1. In, toward, to, for, at; ki ra, there; ki ra hoki, exactly there; ki aho, outside; ki roto, within, into, inside, among. 2. In order that. 3. To say, to speak, to chat, to pronounce, to respond; argument, conversation, description, doctrine, expression, word, relation; ki veveveve, voluble; ki vaiapuga, nonsense, to speak much and say nothing; ki ihoiho, to speak forcefully. Churchill.

1. The, this, which; ko te, the. T Pau., Mgv., Mq., Ta.: te, the. 2. Tê, negative prepositive; without, not; hiri tê reka, to walk without noise. T Mgv.: te, no, not, without: Mq.: te, not (postpositive). Churchill.

Tai

1. Ocean, sea (often used without an article); he-turu au ki tai hopu, I am going down to the sea to bathe. 2. To be calm, good for fishing: he tai. There exists a surprisingly developed terminology for distinguishing the phases of the tides: tai pâpaku, low tide; ku-gúgú-á te tai, tide at his lowest, literally 'the sea has dried up'; he-ranu te tai, when the water starts rising again; this is a strange expression, since ranu means 'amniotic liquid,' the breaking of the waters which precedes birth; in this phase of the tides the fish start coming out of their hiding places and swim to the coast in search of food; tai hahati, rising tide; tai hini hahati, tide as it continues rising; tai u'a, tai u'a parera, when the tide has reached its high; tai hini u'a, tide all throughout its full phase; tai hori, tide as it starts receding; tai ma'u, tide during its decreasing phase, right until it becomes tai pâpaku again; tai raurau a riki, the slight swell, or effervescence of the sea at a change of the moon. 3. Good spot for raising chickens; the stone chicken coops called hare moa, were built in places 'tai moa'. Ahé te tai o taau moa? whereabouts are the raising grounds of your chickens? 4. Song in general; song executed by a group of singers; ku-garo-ana i a au te kupu o te tai, I have forgotten the words of the song. Taitai, tasteless; said especially of sweet potatoes and other produces of the soil which do not taste good for being too watery; kumara taitai, watery, tasteless sweet potato. Vanaga.

1. Salt water; taitai, brackish, salty. P Mgv., Mq., Ta.: tai, salt water. Mq.: taitai, to salt. Ta.: taitai, salty. 2. Sea, ocean; tai hati, breakers; tai hohonu, depths of the sea; tai kaukau, tide; tai negonego, tide; tai o, ripple; tai parera, tide; tai poko, breakers; tai titi, tide; tai ua, tide, ebb; tai vanaga, ripple. P Mgv., Mq., Ta.: tai, sea, ocean. 3. Ta.: tai-ao, dawn. Mq.: takitaki te ao, just before dawn. Churchill.

Although basically tai evidently refers to the opposite of the lifesupporting sweet water (vai ora), we have to accept the existence of special cases, for instance the Tahitan tai-ao (dawn) which possibly is relevant for us, because the Mamari text seems to relate to time and because we here in the text are close to the northern spring equinox.

At dawn the Polynesians can observe Sun rising from the sea in the east, and spring is the 'dawn' of the year, especially if the calendar is beginning not with January 1 but a few months later.

Churchill has identified (and we surely ought to listen to him) the Marquesan takitaki te ao (just before dawn) as a related expression. This complicates our case.

Taki

Dieffenbach, in his 'Travels in New Zealand', mentions that a title or appellation of the chiefs there was 'Taki o te Wenua', and explains it to mean 'the root of the land'. As the New Zealanders also came from the Samoan group, it seems as if what once was a national appellation, in course of time became the title of a chief. If Diffenbach's interpretation of the title is correct, it corresponds to the Hawiian Kumu-honua, the name of the first man. The same author also mentions, p. 67, a place where chiefs go after death, and says it is called Taki-wana ... when a chief dies he first goes to Taki-wana, where his left eye remains and becomes a star. Then he goes to Reinga and further. Spirits sometimes leave the nether world and come back on earth and communicate with the living ... Reinga was a place near the North Cape, New Zealand, where the spirits of the dead collected previous to their final departure. Fornander.

Take

The Marquesans are the only people who own to a distinctive national name, and retain a tradition of the road they travelled from their original habitat, until they arrived at the Marquesan Islands. They call themselves te Take, 'the Take nation'. Fornander.

Tumu

1. Tree trunk. 2. Ancestors: tumu matu'á, parents; tumu tupuna, grandparents. By extension: tumu taína, members of friendly families. 3. Como término muy especial se usa tumu para se¤alar a familias o personas que no son parientes, de modo que sus hijos podían, según antigua usanza, casarse entre ellos y formar un nuevo tronco. 4. Origin of something; initiator of an idea; person who is the cause of a fight: tumu taûa. 5. He-kore te tumu, to be so weakened that you cannot stand (lit.: the trunk is lacking). Vanaga.

Base, cause, element, origin, principle, source, spring, trunk, occasion, author, subject, motive; ina e tumu, accidental, fortuitous; tumu kore, causeless, baseless, weak in the legs, to waver; tumu o te hakareka, toy; tumu hatihati, weak in the legs; tumu o te hiriga, purpose of the voyage. T Pau.: fakatumu, to lay a foundation. Mgv., Mq., Ta.: tumu, cause, base, origin, principle, trunk. Tumumeika (tumu - meika), banana plant. Mgv., Mq.: tumumeika, id. Churchill.

The perceptive Fornander notes how the Marquesans saw themselves as Te Take, 'the Take nation', in memory of their origin, from where they came.

The chiefs on New Zealand called themselves Taki o te Wenua (Root of the Land). The Hawaiian kumu-honua - the name of the first man - corresponded to Taki o te W(h)enua. We can guess Hawaiian honua reflects the Easter Island henua. A quick look in my word list confirms it:

Henua

Land, ground, country; te tagata noho i ruga i te henua the people living on the earth. Placenta: henua o te poki. Vanaga.

1. Land, country, region (heenua); henua tumu, native land. P Pau.: henua, country. Mgv.: enua, land, said of shallow places in the sea; mamuenua, the earth. Mq.: fenua, henua, land, country, place, property. Ta.: fenua, land, country place. There is apparently nothing critical in the first vowel; e is the most widely extended; a is found only in Samoa, Viti, and Rotumā in Nuclear Polynesia, but is the dominant vowel in Melanesian survivals. 2. Uterus. T (cf eve). T Pau.: pufenua, placenta. Mgv.: enua, id. Mq.: fenua, henua, id. 3. Pupuhi henua, volley. PS Sa.: fana-fanua, cannon. To.: mea fana fonua, id. Fu.: fanafenua, id. Niuē: fanafonua, id. Viti: a dakal ni vanua, id. Churchill.

M.: Whenua, the Earth; the whole earth: I pouri tonu te rangi me te whenua i mua. 2. A country or district: A e tupu tonu mai nei ano i te pari o taua whenua. Tangata-whenua, natives of a particular locality: Ko nga tangata-whenua ake ano o tenei motu. Cf. ewe, the land of one's birth. 3. The afterbirth, or placenta: Ka taka te whenua o te tamaiti ki te moana. Cf. ewe, the placenta. 4. The ground, the soil: Na takoto ana i raro i te whenua, kua mate. 5. The land, as opposed to the water: Kia ngaro te tuapae whenua; a, ngaro rawa, ka tahi ka tukua te punga. Text Centre.

Ha.: Honua. 1. nvs. Land, earth, world; background, as of quilt designs; basic, at the foundation, fundamental. See lani. Kaua honua, world war. Ka wahine 'ai honua, the earth-eating woman [Pele]. ho'o honua To establish land, act as land; to scoop out earth, as for a fireplace; firmly established. Fig., rich (rare). (PPN fanua.). 2. part. Suddenly, abruptly and without reason. Cf. kūhonua. Huha honua ihola nō, suddenly angry and for no reason. Maka'u honua ihola nō ia, sudden fear. 3. n. Middle section of a canoe; central section of a canoe fleet, as fishing iheihe fish; main section, as of an army. Wehewehe.

'Land' (henua, whenua, honua) can refer to time, I suggest, viz. to the central halfyear when Sun is present and food no longer is scarce. But in April on Easter Island Sun has left. He has gone down in the southwestern region (toga), returned to his origin, to the sea (ki te tai). Therefore I think Metoro had understood the text referred to April, and we can then easily understand his kua moe, 'to sleep' (Sun's death is only temporary).

Kua

Used preceding persons' names, or inserted between the article and the person's name, to mean 'and others, and companions' e.g. A kua Ira, Ira and his companions. Vanaga.

1. Demonstrative; kia kua, concerning. 2. Verb sign: kua tau te moa, the hen roosts; kua ora te kevare, to give the horse water. P Mgv.: kua, a particle denoting the passive and used for ku before some verbs. Ta.: ua, a verb sign. Mq.: ua, id. Churchill.

Moe

To sleep, to lie at full length, to dream, to brood, to place, to cohabit; moe atu, to leave off, to desist; moe atu ra, to adjourn, to postpone; moe hakahepo, to talk in the deep; moe aherepo, somnambulist, sleepwalker; moe hakataha, to sleep on the side; moe no, to oversleep, concubinage; moe tahae, to be a light sleeper; moe tahaga, a sleeper; moe vaeahatu, moe hakaroa, to sleep sprawling; rava moe, to sleep sound; ariga moe ki raro, to lie flat on the ground; tae moe, bachelor; hakamoe, to brood, to fold the wings; to reserve, to lay up; to struggle. P Pau.: moe, sleep. Mgv.: moe, sleep, to lie down, coitus, to shut the eyes. Mq.: moe, to sleep, to lie down; haámoe, to set down on the ground. Ta.: moe, to sleep, to lie down. Moea raruga, lying flat. Moeaivi, thin. Mq.: ivi, haáivi, id. Ta.: ivi, id. Moega, mat. Pau.: moehega, bed. Mgv.: moega, a sleeping mat. Mq.: moena, moeka, mat, floor cloth, bed. Ta.: moea, bed. Moemata, to sleep with the eyes open; mea moemata, phantom. Moemoea, a dream, vision; tikeahaga moemoea, apparition by night. T Mgv., Mq., Ta.: moemoea, dream. Churchill.

Mgv. Moemoe, to steal, to purloin at a food distribution. Mq.: moemoe, to seize, to grasp. Churchill.

Ta.: 1. Moemoe, ambush. Ha.: moemoe, id. 2. Moemoe, Phyllanthus simplex. To.: mohemohe, a tree. Churchill.

Mq.: Moehu, exiled, banished, prisoner of war. Ma.: morehu, a survivor. Churchill.