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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. , 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. , 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).