SIGNS In Tahua there is an elaborate exhibition over Matariki i nika and Matariki i raro. During the time when the Pleiades are visible (i nika), the glyphs for what probably are the subdivisions of this period are standardized (with one exception) and we therefore have an example of an unmarked type of glyph which is a compound of three fundamental glyph types (matariki, ragi, tea):
The distinctions between the glyphs for the different subdivisions of Matariki i nika are clarified by other means than by including additional signs into this compound type of glyph. When the Pleiades are invisible (i raro), on the other hand, the glyphs for the corresponding subdivisions of the period are marked in many different ways, some of which I have tried to describe in the table below:
Note the symmetry between i nika and i raro regarding the glyph with one flame missing: Rotating the sky 180o will move this glyph from being no. 3 from the beginning to being no. 3 from the end (if we ourselves remain still and do to not rotate in the same way). |