3. Let us now consider the names:
Maybe Vai ora a Tane (the 'living waters' of Tane) refers to the same fire which should be lit by Saturn in Wai-o-rangi? After 300 days there could be 8 dark nights, possibly when Venus is absent from the sky. No, Tane should be at 'Thursday', at the end of 'land', not at 'Saturday' (the end of 'water'). If vai is to be understood as the 'flood of Sun rays' which engulfs land, then Wai-o-rangi could be the sweet water which engulfs a similar 'land' in the sky. The 11th son of Tu will then be located in the 'sky water' (vai-o-ragi), beyond the limit of 'sky land'. Tiki is the only name which occurs twice, both at number 168 and at number 448. The distance between them is according to my guess above 280 days. The halfway station is at 168 + 140 = 308 (Waiorangi).
Tiki was a name for Sun in South America. And Maui Tikitiki A Taranga was named Tikitiki because he was born in the topknot (tikitiki) of his mother, from which we can infer - by reason of how dark it must have been inside the topknot - that tiki refers to the powerful Sun light. My colours above could therefore be wrong. Maybe I have to reduce my ordinal numbers by 1 to get them right:
The firstborn son of Tu is Rongo and he will now appear to close the cycle instead of to stand at its beginning. But so it was with the firstborn son of Hotu Matua too: ... The king went into his house and laid down. The first child of King A Matua, Tuu Maheke, came and went into the house. He came and kissed his father on the cheek. King Hotu A Matua asked, 'Who are you?' The royal child replied, 'It is I, the royal child, Tuu Maheke'. King Hotu A Matua said, 'Ah, I wish you luck, oh King, for your sand, very fine sand, fleas [in the sand]!' He went out, and the second child, Miru Te Mata Nui, entered into the house and kissed him on the cheek. A Matua asked, 'Who are you?' He answered, 'Miru Te Mata Nui'. A Matua replied, 'I wish you luck, oh Miru, oh Te Mata Nui, to protect your people!' He went out, and the third, Tuu Rano Kao, entered and kissed (his father). A Matua spoke: 'I wish you luck for your pebbles of Hanga Te Pau, for your (crater) Rano Kau!' That was all, and he went out. The fourth child entered. Matua kissed him on both cheeks and asked, 'Who are you?' He answered, 'It is I, the last-born (hangu potu), Te Mata O Tuu Hotu Iti.' The king was glad and said, 'You are a very strong child (poki hiohio), oh last-born, I wish you luck! Swift (?) is the great shark of Motu Toremo Hiva, of the homeland!' That was the end of King Hotu A Matua's speech to his children. (Manuscript E according to The Eighth Land.) The rising Sun in the east corresponds in age to the lastborn son and the firstborn son to the sinking Sun in the west. The old ones are close the horizon in the west, the young ones close to the horizon in the east. |
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