2. At this point it may be useful to look at another text example, the beginning of side a of Tahua:
Aa1-15 is a single glyph, but its design suggests 2 separate parts, probably in order to show the 'leap' from the old to the new year. Tagata rere (the right part in Aa1-15) has one 'eye' (mata, a word meaning both eye and face) in front and one 'eye' looking back, he is a Janus figure - standing on the doorstep to the new 'room'. The left part in Aa1-15 depicts a leg (vae) and the meaning of this type of glyph is probably 'going away'. The old year is going away (left) and the new year is arriving. A pairwise symmetry of the glyphs is evident and the first 8 of them also form a group, the first half of the year. As I interpret them the baby Sun (Aa1-1) and Moon (Aa1-2) precede the season when light is brought first to the sky (Aa1-3--4) and then to earth (Aa1-5--8). The illumination of the sky (ragi) is illustrated by a Moon crescent behind what looks like a tree. The quartet representing earth (Aa1-5--8) can be classified as a variant of vae kore:
Here we must notice the direction of the 'knee'. From Aa1-9 the 'knee' has shifted orientation, which means we have passed the border line between the first half of the year and the second. Metoro said vae kore a few times at this type of glyph and it means 'no leg'. Possibly he meant Sun is not in a position where he is going away (vae). Sun does not leave so early in the year. He has 10 months to begin with, and then there are 2 additional, 'odd tail feather', months to count with:
In Aa1-10 there is a kind of 'half-Janus' sign, with head seen en face but not yet with any mata at the back side. However, the uplifted 'wing' in front is broken. In Aa1-11--12 Sun is 'buried'. The main sign is ihe tau (possibly depicting a tomb stone). And the throat of Sun has been caught in strings. |