Spanish during the Spanish-Chamorro Wars. The chief's name means "emotion, caring, attention, heed". Hurao may be best remembered for his 1671 speech to Chamorro warriors ...
*
Mataquana
See also
*
Micronesian mythology
*
Villages of Guam
The United States territory of Guam is divided into nineteen municipalities, called villages. Each village is governed by an elected mayor. Village populations range in size from under 1,000 to over 40,000. In the 2020 census, the total populati ...
*
Hagåtña
*
Tumon
Tumon ( ch, Tomhom) is a district located on Tumon Bay along the northwest coast of the United States unincorporated territory of Guam. Located in the municipality of Tamuning, it is the center of Guam's tourist industry.
History
Tumon Bay or ...
*
Gadao's cave
References
External links and references
Legends of GuamKanton TasiBista Guam
Gadao
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