1. Da Capo means to go back to the beginning (literally to the 'head') and to start once more. The picture language is the same all over the world. Implicitly we think of the 'head of the page', the top of the page as its 'head'. Aslo, implicitly, the 'head' is Sun. From his head the development goes to his neck and from there to his arms and his chest, his abdomen ('the belly of the sun'), etc ending with his feet. Then the whole Man is standing there:
The front side of the year is characterized by steadily growing light caused by the sky dome being pushed higher and higher away from earth, letting more and more light in. This tremendous work is accomplished by Tane, which I suggest is personifying the Tree of Life, and life is indeed practically synonymous with light. "They were Ranginui, the Sky Father, and Papatuanuku, the Earth Mother, both sealed together in a close embrace. Crushed between the weight of their bodies were their many children, whose oppression deepened. They yearned to be free; they fought their parents and each other to break loose. Tuumatauenga, virile god of war, thrust and shouted; Tangaroa of the oceans whirled and surged; Tawhirirangimaatea howled with many raging winds; Haumiatiketike and Rongomatane, of wild foods and cultivated crops tried their best but were not successful; and Ruamoko, god of earthquakes, yet to be born, struggled in the confinement of his mother's womb. Of them all, Taane Mahuta, the god of the forests, was the most determined; he set his sturdy feet upon his father's chest, and braced his upper back and shoulders against the bosom of his mother. He pushed; and they parted. So the world; as the Maori understand it; came into being ..." (D. C. Starzecka, Maori Art and Culture.) Men and trees are similar, they stand erect (tuu) in contrast to most other 'persons' in nature. Instead of drawing a fully grown tree it is therefore possible (and equivalent) to draw a fully grown man, and we can think of him as Tane. Or as in the Hawaiian version, Ku: ... the breadfruit originated from the sacrifice of the war god Ku. After deciding to live secretly among mortals as a farmer, Ku married and had children. He and his family lived happily until a famine seized their island. When he could no longer bear to watch his children suffer, Ku told his wife that he could deliver them from starvation, but to do so he would have to leave them. Reluctantly, she agreed, and at her word, Ku descended into the ground right where he had stood until only the top of his head was visible. His family waited around the spot he had last been, day and night watering it with their tears until suddenly a small green shoot appeared where Ku had stood. Quickly, the shoot grew into a tall and leafy tree that was laden with heavy breadfruits that Ku's family and neighbours gratefully ate, joyfully saved from starvation ... So da capo means to begin again from the head at the bottom, not from the top end. When we think of the head of a man we connect it with a position high up. But in the beginning his head should be very low, indeed buried in earth (like an eye in mud). When we begin to read a rongorongo tablet we must begin at its bottom, that is where glyph line a1 is found. |
