13. We should conclude by calling attention to a
type of
sign given by the names on the kuhane list. Easily detected
is the systematic use of the ordinal article te ('the').
Below I have listed all the stations and counted them once again from the 3
islets:
1 |
nga
kope ririva tutuu vai
a te
taanga |
2 |
te
pu mahore a hau maka o hiva |
3 |
te
poko uri a hau maka i hiva |
4 |
te
manavai
a hau maka o hiva |
5 |
te
kioe uri a hau maka o hiva |
6 |
te
piringa aniva a hau maka o hiva |
7 |
te
pei a hau maka o hiva |
8 |
te
pou a hau maka o hiva |
9 |
hua reva a hau maka o hiva |
10 |
akahanga a hau maka o hiva |
11 |
hatinga
te
kohe a hau maka o hiva |
12 |
roto iri are a hau maka o hiva |
13 |
tama
he
ika kino
he
ihu roroa |
14 |
one tea a hau maka o hiva |
15 |
hanga takaure a hau maka o hiva |
16 |
poike a hau maka o hiva |
17 |
pua katiki a hau maka o hiva |
18 |
maunga teatea a hau maka o hiva |
19 |
mahatua a hau maka o hiva |
20 |
taharoa a hau maka o hiva |
21 |
hanga hoonu a hau maka o hiva |
22 |
rangi meamea a hau maka o hiva |
23 |
peke tau o hiti a hau maka o hiva |
24 |
maunga hau epa a hau maka o hiva |
25 |
oromanga a hau maka o hiva |
26 |
hanga moria one a hau maka o hiva |
27 |
papa o pea a hau maka a hiva |
28 |
ahu akapu a hau maka a hiva |
29 |
te
pito o
te
kainga a hau maka o hiva |
The first 7 kuhane stations on the island
proper have names beginning with te. The 8th of the
redmarked items above (Hatinga Te Kohe) has te
inside. I interpret te as a sign for 'sun-is-present'.
Late in autumn he is no longer present on the island. He is
instead 'inside the earth' (having been 'swallowed' at the
horizon down in the southwest).
The name of the 29th station has te both
at the beginning and inside. 7 + 1 + 2 = 10, confirms the idea
of te indicating Sun light. The pair of te could
allude to the 2 faces of Moon. Evidently the 29th station
coincides with the 29th black night of Moon, which presumably explains the
2nd (inside) te.
Nga at the very beginning of the list may
be connected with Te Taanga, because he and not Hau
Maka 'owns' the 3 islets. Ga (spelled nga
in Manuscript E) is the plural definite article, though clearly
not used in ordinary cicrumstances:
Ga
Preposed plural marker of rare usage. 1.
Sometimes used with a few nouns denoting human beings,
more often omitted. Te ga vî'e, te ga poki, the
women and the children. Ga rauhiva twins. 2. Used
with some proper names. Ga Vaka, Alpha and Beta
Centauri (lit. Canoes). |
The 13th station 'belongs' neither to Te
Taanga nor to Hau Maka and neither nga nor
te is used in the name. Possibly it means Taanga is a
person in the generation before Hau Maka while Tama
('the child') is in the generation after.
Double he at Tama may be a sign of
'confusion', 'error' - a 'bad fish' (ika kino):
He
He,
article, also verbal prefix. Hé, where?
I hé, where; ki hé, whereto; mai hé,
wherefrom. Vanaga.
Article. P Mgv., Mq.: e, the.
Sa.: se, id. Churchill.
Pau.: He, false, crooked. Mgv.:
hehe, crazy, to wander. Ta.: he, error.
Mq.: he, confusion. Sa.: sesē, wrong. Ma.:
he, a mistake. Churchill.
Mgv.: He, a locust pest of
coconuts. Ta.: he, caterpillar. Mq.: he,
grasshopper. Sa.: se, id. Ma.: whe,
caterpillar. Churchill. |
Te
1. The, this, which;
ko te, the. T
Pau., Mgv., Mq., Ta.: te,
the. 2. Tê,
negative prepositive; without, not;
hiri tê reka,
to walk without noise. T Mgv.:
te, no, not,
without: Mq.: te,
not (postpositive). Churchill. |
It is probably significant that he is
used only at the beginning of 2 of the names of the months, viz.
those at the beginning and end of the year:
12 |
11 |
10 |
9 |
8 |
7 |
He
Maro |
Vaitu potu |
Vaitu nui |
Tarahao |
Tehetu'upú |
Tua haro |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
He
Anakena |
Hora iti |
Hora nui |
Tagaroa uri |
Ko Ruti |
Ko Koró |
Likewise we should notice te (possibly jokingly combined
with he) at the beginning of the 8th
month (Te-Hetu'u-Pú).
|