What can the
place name Okahu
a uka ui hetuu mean? Is there any suggestions of winter solstice in this
name?
4 |
Okahu a uka ui
hetuu. |
1 |
⅔ |
5 |
ra tahai a uo. |
2 |
6 |
ahu akapu a
mata kurakura. |
3 |
7 |
kihikihi rau
mea a rapa rau renga |
4 |
8 |
renga a tini a
toto renga |
5 |
9 |
vai
a mei u(h)i kapokapo. |
6 |
10 |
rua a ngau a
nua ngirongiro. |
7 |
⅓ |
11 |
roro hau a
mana ai rea. |
8 |
12 |
vai
poko aa raa mata turu |
9 |
13 |
ko te hereke a
kino ariki |
10 |
Hetuu
we know, it means 'star', and ui can be 'to look out for':
Hetu, hetu'u
Hetu 1. To (make) sound;
figuratively:
famous, renowned. 2. To crumble into embers (of a
bonfire). Hetu'u. Star, planet; hetu'u popohaga
morning star; hetu'u ahiahi evening star; hetu'u viri
meteorite. Vanaga.
Hetu 1. Star (heetuu); hetu
rere, meteor; hetu pupura, planet. P Pau.: hetu,
star. Mgv.: etu, id. Mq.: fetu, hetu, id.
Ta.: fetu, fetia, id. The alternative form
fetia in Tahiti, now the only one in common use, need not be
regarded as an anomaly in mutation. It seems to derive from
Paumotu fetika, a planet. Its introduction into Tahiti is
due to the fashion of accepting Paumotu vocables which arose
when the house of Pomare came into power. 2. Capital
letter (? he tu). 3. To amuse. 4. To stamp the feet.
Hetuhetu, to calk, to strike the water. Hetuke, sea
urchin. Churchill. |
Ui, û'i
Ui.
To ask. Vanaga.
Û'i.
To look, to look at (ki); e-û'i koe! look out!
Vanaga.
Ui.
1. Question, to interrogate, to ask (ue).
Uiui, to ask
questions. 2. To spy, to inspect, to look at, to perceive;
tagata ui,
visitor. Churchill. |
Maybe the
name says
that one should look for a star, maybe for
Alphard (Ana-heu-heu-po). Kahukahu o heke means an octopus
hiding in his ink, which might be alluded to in O-kahu.
"Okahu is
located next to the cemetery of Hanga Roa ... The second name is
used as the name of a place closer to the ocean where the 'old ones' are
said to have observed the stars. This is the same place that was shown to
Métraux as 'the-cave-where-stars-are-seen' (ana ui hetuu) and from
which he received information about stars that bring danger ... The name calls to
mind 'the-rock-seeing-stars' (ko te papa ui hetuu) on the eastern tip
of Poike, where another observatory was located ..." (Barthel 2)
A rock at
Poike in contrast to a cave at the other end of the island evidently is significant.
Likewise it may be no coincidence that Okahu is located close to a
cemetery. West is where the stars are going down.
Kahu
Clothing, dress, habit, cloth, curtain, vestment, veil, shirt, sheet;
kahu hakaviri, shroud; kahu nui, gown; rima o te kahu,
sleeve; kahu rahirahi, muslin; hare kahi, tent; horega
kahu, shirt; hakarivariva ki te kahu, toilet; rakai ki te
kahu, toilet; patu ki te kahu, to undress; kahu oruga,
royal sail; kahu hakatepetepe, jib; kahu nui, foresail;
hakatopa ki te kahu, to set sail; (hecki keho, canvas T.) P
Pau.: kahu, dress, garment, native cloth. Mgv.: kahu,
cloth, stuff, garment, clothing. Mq.: kahu, habit, vestment,
stuff, tunic. Ta.: ahu, cloth in general, vestment, mantle.
Chuchill. |
The meaning
of O-kahu in item 4 is probably that the 'old light' has been covered
by a 'black cloth'. The time has come to wait for a new light.
Interestingly, the Tahitian
kahu has become ahu, which word once again leads us to think
about graves:
Ahu 1. Funerary monument with niches holding the
skeletons of the dead. 2. Generic term for a grave, a tomb merely
enclosed with stones. 3. Stone platform, with or without graves. 4.
Elevated seat, throne. 5. Swollen; to swell up: ku-ahu-á tooku va'e,
my foot is swollen; ananake te raá e-tagi-era te ûka riva mo
toona matu'a ka-ahu ahu-ró te mata, every day the daughter cried for
her parents until her eyes were quite swollen. Vanaga.
1. To transfer, to transplant, to take up by the
roots. 2. To puff up, to swell, a swelling, protuberance; gutu ahu,
swollen lips; ahuahu, to swell, plump, elephantiasis, dropsy;
ahuahu pupuhi, amplitude; manava ahuahu, indigestion. 3.
Paralysis. 4. A carved god of dancing, brought forth only on rare
occasions and held of great potency. Ahuahu, inflammation.
Ahukarukaru (ahu 2 - karukaru), dropsy. Churchill. |
Swollen (ahu)
then could lead us on to Gb5-12 (Hanga Te Pau):
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Gb5-6 |
Gb5-7 |
Gb5-8 |
Gb5-9 |
Gb5-10 |
Gb5-11 |
Gb5-12 |
360 |
361 |
362 |
363 |
364 |
365 |
366 |
Pau
1. To run out (food, water): ekó pau te kai,
te vai, is said when there is an abundance of food or water,
and there is no fear of running out. Puna pau, a small
natural well near the quarry where the 'hats' (pukao)
were made; it was so called because only a little water could be
drawn from it every day and it ran dry very soon. 2. Va'e pau,
clubfoot. Paupau: Curved. Vanaga.
1. Hakapau, to pierce (cf. takapau,
to thrust into). Pau.: pau, a cut, a wound, bruised,
black and blue. 2. Resin. Mq.: epau, resin. Ta.: tepau,
gum, pitch, resin. (Paupau) Hakapaupau, grimace, ironry,
to grin. 3. Paura (powder), gunpowder. 4. Pau.: paupau,
breathless. Ta.: paupau, id. 5. Ta.: pau,
consumed, expended. Sa.: pau, to come to an end. Ma.:
pau, finished. 6. Ta.: pau, to wet one another. Mq.:
pau, to moisten. Churchill.
Paua
or pāua
is the Māori name given to three species of large edible
sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs which belong to the family
Haliotidae (genus Haliotis), known in the USA as
abalone, and in the UK as ormer shells ... Wikipedia. |
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