The hua poporo type of glyph could possibly have been used to symbolize the 'wet' (i.e. dark) season (similar to how in Samoa the wet season was called Palolo). The Easter Island months Vaitu nui and Vaitu potu at the beginning of the 4th (dark) quarter could have been alluded to by the berries of the Nightshade plant. In Samoa vai- (water) was sometimes used as a prefix in the name for the wet season: Vaipalolo. The text of Mamari has - beyond the 18 first glyphs (presumably corresponding to the 'dry' season up to autumn) - hua poporo at right in Ca1-19 while, contrariwise, the right part of Ca1-20 has no 'berries':
Ca1-25 has at right a variant of henua ora, i.e. implies '(reaching) harbour'. In Ca1-26 a symmetric 'head' is illustrated. The first glyph beyond - also the first glyph in line a2 - is a reversal of Ca1-25: The big oval 'sack' has turned around and the 3 'threads' are now hanging down. At the same time the 'head' has been incorporated into the 'harbour' (vulva). Maybe a new year has been implanted. Ca2-4 is a 'midnight' type of glyph, presumably indicating the 'birth' of a new 'day' (year). Ca2-1 can be compared with the right part of Kb4-19 and the right part of Ca1-19 can be compared with the right part of Ga7-15 (parallel with Kb4-19):
In the G calendar period 19 corresponds to vero (when sun leaves after autumn equinox). The creator of Mamari seems to have chosen other glyph types for the same event. Perhaps a season of plenty is visualized in Ca1-19 and a season of scarcity in Ca1-20. Ca1-21 may have intentionally been drawn without the bottom part of the 'sleepy old bird', in order to indicate how the 'old bird' (i.e. sun) no more is present - he has 'passed away below the horizon in the northwest'. In Ca2-5, however, sun is emerging again, depicted as a baby vai glyph. In summary: The sequence of 14 glyphs above describes how the 4th dark quarter follows after the 'summer year' and how sun later on - beyond winter solstice - returns again. The symmetric head in Ca1-26 evidently works as the point of reversal and ordinal number 26 together with other signs invite to counting. |
