A way to obtain a better understanding of the half-years may be by determining the months (or double-months), what their names were and what kind of activities (events) they were connected with. I therefore have made a list of the names of the months.The list is based on information from Englert and the 'Atan manuscript' (according to Heyerdahl 4). The strange names in the Atan list, e.g. a tiu rai (= July) are 'translations' into modern terminology. I have, though, renumbered the months to the 'south of equator view'. If we try to compact from 12 months to 6 double-months, we ought to start by compacting Hora iti with Hora nui, they seem to belong together. Also we can compact Vaitu nui with Vaitu potu (I think potu is more probable than poru, a word which I do not understand). From this I can make a new list:
I like this picture. The terrible vacuum of 5 nights between the years has been encased inside the first double month. Summer (Hora) comes as soon as possible after that. Hetuu pu ('stars come out'?) and tara ('corner' etc) announces darkness. We find the watery world at the ultimate end of this calendar, tu implying being crushed into puree, disintegrated. Puree = 'pulped and passed through a sieve'. (English Etymology) |