6. Rectascension is counted from spring equinox north of the equator, i.e. from one of the two points in the sky where the ecliptic crosses the sky equator (the other being autumn equinox). But south of the equator the zero hour of rectascension is autumn equinox. Puanga reaches zenith around 5 hours later = ca 2½ months after autumn equinox. 5 / 24 * 12 = 2½. From equinox to solstice there are ca ¼ * 12 = 3 months, i.e. Puanga should appear in zenith about half a month before winter solstice, and it would rise heliacally about 3 months earlier. I quote from Van Tilburg: In Hawaii, the rising of the Pleiades was the signal for the beginning of the Makahiki major harvest festival which centered upon Lono (Rongo). For Rapa Nui, as for the Maori, the Mangarevans and the rest of the people of the Southern Hemisphere, the rising of the Pleiades is almost simultaneous with the Austral June solstice. The Rapa Nui calendar begins with the month of Anakena (the name of the landing site of Hotu Matu'a). Anakena was said by Thomson to mean August, but Métraux corrected that to July. Taking into consideration the conflicting evidence of the timing of Orongo ceremonies and based upon consultation with noted Pacific astronomer Will Kyselka, I think it is probable that the Rapa Nui ritual calendar, as that of the Maori, Mangarevans, Samoans, Tongans and other Polynesians began in July following the rising of the Pleiades. On Rapa Nui and many other islands, the Pleiades were called Matariki... The rising Pleiades led a twinkling procession of bright stars into the sky: Aldebaran first, then the stars of Orion (called Tautoru by the Rapa Nui). Sirius (Reitanga in Rapanui), at a declination of 16º 42', is the brightest star in the sky on this and every other morning, and travels a path that takes it over the centre of Polynesian culture, Tahiti.
Declination in the sky corresponds to latitude down on earth. Sirius lies like Tahiti south of the equator (in the sky respectively down on earth). When a declination describes a location south of the equator it will have a negative value:
All 3 stars lie south of the equator, and the Easter Islanders surely must have known that Rehua had the same 'latitude' as their own island. The declination numbers (8, 16, and 26 degrees) reverberate in the rongorongo texts, and while the distance from the equator increases (from 8 to 16 to 26 degrees) the star comes gradually closer to Easter Island (from 18 to 10 to 0 degrees away). Sun is a star and moves further south, just as the shifting star stations to be observed are doing. Winter solstice on Easter Island occurs when there is a summer solstice north of the equator, i.e. around June 24 (= 6h). Rigel (Puanga) reaches zenith ca 3 days before winter solstice and Sirius (Reitanga) ca 11 days after. 12 / 60 = 0.2 and 0.2 * 12 / 24 = 0.1 months = ca 3 days, and 43 / 60 * 12 / 24 = 0.36 months = ca 11 days. There is a fortnight between Puanga and Reitanga. 8 was the number at ko Ruhi, and he was the last one of those who stayed behind with Hau Maka when the explorers under Ira departed for Easter Island:
Ruhi-te-rangi was a star close to Rehua and she was his summer maid:
That Ruhi stayed behind should mean he belonged to the old generation, not to the young ones who were on a mission to find a new land. Expressed in time we could say that Ruhi presumably personified the end of the previous year (at winter solstice). He was not a summer maid. We can guess Ruhi may have been the name for Rigel on Easter Island, a 'person' who was not high up in the sky at midsummer but instead located at the other end of the sky, low down in midwinter. |
