The curious moko (Mo'o) figure we encountered early: ... When the man, Ulu, returned to his wife from his visit to the temple at Puueo, he said, 'I have heard the voice of the noble Mo'o, and he has told me that tonight, as soon as darkness draws over the sea and the fires of the volcano goddess, Pele, light the clouds over the crater of Mount Kilauea, the black cloth will cover my head. And when the breath has gone from my body and my spirit has departed to the realms of the dead, you are to bury my head carefully near our spring of running water. Plant my heart and entrails near the door of the house. My feet, legs, and arms, hide in the same manner. Then lie down upon the couch where the two of us have reposed so often, listen carefully throughout the night, and do not go forth before the sun has reddened the morning sky. If, in the silence of the night, you should hear noises as of falling leaves and flowers, and afterward as of heavy fruit dropping to the ground, you will know that my prayer has been granted: the life of our little boy will be saved.' And having said that, Ulu fell on his face and died. His wife sang a dirge of lament, but did precisely as she was told, and in the morning she found her house surrounded by a perfect thicket of vegetation. 'Before the door,' we are told in Thomas Thrum's rendition of the legend, 'on the very spot where she had buried her husband's heart, there grew a stately tree covered over with broad, green leaves dripping with dew and shining in the early sunlight, while on the grass lay the ripe, round fruit, where it had fallen from the branches above. And this tree she called Ulu (breadfruit) in honor of her husband ... There are connections between death and moko on one hand and between these two and the breadfruit tree on the other. The pattern of glyphs, stars, and Metoro's words makes it hard to deny the parallels between the Hawaiian myth and line Ca4:
With Rigel as 'nose' and Betelgeuze as 'tail' the midline (Belt) stars are in the center, and this is the place for the rau hei 'signes de mort'. In Ca4-5 moko is at right and at left is another death sign (than rau hei), viz. ihe tau. But Metoro said hokohuki at all 3 ihe tau glyphs in this glyph line. Indeed, Metoro consistently said hokohuki instead of ihe tau when reading the Mamari text. In the preceding Ca4-4 rau hei is at right and at left tagata, a sign of completion. Together Ca4-4--5 could introduce what is about to happen - when the old man (Ulu) reaches his limit he will die, sacrifice himself for the next generation. After his hokohuki the quick lizard (moko) will ensure the return of life.
... A stellion (Laudakia stellio), also known as a hardim or star lizard, is a species of agamid lizard found in Greece, Southwest Asia, and Northeast Africa. Like many agamas, stellions can change color to express their moods. They bask on stone walls, rocks and buildings, and also on trees. They are usually found in rocky habitats, and are quite shy, being very ready to dive into cracks to hide from potential predators ... |
