Once again. The dates in Manuscript E could perhaps have referred to the dates at the time of Bharani, when 41 Tauri was at 0h. Likewise could this have been the case for the Chorti date when their Sky raising ceremonies began. Their day 25 in April could have corresponded to the day when the Sun was at Cursa (β Eridani):
However, it is not quite so simple. Because when the King arrived Nonoma was out urinating in the night. Early I concluded Nonoma had to represent Jupiter:
... The canoes of Ava Rei Pua and of Hotu were seen near the (off-shore) islets. On the fifteenth day of the month of October (tangaroa uri) the canoe of Hotu and the canoe of Ava Rei Pua landed. On the fifteenth day of the month of October (tangaroa uri), Nonoma left the house during the night to urinate outside. At this point Ira called out to Nonoma, 'Look at the canoe!' Nonoma ran, he quickly went to Te Hikinga Heru (a ravine in the side of the crater Rano Kau) and looked around. There he saw the double canoe way out near the (offshore) islets, and the two (hulls of the canoe) were lashed together. He ran and returned to the front of the house. He arrived and called into the house: 'Hey you! This canoe has arrived during the night without our noticing it!' Ira asked Nonoma, 'Where is the canoe, which you say is lying out there (in the water)?' Nonoma's voice came back: 'It is out there (in the water) close to the (offshore) islets! There it lies, and the two (hulls) are lashed together.' The four of them (corrected for 'the six of them') went out and picked up leaves (on branches) to give signals. They picked them up, went and arrived at Te Hikinga and saw the canoe. Raparenga got up, picked up the leaves, took them in his hands, and waved, waved, waved, waved. This was seen by the man who understood signals; he looked down and called out the following to the king: 'They are waving, they are signaling the following message: 'The land is bad, the shoots growing out of the ground cannot spread because the algae-like thicket is very long when it is pulled out, when it is ripped out!' (This means that the runners of the yam roots that were planted are unable to prevail against the heavy weeds, which have to be pulled out continually.) King Hotu called to Tuki, 'Sígnal and answer the following: The homeland is bad too, (because there) the flood brings destruction and the low tide brings relief (this is a reference to the losses caused in Hiva by the rising of the water, or rather, by the subsidence of the land.) (In the meantime) Ira and Nga Tavake had arrived. Tuki signaled and answered the message in this manner - he waved and waved. The signal arrived up (at the cliffs) where Raparenga was. He looked out and watched for it. Then the waving stopped (?). Ira asked, 'Why did they send signals?' Raparenga replied, 'Because we sent signals first'. Ira said, 'We have lost the bad news for you (which means, we have warned you in vain).' Ira said to Raparenga, 'Give signals and tell this: If the canoe continues to the right side (of Easter Island, seen from Motu Nui), they should sail way out because of Tama, an evil fish with a very long nose (this is a wordplay with the place name on the southeastern shore, which 'demands bad victims because of its cliffs').' He waved, waved, waved, waved. The ones on board the boat saw Raparenga's waving and understood. The signals arrived on board the canoe; the waving arrived below (i.e., in the west) ... (Manuscript E as translated in The Eighth Island.)
Possibly Nonoma urinating in the dark was intended to allude to Uri - the suffix of Tangaroa.
But a better idea should be to look among the stars and there is an obvious place in Leo:
... There was no water in the village. The lakes and rivers were dry. Raven and Crow, two young girls who were having their first menstrual courses, were told to go and draw water from the ocean. Finding the journey too long, Raven decided just to urinate into her basket-bucket. She decieved no one and was severly scolded. Crow returned much later but with drinking water. As a punishment, Raven was condemned never to find water in the summer; only in winter would she find something to drink. For that reason the Raven never drinks during the hot months; she speaks with a raucous voice because of her dry throat ...
This fits with Nonoma corresponding to Jupiter, because in the Babylonian zodiac the sign of Jupiter was very close to Leo:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
