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As regards
Te Ohiro A Te Runu (who had died - maybe killed by a turtle like
Kuukuu?) we must first consider
runu:
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Runu
To take, to grab with the hand; to
receive, to welcome someone in one's home. Ko Timoteo
Pakarati ku-runu-rivariva-á ki a au i toona hare,
Timoteo Pakarati received me well in his house.
Runurunu, iterative of runu: to take
continuously, to collect. Vanaga.
1. To pluck, to pick, a burden. 2. A
substitute; runurunu, a representative.
Churchill. |
The idea of 'to take' (rave) corresponds to spring rather
than to autumn, to the front side rather than to the back side. In
order 'to
grab with the hand' (runu) it is certainly necessary to have
a hand (rima), which ought to exclude the nuku
(autumn) season. Furthermore, ru in the Mangarevan dialect
means 'eager, in haste, impatient', which is a feeling of spring
rather than autumn.
Then we must also take into consideration the possible meanings of hiro:
| Hiro
1. A deity invoked when praying for rain
(meaning uncertain). 2. To twine tree fibres (hauhau,
mahute) into strings or ropes.
Ohirohiro, waterspout
(more exactly pú ohirohiro), a column of water
which rises spinning on itself.
Vanaga.
To spin, to twist. P Mgv.: hiro,
iro, to make a cord or line in the native manner
by twisting on the thigh. Mq.: fió, hió,
to spin, to twist, to twine. Ta.: hiro, to twist.
This differs essentially from the in-and-out movement
involved in hiri 2, for here the movement is that
of rolling on the axis of length, the result is that of
spinning. Starting with the coir fiber, the first
operation is to roll (hiro) by the palm of the
hand upon the thigh, which lies coveniently exposed in
the crosslegged sedentary posture, two or three threads
into a cord; next to plait (hiri) three or other
odd number of such cords into sennit. Hirohiro,
to mix, to blend, to dissolve, to infuse, to inject, to
season, to streak with several colors; hirohiro ei
paatai, to salt. Hirohiroa, to mingle;
hirohiroa ei vai, diluted with water. Churchill.
Ta.: Hiro, to exaggerate. Ha.:
hilohilo, to lengthen a speech by mentioning
little circumstances, to make nice oratorial language.
Churchill. |
The deity of sneak thieves was
Whiro (Mercury) on New Zealand (according to Makemson):
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Hawaiian Islands |
Society Islands |
Tuamotus |
New Zealand |
Pukapuka |
|
Ukali
or
Ukali-alii
'Following-the-chief' (i.e. the Sun)
Kawela 'Radiant' |
Ta'ero
or
Ta'ero-arii
'Royal-inebriate' (referring to the eccentric and
undignified behavior of the planet as it zigzags
from one side of the Sun to the other) |
Fatu-ngarue
'Weave-to-and-fro'
Fatu-nga-rue
'Lord of
the Earthquake' |
Whiro
'Steals-off-and-hides'; also the universal name for
the 'dark of the Moon' or the first day of the lunar
month; also the deity of
sneak thieves and rascals. |
Te Mata-pili-loa-ki-te-la
'Star-very-close-to-the-Sun' |
Irregular movement is a basic astronomical characteristic of Mercury,
which explains the action 'to-and-fro'. Whiro
was a deity of thieves, because they must be quick in their
actions. In spring it must go quick, in
autumn it can take time. There is nothing
negative with theft, according to
the Polynesians view, on the contrary it is a virtue.
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