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A few preliminary
remarks and imaginations:
1. Poporo was used for tattooing and we may
presumably, therefore, sometimes read
this type of glyph as 'black'.
The plant is - according to bishop Jaussen's
documentation of what Metoro Tau'a Ure told him
- a species of the family
of plants named Solanum. Barthel suggested the species to be Solanum nigrum. As
nigrum means black, the glyph perhaps signified 'black'.
Poporo was used for obtaining colour for tattooing. There are though several different
variants of glyphs showing this
plant, and possibly not all of these imply colour for tattooing.
Every gift from nature was taken care of to the utmost.
| "Solanum nigrum
(Black Nightshade, Duscle, Garden
Nightshade, Hound's Berry, Petty Morel, Small-fruited
black nightshade, Sunberry, or Wonderberry) is a species
in the Solanum genus, native to Eurasia and also
introduced in the Americas. In Hawaii it is called
popolo. The green berries
and mature leaves contain glycoalkaloids and are
poisonous to eat raw. Their toxicity varies and there
are some strains which have edible berries when fully
ripe. The plant has a long history of medicinal usage,
dating back to ancient Greece. In India, the berries are
casually grown and eaten; but not cultivated for
commercial use. In Tamil, the berries are called
sundakai
Black nightshade is a fairly common
plant, found in many wooded areas, as well as disturbed
habitats. It has a height of 30-120 cm (12-48"), leaves
4-7.5 cm (1 1/2-3") long; ovate to heart-shaped, with
wavy or large-toothed edges. The flowers have petals
greenish to whitish, recurved when aged and surround
prominent bright yellow anthers. The fruits are oval
black berries in small hanging clusters.
(Wikipedia) |
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