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In ancient Greece there once was someone - I remember having read a long time ago - who proclaimed there were basic meanings connected with each of the letters of the alphabet. I agree. Also according to my experience letters give clues as to what the words containing them mean. But of course there is not much practical help from such knowledge when the words have several letters.

Pe should be fairly easy though. Indeed, we shall begin with a similar word, pi. Similar words tend to have similar meanings.

Pi

Mgv.: pi, full, complete. Mq.: pi, id. Churchill.

Ta.: pi, young, green. Ma.: pipi, half-grown, not matured. Churchill.

In the following I will argue for Mangarevan (and Marquesan) pi = 'full, complete' being connected with our well known Greek π.

If I am right, then the idea of 'full, complete' makes sense. Given a 'year' which is only a halfyear (which has only 1 'leg') it is enough to count the radius times a single π in order to find its 'circumference'.

Maitaki glyphs show halfcircles, though each such does not normally measure a 'year' but a shorter time period, perhaps a doublemonth:

maitaki

Fornander is useful:

PI, v. Haw., to sprinkle, as water; to throw water with the hand; pi-pi, ka-pi, id.

Sam., pi, to splash, slap, as a fish in a trap; ta-pi, rinse with fresh water; pisi, to splash with water.

Tah., pi-pi, sprinkle with water.

Sanskr., pi = pâ, to drink; piv, id.; pinu, to sprinkle; pitha, a drink, water; pipâsâ, thirst.

Greek, πινω, to drink; πιστρα, a drinking trough, drink, water; πιπισκω, give to drink; πωμα, drink, liquor, &c.

Lat., bibo, to drink; bibulus, potus.

Slav., pi, piti, pivati, to drink.

The transition from the sense conveyed in the Polynesian to that in the West Aryan tongues will be intelligible to those who have observed the manner of drinking which probably obtained before cups or containers were used, and which is still very common among the Polynesians when travelling; it is by 'throwing the water with the hand' from the spring or river to the mouth. That primary sense seems to have survived in the Sanskrit pinu, to sprinkle.

With the face as the 'living image' of the sun in the sky we can understand the effect of throwing water into the mouth - some of it will splash (pi) onto the face instead. The gesture will therefore tend to have a magic effect on Sun. It will function like a rain dance and when the rain comes the fires will go out.

Maybe not. Drinking is an everyday matter. But I have made my point: To sprinkle with water can easily be associated with (connected to) the transition from high summer to the season of rain. When Sun at the end of high summer is thirsty, like the dry earth below, he will sprinkle water into his mouth. This event coincides with the full measure given by π (if we begin measuring at the right time).

Anciently they often counted with π = 3 for practical reasons. Therefore we can understand why there are 300 days for Sun.