Mata'pang

Engaving showing the murder of San Vitores by Mata'pang (right) and Hurao (left).

Mata'pang (died 1680) was a Chamorro chief of the village of Tumon on the island of Guam. The chief's name meant "to be made pure by cleansing," in the ancient Chamorro language, but now means "silly" in modern Chamorro. In the Tagalog language, the name means "brave." Mata'pang is best known for murdering the Spanish priest Diego Luis de San Vitores, the first Christian missionary on Guam, and his young Filipino companion Pedro Calungsod, both of who have since been beatified by the Roman Catholic Church.

Magalahi (Chief) Mata'pang was a member of the highest caste of Chamorros, the indigenous people of Guam, called the Chamorri. He was initially baptized into the Christian faith by San Vitores, but later turned against the Spanish mission and eventually rejected Christianity, along with many other Chamorros, because he saw and believed that it was being used as a tool to control his people and obliterate Chamorro traditions and beliefs.

On April 2, 1672, Mata'pang, aided by fellow chief Hurao, killed both San Vitores and Calungsod. San Vitores had baptized Mata'pang's daughter without the chief's permission. Some say that Mata'pang had believed holy water used in baptism had caused the recent deaths of babies due to European diseases.

Spanish soldiers attempted to hunt down the missionary's killers. Shortly after the murder, Hurao was caught and killed. Mata'pang was shot by a musket while taunting his pursuers as he sailed past the beach of Tumon on a proa. The chief fled to the northern island of Rota. In 1675, Spanish soldiers burned a village while trying to capture him, but Mata'pang escaped. Eventually, the Spanish military governor, Jose de Quiroga, increased efforts to subdue the Chamorros. In 1680, fearing the governor, Chamorros on Rota stabbed Mata'pang while capturing him and transported him to Guam by proa. The wounded chief died from his injuries during the journey. His body was then thrown into the waters off Hagåtña and his head was brought to the Spanish.

See also

• Chief Kepuha
• Gadao
• Villages of Guam

References

• Rogers, Robert F. (1995). Destiny's Landfall: A History of Guam: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 0-8248-1678-1
• Hale'ta / Produced and Published by Political Status Education Coordinating Commission Vol. 1 Agana, Guam 1995 ISBN 1-883488-04-4

External links

• Mata'pang at Guampedia
• Chief Quipuha

Persondata
Name	Matapang
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Date of birth
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Date of death	1680
Place of death