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It may feel strange
to divide a calendar period, yet the method is implicit e.g. when at the beginning of the 1st period of the E calendar the final of the old year is described. Henua ora at Eb1-40 is located in the 1st period although referring back to the end of the preceding year. Similarly, Rei glyphs in the 24th and last period are referring forward and thereby tying together the end of the 2nd half of the year with the beginning of the 1st half of next year. In the G calendar the 1st period is beginning with Rei:
The glyph numbers, though, spell 'final'. 28 is the number of moonlit nights in a month, 15 is the night when moon is full. G and K tell about moon in the 1st period of the calendrical year - 29 and 16 point at the dark new moon phase respectively at the end of waxing moon. The end of last year is in G documented at the beginning of the 1st period, yet the numbers effectively secures a correct reading. Ga3-1 is the 1st glyph belonging to the new year and the method used is elegant: 27 + 28 + 29 = 84 = 2 * 42. In the 1st period of the E calendar number 42 instead was chosen:
Tying together the years was a serious business: "... At the moment of delivery the man who ties the navel cord (tangata hahau pito) is called in. The tying of the navel cord is sacred and must be performed according to ritual ... The first knot (hahau a te matau, string of the right) is tied after the string has made transverse turns around the navel cord passing from left to right. After three more transverse turns around the navel cord right to left, the second knot (hahau patu maui, string to the left) is tied. These knots keep the child's strength in his body. The navel cord is cut by a boy or girl (kope or vie nagi pito, young man or woman who bites the navel) ..." (Métraux) |
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