I guess the pair of
'sleeping' (moe) 'lizards' (moko)
264-265 days from the beginning of side b
could represent twice 184 = 368 days:
|
January 1 |
2 |
3 (368) |
|
July 2 |
3 (184) |
4 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Cb11-8 (260) |
Cb11-9 |
Cb11-10 (654) |
|
vai o ako hia |
te
manu |
tere te marama |
|
λ Pavonis (285.7),
Ain al Rami (286.2),
δ Lyrae (286.3), κ
Pavonis (286.5) |
Alya (286.6), ξ
Sagittarii (287.1),
ω Pavonis (287.3),
ε Aquilae, ε
Cor. Austr.,
Sulaphat (287.4) |
Uttara Ashadha-21 |
|
λ Lyrae (287.7),
Ascella,
Bered (Ant.) (287.9),
NUNKI
(288.4), ζ Cor.
Austr. (288.5) |
|
ψ8 Aurigae (103.2) |
Alhena (103.8), ψ9
Aurigae |
Adara (104.8), ω
Gemini (105.4) |
|
January 4 |
5 |
6 |
|
July
5 |
6 |
7 (188) |
 |
 |
 |
|
Cb11-11 |
Cb11-12 (264) |
Cb11-13 (657) |
|
te
ariki |
te
moko ariga moe |
moko
moe |
|
19h
(289.2) |
Al Baldah-19 |
Aladfar (291.1), Nodus
II (291.5) |
|
Manubrium
(288.8),
ζ Aquilae
(288.9),
λ Aquilae (Ant.)
(289.1), γ Cor.
Austr. (289.3), τ
Sagittarii (289.4),
ι Lyrae (289.5) |
δ Cor. Austr. (289.8),
AL BALDAH,
Alphekka Meridiana
(290.1), β Cor. Austr.
(290.2) |
|
7h (106.5) |
Wezen (107.1) |
δ Monocerotis (107.9) |
|
Alzirr (105.7),
Muliphein (105.8) |
Although these
exhausted twin moko
differ much from their 2 * 11 more
lively precursors in the text
they are of the same 'species',
for instance with bulging
stomachs.
A change occurs
in Gregorian day 372, when - we
can imagine - 'a
little light' (illustrated by
henua signs in poor
condition) enters between the
two 'shells':
|
January 7 (372) |
8 |
|
9 |
|
July 8 |
9 (190) |
10 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Cb11-14
(658) |
Cb11-15 |
Cb11-16 (268) |
|
tagata
ka tomo i roto -
i tona
mea |
tona
mea |
kua kake te tagata
-
ki tona rona |
|
ψ Sagittarii (291.6), θ
Lyrae (291.8),
ω Aquilae
(292.1) |
ρ Sagittarii (292.6), υ
Sagittarii (292.7),
Arkab Prior (293.0),
Arkab Posterior, Alrami
(293.2) |
χ Sagittarii (293.6),
Deneb Okab
(294.0) |
|
no star listed |
Wasat (109.8) |
Aludra (111.1) |
Metoro
distinguished between the first
two irregular henua
shapes and the 3rd such, naming
them tona mea
respectively tona rona.
Perhaps his distinction
reflected the difference between
how tona
mea had 'straight' bottom
ends, whereas tona rona
had concave short ends both at
top and bottom. (Earlier I have
guessed that a straight bottom
end in a henua glyph
represented the line of the
horizon.)
Mea (memea)
is here probably meant as the
colour of dawn:
|
Mea
1.
Tonsil, gill (of
fish). 2. Red
(probably because it
is the colour of
gills); light red,
rose; also meamea.
3. To grow or to
exist in abundance
in a place or around
a place: ku-mea-á
te maîka,
bananas grow in
abundance (in this
place); ku-mea-á
te ka, there is
plenty of fish (in a
stretch of the coast
or the sea);
ku-mea-á te tai,
the tide is low and
the sea completely
calm (good for
fishing); mau
mea, abundance.
Vanaga.
1.
Red;
ata mea,
the dawn.
Meamea,
red, ruddy,
rubricund, scarlet,
vermilion, yellow;
ariga meamea,
florid;
kahu meamea
purple;
moni meamea,
gold;
hanuanua meamea,
rainbow;
pua ei meamea,
to make yellow.
Hakameamea,
to redden, to make
yellow. PS Ta.:
mea,
red. Sa.:
memea,
yellowish brown,
sere. To.:
memea,
drab. Fu.:
mea,
blond, yellowish,
red, chestnut. 2. A
thing, an object,
elements (mee);
e mea,
circumstance;
mea ke,
differently,
excepted, save, but;
ra mea,
to belong;
mea rakerake,
assault;
ko mea,
such a one;
a mea nei,
this;
a mea ka,
during;
a mea,
then;
no te mea,
because, since,
seeing that;
na te mea,
since;
a mea era,
that;
ko mea tera,
however, but.
Hakamea,
to prepare, to make
ready. P Pau., Mgv.,
Mq., Ta.:
mea, a
thing. 3. In order
that, for. Mgv.:
mea,
because, on account
of, seeing that,
since. Mq.:
mea,
for. 4. An
individual;
tagata mea,
tagata mee,
an individual. Mgv.:
mea,
an individual, such
a one. Mq., Ta.:
mea,
such a one. 5.
Necessary, urgent;
e mea ka,
must needs be,
necessary;
e mea,
urgent. 6. Manners,
customs. 7. Mgv.:
ako-mea,
a red fish. 8. Ta.:
mea,
to do. Mq.:
mea,
id. Sa.:
mea,
id. Mao.:
mea,
id. Churchill. |
|
... After this
separation
Rangi
lamented for his
wife: and his
tears are the
dew and the rain
which ever fall
on her. This was
the chant that
did the work:
Rangitokona,
prop up the
heaven! //
Rangitokona,
prop up the
morning! // The
pillar stands in
the empty space.
The thought [memea]
stands in the
earth-world - //
Thought stands
also in the sky.
The kahi
stands in the
earth-world - //
Kahi
stands also in
the sky.
The pillar
stands, the
pillar - // It
ever stands, the
pillar of the
sky.
Then for the
first time was
there light
between the Sky
and the Earth;
the world
existed ... |
Next stage
ought to be when Sun is ascending
(kake) - although in
early morning the light
will still be poor and the
shadows will still be ruling.
The 'break of dawn' (the early
days in the year) may have been
a dangerous time:
|
Rona
Figure made of
wood, or stone,
or painted,
representing a
bird, a birdman,
a lizard, etc.
Vanaga.
Drawing,
traction. Pau.:
ronarona,
to pull one
another about.
Churchill.
While the
rongorongo signs
(rona)
are generally
'carved out,
incised' (motu),
ta
implies an
incision
('cutting,
beating') as
well as the
process of
applying signs
to the surface
with the aid of
a dye ...
Barthel 2. |
|
"After naming
the
topographical
features of
Easter Island
with names from
their land of
origin, the
emissaries went
from the west
coast up to the
rim of the
crater Rano
Kau, where
Kuukuu
had started a
yam plantation
some time
earlier.
After they had
departed from
Pu Pakakina
they reached
Vai Marama
and met a man.
Ira
asked, 'How many
are you?'
He answered,
'There are two
of us.' Ira
continued
asking, 'Where
is he (the
other)?'
To that he
answered, 'The
one died.' Again
Ira
asked, 'Who has
died?'
He replied,
'That was Te
Ohiro A Te Runu.'
Ira asked
anew, 'And who
are your?'
He answered, 'Nga
Tavake A Te Rona.'
(E:46)
After this, the
emissaries and
Nga Tavake
went to the yam
plantation."
(Barthel 2) |
|
"... RAP.
rona means
primarily 'sign'
(an individual
sign in the
Rongorongo
script or a
painted or
carved sign made
on a firm
background, such
as a
petroglyph), but
also 'sculpture'
(made from wood
or stone,
representing
animals of
hybrid
creatures) ...
... rona
(lona)
implies the idea
of 'maintaining
a straight line'
with ropes and
nets and also
the maintaining
of a steady
course (in MAO.
and TUA.).
Te Rona
is the name of a
star in TUA.,
which Makemson
(1941:251)
derives from the
mythical figure
of 'Rona',
who is connected
with the moon
and is
considered to be
the father of
(the moon
goddess) Hina
(for this role
in MAO., see
Tregear
1891:423).
From west
Polynesia come
totally
different
meanings.
Interesting
perhaps is FIJ.
lona, 'to
wonder what one
is to eat,
fasting for the
dead.' ..."
(Barthel 2) |
To avoid this
type of danger the ruling king
might have installed a 'mock
king' north of the equator and a
pair of such kings south of the
equator. The 'sleeping' Lono
figure on Hawaii 'played the
role of sacrifice', was
dismembered and then tucked away
for another year. Towards the
end of the midwinter ceremonies
a tribute-canoe with offerings
to Lono 'was set adrift
for Kahiki, homeland of
the gods':
... in the ceremonial course of
the coming year, the king is
symbolically transposed toward
the Lono pole of Hawaiian
divinity ... It need only be
noticed that the renewal of
kingship at the climax of the
Makahiki coincides with the
rebirth of nature. For in the
ideal ritual calendar, the
kali'i battle follows the
autumnal appearance of the
Pleiades, by thirty-three days -
thus precisely, in the late
eighteenth century, 21 December,
the winter solstice. The king
returns to power with the sun.
Whereas, over the next two days,
Lono plays the part of
the sacrifice. The Makahiki
effigy is dismantled and hidden
away in a rite watched over by
the king's 'living god',
Kahoali'i or
'The-Companion-of-the-King', the
one who is also known as
'Death-is-Near' (Koke-na-make).
Close kinsman of the king as his
ceremonial double, Kahoali'i
swallows the eye of the victim
in ceremonies of human sacrifice
...
The 'living god', moreover,
passes the night prior to the
dismemberment of Lono in
a temporary house called 'the
net house of Kahoali'i',
set up before the temple
structure where the image
sleeps. In the myth pertinent to
these rites, the trickster hero
- whose father has the same name
(Kuuka'ohi'alaki) as the
Kuu-image of the temple -
uses a certain 'net of
Maoloha' to encircle a
house, entrapping the goddess
Haumea; whereas, Haumea
(or Papa) is also a
version of La'ila'i, the
archetypal fertile woman, and
the net used to entangle her had
belonged to one Makali'i,
'Pleiades'.
Just so, the succeeding
Makahiki ceremony, following
upon the putting away of the
god, is called 'the net of
Maoloha', and represents the
gains in fertility accruing to
the people from the victory over
Lono. A large,
loose-mesh net, filled with all
kinds of food, is shaken at a
priest's command. Fallen to
earth, and to man's lot, the
food is the augury of the coming
year. The fertility of nature
thus taken by humanity, a
tribute-canoe of offerings to
Lono is set adrift for
Kahiki, homeland of the
gods. The New Year draws to a
close. At the next full moon, a
man (a tabu transgressor) will
be caught by Kahoali'i
and sacrificed. Soon after the
houses and standing images of
the temple will be rebuilt:
consecrated - with more human
sacrifices - to the rites of
Kuu and the projects of the
king.
On Easter Island
the hare paega dwellings had a pair
of rona (manu uru
figures) guarding the entrances:
"The low entrances of houses
were guarded by images of wood
or of bark cloth, representing
lizards or rarely crayfish.
The bark cloth images were made
over frames of reed, and were
called manu-uru, a name
given also to kites, masks, and
masked people
..."
(Alfred Métraux, Ethnology of
Easter Island.)
Below are a few
of all my comments
regarding rona in my
preliminary glyph type
dictionary:
|
... The
lizard (moko)
and the crayfish (ura)
form a pair of
contrasts, one up on
land and the other
down in the sea.
Manu-uru
are not real
'birds', just
imitations
(reflections) made
of 'straw'.
Metoro
said toa
tauuru
for 7 of the periods
of the night (cfr
Aa1-37--46).
In my added item for
uru in the
Polynesian
dictionary I have
commented that
uru usually
means breadfruit (=
'skull') and that
its fruit resembles
a human skull. A
cranium and uru
symbolize, I think,
the end of life -
which has great
nutritional value.
Uru has 2
u, as is should
for a 'back wheel'.
Nightfall and
morning connect the
diurnal cycle with
the yearly cycle.
The hour of midnight
was preferably a
time for sleep,
because at that time
(equal to new year)
there was a 'door'
open through which
figures of fancy and
fear moved.
Métraux has given us
a good description
of how it was to
sleep in a hare
paega:
'... The most vivid
description of hut
interiors is given
by Eyraud ... who
slept in them
several nights:
Imagine a half open
mussel, resting on
the edge of its
valves and you will
have an idea of the
form of that cabin.
Some sticks covered
with straw form its
frame and roof. An
oven-like opening
allows its
inhabitants to go
inside as well as
the visitors who
have to creep not
only on all fours
but on their
stomachs.
This indicates the
center of the
building and lets
enter enough light
to see when you have
been inside for a
while. You have no
idea how many Kanacs
may find shelter
under that thatch
roof. It is rather
hot inside, if you
make abstraction of
the little
disagreements caused
by the deficient
cleanliness of the
natives and the
community of goods
which inevitably
introduces itself
...
But by night time,
when you do not find
other refuge, you
are forced to do as
others do. Then
everybody takes his
place, the position
being indicated to
each by the nature
of the spot. The
door, being in the
center, determines
an axis which
divides the hut into
two equal parts. The
heads, facing each
other on each side
of that axis, allow
enough room between
them to let pass
those who enter or
go out. So they lie
breadthwise, as
commodiously as
possible, and try to
sleep.'
Métraux has also
given us a close-up
picture of one of
these manu-uru
figures:
'The nose is narrow
and straight and on
the same plane as
the forehead. The
mouth is formed by
two parallel raised
strips. The oval
eyes protrude. The
cheekbones are two
crescentic
prominences
...' |
|