7. The obvious sign of 'moon' in Eb5-11 (and surrounding glyphs) should make us remember from the vai part of this dictionary how at the beginning of the 6th period moon and maro probably signify the end of dark winter:
Counting from Eb3-8 to the 'moon mauga' we need 84 glyphs:
This is hardly a coincidence, 84 is a most important number in the rongorongo texts (as we have noted several times earlier in this dictionary and elsewhere in this site). We had better work with 42 (half 84), though:
The total number of glyphs in the calendar (167) is subdivided into 4 equally long sequences of glyphs if we use Eb3-8, the 'moon mauga' and the 4 central glyphs in the table above. 4 * 42 = 168, but Eb3-8 is counted twice. With 6 for sun and 7 for moon, 42 can symbolize their union (6 * 7 = 42) and 4 * 42 = 168 = 24 * 7, as if signifying 24 weeks. If we add these 168 nights to the 186 for the very last mauga glyph (Eb2-13) we get 354 = 6 * 59 (or 6 double-month cycles of the moon, given 29½ nights for each such month). Coincidence? Hardly! The 'moon mauga' and the 'last mauga for the sun' cooperate. 186 - 168 = 18 and 168 - 18 = 150. The 'moon mauga' is of central importance. |
