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If we then turn
to the 59th glyph on side a, we recognize the form of niu:
Niu glyphs are located at the beginning of calendars for the year, we have learnt, which is an argument for Ga2-29 to be the 59th glyph (instead of a higher multiple of 59). Niu means coconut palm, the nut of which is like a human death skull (coco). However, this niu is not indicating death, its perimeter is drawn without any break. The Black Rat (Te Kioe Uri) means the king of the island in his function at winter solstice: ... The cult place of Vinapu is located between the fifth and sixth segment of the dream voyage of Hau Maka. These segments, named 'Te Kioe Uri' (inland from Vinapu) and 'Te Piringa Aniva' (near Hanga Pau Kura) flank Vinapu from both the west and the east. The decoded meaning of the names 'the dark rat' (i.e., the island king as the recipient of gifts) and 'the gathering place of the island population' (for the purpose of presenting the island king with gifts) links them with the month 'Maro', which is June. Thus the last month of the Easter Island year is twice connected with Vinapu ... A normal ('spooky') niu glyph may depict how the old fire (year) has been stamped out and only the ghost of it remains at the top.
Another interpretation is to see the king (ariki) turned upside down with his head in a kind of sack. The sack makes his 'light' (eyes) invisible, and the 'cross' has open ends meaning he is only a kind of fiction, not a real person. But in Ga2-29 he is definitely alive. He has to appear for the winter solstice ceremonies. At the solstices the sun turns around, and in Te Pei (half way through the cycle of the text) the picture is obvious, with head down. With niu at midwinter, there should be a similar picture - a person upside down, but here it is not the head which is shown but the legs (in accordance with the low position of the sun). |
