The K text is parallel with side a of G and therefore Nga Kope Ririva presumably is represented by the 20 glyphs in line b5, with the non-existent glyph Kb5-1 illustrating the watery stretch between the mainland and the islets:
Sun is fire (and light and life) incorporated and cannot tolerate water, which 'kills' him. Into the western ocean he descends and it becomes black. In the text of K he is alive up to 168, and then only his spirit continues. But the watery stretch between the mainland and Nga Kope Ririva cannot have any glyph. The sun's representative on Easter Island, king Hotu Matua also dies at the western corner of the island (where the spirit leaping place, Reiga, is located): ... The king arose from his sleeping mat and said to all the people: 'Let us go to Orongo so that I can announce my death!' The king climbed on the rock and gazed in the direction of Hiva, the direction in which he had travelled (across the ocean). The king said: 'Here I am and I am speaking for the last time.' The people (mahingo) listened as he spoke. The king called out to his guardian spirits (akuaku), Kuihi and Kuaha, in a loud voice: 'Let the voice of the rooster of Ariana crow softly. The stem with many roots (i.e., the king) is entering!' The king fell down, and Hotu A Matua died ... |
