5. The word Omotohi can probably be interpreted omo-tohi, because then the result is in agreement with what can be observed inside the oval of Ca7-24:
First tohi. I copy a relevant part from the item tohi in my Polynesian word list: Mgv.: tohi, to cut breadfruit paste. Ta.: tohi, a chisel, to cut, to split. Mq.: tohi, to cut up. Sa.: tofi, a chisel, to split. Ma.: tohi, to cut, to slice. Tohi in Omotohi can be understood as 'to cut up', here the month into 2 halves, exactly what the double henua sign at the bottom of the oval says. Mangarevan tohi carries the additional idea of 'breadfruit paste', which possibly refers to the 'tree' and what has happened to its 'fruit'. The double henua sign is at the bottom of the oval because above this 'cut-in-two-earth' the kai sign refers to a 'person' in the sky. (And I guess the location at the bottom has nothing to do with in whích order a pair of vertically arranged rongorongo signs should be read out.) |
