| ... The illuminated part of the moon,
the crescent, is in ragi glyphs always oriented
in 'living' position, i.e. looking like a travelling
canoe (with upside open against the sky and bottom
closed against the sea).
A canoe turned upside down is a 'dead'
canoe, not moving. Movement is a sign of life. Death
means being still. Waxing moon appears in the west close
to the horizon, looking as if riding on the waves.
Waning moon is instead to be seen in the east. Moon is
'born' in the west and 'dies' in the east, travelling in
the opposite direction compared to the diurnal path of
the sun.
Waning moon
could then be expected to look like a canoe turned
upside down. However, waning moon in the east still
looks as if riding right side up, because the eastern
horizon - which the eye now is using as a reference - is
below the moon. The moon canoe is never turned upside
down, it is always 'living' ... |
