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TRANSLATIONS
The question
whether sun is male and moon is female is no
longer a question as regards the traditions on
Easter Island. In the rongorongo
texts it is more difficult to find out. However,
inspired by once again rereading Barthel 2 I
have written a comment to the name Tahua:
| A tahua
is, it seems, a kind of plaza for gathering the people:
Ahu Haga O Hônu:
"... The central
portion of this wall projects outward towards the sea to form a
platform or stage on which the statues were erected.
This salient
corresponds to the body of the ahu and the two lateral walls
may be considered the wings.
A little below this
stage the main body of the construction, made of piled-up stones,
slopes inland, extending into a long, slanting surface (tahua)
which stops at a low row of slabs. The approach to the slope is
sometimes paved with big boulders which continue onto the large
surface (tahua) ..."
(Métraux)
|
Tahua
Sloping stone surface of ahu.
Vanaga.
OR. Tahua mimi, bladder.
Fischer.
T. Board, plank. Fischer. |
When king Hotu
Matua arrived with his double-canoe to the southeast corner of
the island - legend says - the lashings were liberated and he took
the righthand way around Poike to land at Anakena,
while the other canoe (with his sister Ava Rei Pua onboard)
took the lefthand (shorter) way to Anakena:
| "... Because of
supernatural interference, the sister canoe comes in
second and has to land to the west at Te Tahua,
where the shore is becoming increasingly more rocky, or
even farther west (Hanga Ohiro, TP:35;
Hanga-o-hio, ME:60). It is an
open question whether or not the selective contrast in
local names, Hiro Moko vs. Hanga O Hiro,
represents an extension of the contrast based on sex and
rank or whether, in this case, a different system is in
operation.
Based on its place of birth and the
landing site, the child of Ava Rei Pua, whose
name is not mentioned, is related to that segment of the
'second list of place names' that has to do with the
moon.
Figuratively speaking, the child of
the sister of the immigrant king is associated with the
narrow crescent of the new moon ..." (Barthel 2) |
The name Tahua
for the rongorongo tablet A presumably alludes to the landing
place of Ava Rei Pua. At the beginning of the text (i.e. the
first line on side b) we can see glyphs representing birth:
 
The first glyph
has the function to inform where to begin the reading (on side a or
on side b) and the second glyph shows light emanating from a new
moon crescent. |
The words of
Metoro at the 11 redmarked glyphs:
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Bb3-27 |
Bb6-39 |
Bb7-12 |
Bb7-22 |
|
ma te
hakaua |
ki te hakanohoga o te tahito |
kua vero koia |
i to hou |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Ab5-63 |
Aa2-34 |
Aa2-36 |
Aa8-43 |
Aa8-71 |
|
ihe
hakaua |
ihe
hakaua |
ihe
hakaua |
kua hua ia |
ma te akau
ua |
 |
No glyphs of this type is found
among the glyphs at which Metoro
said honu or tagata. |
|
Cb4-3 |
|
te
hakaua |
 |
|
Ea4-20 |
|
te ua |
Is hakaua a
good label for this kind of glyph? We count:
|
text |
number of glyphs |
hakaua |
|
B |
4 |
1 |
|
A |
5 |
3 |
|
C |
1 |
1 |
|
E |
1 |
- |
|
sum |
11 |
5 |
No more glyphs
(than those listed above) can be found (at which
Metoro said hakaua). And ua is
already used as label for GD31:
|
Ua 1.
Cause, reason why something happens
or is done; he ûa te ua, au
i-ta'e-iri-ai ki tooku hare,
because of the rain, I did not go
home; ua kore, without cause,
without reason. 2.
Ceremononial stave with a human
face carved at one extremity.
Vanaga. Cfr toko.
A long club T.
Churchill. |
|
Ûa Rain;
1. ûa hakamito, persistent,
but not strong, rain; 2. ûa kura,
fine rain, drizzle; 3. ûa
matavaravara, strong rain; 4.
ûa parera, torrential rain; 5.
ûa tai, rain followed by fair
weather at sea. Ehu ûa,
drizzle. Vanaga.
Ûaûa.
Tendons, muscles. 1. Hau ûaûa
kio'e, line made from rats'
tendons. 2. Ûaûa toto, vein,
artery. 3. Ûaûa piki, spasm.
Vanaga.
1. Rain; hoa
mai te ua, to rain; mou te ua,
to cease raining. P Mgv., Mq., Ta.:
ua, rain. 2. Vein, artery,
tendon (huahua
1) (uha
G);
ua nene,
pulse;
ua nohototo, artery,
ua
gaei, pulse.
Uaua,
vein, tendon, line;
kiko
uaua, muscle T.
Hakauaua, to mark with
lines. P Pau.:
tare-ua, tendon. Mgv.,
Mq., Ta.:
uaua,
vein, tendon. Churchill. |
|
U'a Of
the tide, to reach its maximum;
tai u'a, high tide. Vanaga.
Wave, surge;
tai ua, high tide. Churchill. |
|
Uá
Ata uá, morning twilight.
Uáuá, to
reside; resident; noho uáuá
to settle somewhere; ina koe ekó
noho uáuá, do not establish
yourself there. Vanaga. |
|
UA
"The
double-headed
ua is variously
described as a ceremonial staff
occasionally employed as a
fighting weapon, or as a long
double-handled club normally
carried as a badge of rank.
Either interpretation is
probably correct. A number of
authentic pieces have been
preserved and many more have
been carved in post-missionary
times primarily, however, from
imported wood.
Whereas the
slightly oval neck section of
the staff is almost circular,
its shorter diameter decreases
and its longer increases towards
the lower end, giving the staff
a spatular shape. Sometimes,
however, according to the
suitability of the wood, the
staff has a uniform cross
section all the way down and the
representation is bilaterally
symmetrical. Eyes are inlaid as
on the wooden images with bone
rings enclosing obsidian disks.
Strongly projecting pouches hang
down below the eyes on each side
of a long, straight and slim
nose with naturalistic alae. The
flat, elliptical mouth is carved
with raised lips surrounding a
horizontal groove. Teeth are not
indicated. Long, narrow ears
with earplugs are carved as
bands along the edges. The
forehead slants forward to
project beyond the eyes.
Eyebrows are lacking, but the
wide and tall forehead is
traversed horizontally by a
dense series of grooves arching
from one side to the other.
There is no chin or beard, as
the narrow lower face continues
uninterruptedly into the staff.
Specimens vary considerably in
length, recent pieces sometimes
approaching 6 ft. (nearly 2 m.),
whereas ancient specimens are
rarely more than some 40 ins.
(ca. 1,20 m.) and sometimes
slightly curved due to the
imperfections of the toromiro
available. Knots or other holes
in the wood are often filled
with perfectly fitted plugs.
Ua were in some instances
preserved in sheaths made from
totora reed."
(Heyerdahl 3) |
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