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TRANSLATIONS
In Barthel 2 we can
read about allusions in the Easter Island
traditions to how the neck of the king
must be broken:
"...
the sand of Anakena is associated with
'the flea' in a battle chant:
|
koura tere henua |
The
flea, who runs on the ground |
|
ahara ka topa |
until one day he falls |
|
ki raro toraua |
down
into the |
|
one hekaheka |
soft
sand |
|
ngao varivari |
when
his neck is broken |
|
one anakena |
(in
the) sand (of) Anakena.
|
|
(Bathel 1960:849) |
...
'The flea who runs on the ground' is a RAP.
metaphor for man and for the human existence
(HM:464)."
I add
koura to my Polynesian dictionary:
| Koura 1.
Fry, spawn, roe. 2. Flea. P Mgv.: ura, crayfish, lobster. Mq.:
koua, ua, id. Ta.: oura, id. The preface ko to the
stem ula distinguishes the Tongafiti. We therefore assign the
word in Rapanui and Tahiti to a Tongafiti source, in Mangareva to a
Proto-Samoan source, and Marquesas shows both ... Rapanui is the only
language which defines the flea otherwise than in terms of the louse,
commonly kutufiti the jumping louse. Pediculus is
ancestral in the South Sea, the flea seams to have been contributed by
the first of the explorers. Churchill. |
Not only does the
word koura invites to a wordplay with ko
ura (the lobster), but also to a wordplay with
korua:
|
Korua
You (plural). Vanaga.
You; na korua,
ta korua, yours. Churchill. |
The flea and you
makes plural. I also suspect koroua could play a part in the game:
| Koroua
Decrepit, old age, worn with age.
Churchill. |
The neck will be
broken with age.
Other traditions
(according to Barthel 2) contains words relating
to the 4 sons of Hotu A Matua:
"According to Arturo Teao (left-hand column) and
Leonardo Pakarati (right-hand column), the last
words of the king to his four sons are
these:
|
Arturo Teao: |
Leonardo Pakarati: |
|
to Tuu Maheke:
one nui i anakena i toou kainga |
to Tuu Maheke:
oneone hungahunga |
|
koura nui i toou
kainga |
koura henua |
|
to Miru Te Mata
Nui: mo roou o toou mahingo |
to Miru Te Mata
Nui: mo roou toou mahingo |
|
to Tuu Te Mata Nui:
kikiri nui i hanga te pau |
to Miru Tuu Rano
Kau: kikiri o hanga te pau |
|
pipi nui i te hue |
mo toou rano kau |
|
to Hotu Iti Te
Mata Iti: he niuhi tapaka'i |
to Te Mata O Tuu
Hotu Iti: he nuihi tapaka'i |
|
i motu toremo hiva
i tou kainga |
o motu toremo hiva
o te kainga |
|
(TP:54:55) |
...
It is not difficult to recognize the
compositional scheme that underlies the words of
the dying king to his four sons. In structure,
as well as in content, his words to the first
and the third son are related, and they form a
contrasting pair, the contrast being based on
the juxtapositioning of the landing site of the
immigrant king (Anakena) and the landing
site of the explorers (Hanga Te Pau) and
the respective properties of these places
('sand' one vs. 'pebbles' kikiri,
and 'flea' koura as a tiny creature
living on land vs. 'snail' pipi as a tiny
creature living in the water).
Since koura has metaphorical meaning, the
same might be expected of pipi (compare
pipi, the RAP. word for 'bud').
'Kikiri
Roa' is the name of a cape, which those
approaching the island from the west had to
round before entering into the bay of Vinapu. It
is therefore closely connected with the landing
site of the explorers. The place name suggests
the reference to kikiri nui, which the
dying king addresses to his third son.
There does not seem to be a place by the name of
'Te Hue', the name for the bottle gourd,
but a wordplay with RAP. hue 'unirse,
congregarse' would indicate an important
meeting place (Vinapu?) on Easter Island.
The
first and third sons rule over important points
along the northern and southern shore. Their
domains can be said to represent the noon and
the midnight sides of the island and, as such,
are in contrast to each other. On the other
hand, the words of the king to his second and
fourth sons refer to contrasting types of
behavior. It is Miru's task to watch over
his people, while Hotu Iti is compared to
a dangerous shark. My informant explained
niuhi tapaka'i as 'como diablo'
and called it an attribute for an 'hombre
valiente'.
Englert was not familiar with the word, but I
suspect that it is related to TON. tapakaki
'to run swiftly', and I suggest the translation
'swift (?) shark', which seems an appropriate
metaphor for a brave man ..."
Indeed, there is a
political unit (according to van Tilburg) called
Marama and its shape is like the moon
sickle:
It lies,
as it should, between Rano Kau and Poike.
The oldest
recorded tradition enumerates 6 sons of Hotu A
Matua:
"Prior to his death, Hotu Matua
distributes the various areas of the new land among
his sons. The earliest reference (PH:527) mentions
the assembly of a council, made up of the highest
ranking men, the regulation of the succession, based
on primogeniture, and the following division of
Easter Island among the six sons of the king
(spelling corrected by me):
|
1. Tuu Maheke ('TuumaeHeke') |
royal residence; from
Anakena to the northwest as far as
Maunga Teatea |
|
2. Miru ('Meru') |
lands between Anakena
and Hangaroa |
|
3. Marama |
lands between Akahanga
and Vinapu |
|
4. Raa |
land lying to the
northward and westward of Maunga
Teatea, that is, Hanga
Oteo ('Toe') |
|
5. Koro Orongo ('Korona-ronga') |
lands between Anakena
and Rano Raraku ('Roraku') |
|
6. Hotu Iti |
eastern side of the
island |
Based on its location, the local name
'Maunga Teatea' cannot refer to the
side crater by the same name in the flank of
Poike plateau but, rather, seems to refer to an
elevation to the east of Maunga Tere
Vake, since this is the area that becomes the
property of Raa ..." (Barthel 2)
  |
 |
? |
? |
 |
 |
 |
|
vai |
marama |
ra'a |
koro orogo |
rima |
manu |
mauga |
|
- |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
I have here
a table showing how (possibly) the 6
sons of Hotu A Matua could be
represented in the C calendar. Next glyph type
which is necessary to include in the table is moko
(GD87). Its place in the scheme is between
vai and marama:
|
Sun |
|
 |
open 'mouth' |
|
|
|
|
|
Ca10-6--7 |
Ca10-8 |
Ca10-9 |
Ca10-10 |
Ca10-11 |
Ca10-12 |
|
Moon |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
- |
|
Ca10-15 |
Ca10-16 |
Ca10-17 |
Ca10-18 |
Ca10-19 |
|
Mars |
 |
 |
left 'foot' missing |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Ca10-22 |
Ca10-23 |
Ca10-24 |
Ca10-25 |
Ca10-26 |
Ca10-27 |
|
Mercury |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Ca11-4 |
Ca11-5 |
Ca11-6 |
Ca11-7 |
Ca11-8 |
Ca11-9 |
|
Jupiter |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Ca11-14 |
Ca11-15 |
Ca11-16 |
Ca11-17 |
Ca11-18 |
Ca11-19 |
|
Venus |
 |
 |
gesticulating |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Ca11-32 |
Ca12-1 |
Ca12-2 |
Ca12-3 |
Ca12-4 |
Ca12-5 |
|
Saturn |
No parallel glyphs. |
 |
|
Ca12-8 |
The moko of
Sun and Jupiter have the male characteristic
(penis). Both are also slimmer than the
other four. The body volume increases
steadily from Sun up to and includning
Mercury, then abruptly shrinking with
Jupiter, a fact that can be interpreted as
similar to how the light increases from
midwinter to autumn equinox. I imagine week,
month and year all are modelled on the same
pattern.
At
Mercury moko has a hand gesture which
could be understood as a sign of voraciousness
(like a shark). I have in my ongoing work with
the glyph dictionary arrived at niu
(GD18) and found that clearly Mercury is
associated with niu. Both niu (the
coconut tree) and Mercury are located at spring
equinox, the boundary between the salty sea and
the sands of the island.
Checking for the meaning of words it must first be
stated that moko ('lizard') and magó
('shark') seems to be related:
|
Moko 1.
Lizard; moko manu uru,
figurine of a lizard (made of
wood). 2. To throw oneself on
something, to take quickly, to
snatch; to flee into the depths (of
fish); tagata moko,
interloper, intruder, someone who
seizes something quickly and
swiftly, or cleverly intrudes
somewhere; ka-moko ki te kai,
ka-moko, ka-aaru, quickly grab
some food, grab and catch. 3. To
throw oneself upon someone, to
attack: he-moko, he-reirei,
to attack and kick. 4. Moko roa:
to make a long line (of plantation);
moko poto, to make a short
line. 5. Ihu moko; to die out
(a family of which remains only one
male without sons); koro hakamao
te mate o te mahigo, he-toe e-tahi
tagata nó, ina aana hakaara, koîa te
me'e e-kî-nei: ku-moko-á te ihu o te
mahigo. when the members of
family have died and there remains
only one man who has no offspring,
we say: ku-moko-á te ihu o te
mahigo; to disappear (of a
tradition, a custom), me'e ihu
moko o te tagata o te kaiga nei, he
êi, the êi is a custom no
longer in use among the people of
this island. Vanaga.
1. Lizard. 2. To
stun, to be dizzy. 3. Hakamoko,
to accomplish. Churchill. |
|
Magó
Spotted dogfish,
small shark. Vanaga.
Mogo,
shark. Tu. id. Mgv. mago,
id. Mq. mano, mako, mono,
moko id. T. maó, id.
In addition to this list the
word is found as mago in
Samoa, Maori, Niuē,
and in Viti as mego.
It is only in Rapanui and the
Marquesas that we encounter the
variant mogo.
Churchill. |
The character of
Mercury is dubious, he behaves unmanly (like a
woman) and therefore, I suspect, we have reason
to connect Mercury with Mokomae:
|
Éoéo
Ashes. Eoeo reherehe 'weak
ashes': a coward. Ure eoeo
reherehe te Mokomae, he poko'o i te
piko. The Mokomae were a
cowardly clan, they used to hand
over those hiding (from their
enemies after a defeat, i.e. war
refugees). Vanaga. |
Interesting is
then momoko, the group of people
('long-ears') which are said to have been
exterminated:
|
Hanau 1.
Race, ethnic group. Hanau eepe,
the thick-set race; hanau momoko,
the slender race (these terms were
mistranslated as 'long-ears' and
'short-ears'). 2. To be born.
Hanau tama, pregnant woman;
vî'e hanau poki, midwive (also:
vî'e hakaa'u). Vanaga.
To be born; vie
hanau, midwife. Churchill. |
The disappeared
group (ihu moko) is mentioned in relation
to the nose (which I associate with Poike):
|
Ihu
1. Nose; ihu more,
snub nose, snub-nosed person. 2.
Ihuihu cape, reef; ihuihu
- many reefs, dangerous for
boats. 3. Ihu moko, to die
out (a family of which remains only
one male without sons); koro
hakamao te mate o te mahigo, he-toe
e-tahi tagata nó, ina aana hakaara,
koîa te me'e e-kî-nei: ku-moko-á te
ihu o te mahigo, when the
members of family have died and
there remains only one man who has
no offspring, we say: ku-moko-á
te ihu o te mahigo. To disappear
(of a tradition, a custom), me'e
ihu moko o te tagata o te kaiga nei,
he êi, the êi is a custom
no longer in use among the people of
this island. 4. Eldest child;
first-born; term used alone or in
conjunction with atariki.
Vanaga.
1. Nose, snout,
cape T (iju G). Po ihuihu,
prow of a canoe. P Pau.: ihu,
nose. Mgv.: ihu, nose;
mataihu, cape, promontory. Mq.,
Ta.: ihu, nose, beak,
bowsprit. Ihupagaha,
ihupiro, to rap on the nose, to
snuffle. 2. Mgv.: One who dives
deep. Ta.: ihu, to dive.
Churchill.
Sa.: isu,
nose, snout, bill. Fu., Fakaafo,
Aniwa, Manahiki: isu, the
nose. Nuguria; kaisu, id.
Fotuna: eisu, id. Moiki:
ishu, id. To., Niuē,
Uvea, Ma., Ta., Ha., Mq., Mgv.,
Pau., Rapanui, Tongareva, Nukuoro:
ihu,
id. Rarotonga: putaiu,
id. Vaté: tus,
id. Viti: uthu,
nose. Rotumā: isu,
id. ... usu
and ngusu
... serve as transition forms,
usu
pointing to isu
the nose in Polynesia and
ngusu
to ngutu
the mouth, which is very near,
nearer yet when we bear in mind that
ngutu
the mouth is snout as well and that
isu
the nose is snout too ...
Churchill 2. |
At the border
between sea and land navigation is hazardous (ihuihu).
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