|
TRANSLATIONS
Birds tend to sleep standing on one leg only, the other
being tucked up among the feathers. Gods are birds and
winter is a kind of night, so they should stand on one
leg at that time.
Two 'limbs' tied together must refer to the fact that
there are two main seasons in the year (respectively in
the diurnal cycle, in the moon's waxing and waning etc).
You breathe in and you breathe out.
When you hold your breath it usually means that you wish
to be quiet, not move.
So, then, the meaning of two 'staffs' together, should
be 'to hold your breath' - don't rock the boat.
The season should not be disrupted, it is not time for
'shaking the breasts', 'rattling the sistrum' etc.
"A sistrum is a musical instrument
of the percussion family, chiefly associated with
ancient Egypt. It consists of a handle and a U-shaped
metal frame, made of brass or bronze and between 10 and
30 cm in width.
When shaken the small rings or loops of
thin metal on its movable crossbars produce a sound that
can range from a soft tinkling to a loud jangling. The
name derives from the Greek verb σείω, seio, to
shake, and σείστρον, seistron, is that which is
being shaken." (Wikipedia)
Two 'rulers' bound together (to keep the piece) ought,
then, to be a symbol for 'business as usual'. Tokorua
instead of Takurua.
|
... Barthel has something to say about
double henua:
Höchst
bedeutsam sind zwei Vorkommen des Zeichens 8
mit dem Mondsymbol. Ein Textstück der
'tablette échancrée' zeigt vor den beiden
Himmelskörpern ein graphisches Element, das
aus zwei Stäben aufgebaut ist.
'Tokorua',
zwei Stäbe, steht nun aber einem
metaphorischen Ausdruck für 'Zwillinge' dar;
und tatsächlich spielen die männliche Sonne
und der weibliche Mond als
Zwillingsgeschwister eine wohlbekannte Rolle
in der polynesischen Mythologie.
Die specifische Namensgebung 'Zwei Stäbe'
für die Zwillinge Sonne und Mond hat sich in
Sprichwörtern der Maori erhalten.11)
11)
Tregear 1891, 529: Nga tokorua a
Taingahue, the twins of Taingahue, i.e.
Sun and Moon; 383: Nga tokorua a
Tongotongo ...
Unfortunately, according to Fischer there is
only one 'staff' there (a slightly forward
leaning one):
          
Let us call the double
'staffs' tokorua. Initially - I
believe - a 'staff' was needed at new year
because one ruler (year) ended and another
must begin. In between there was a kind of
vacuum for 5 days and a support was badly
needed.
Perhaps the old ruler needed a staff to lean
on, and then - after he had left the stage -
only the staff remained.
That staff may be the one
depicted above, just before the conjunction
of sun and moon.
... On Hawaii new year was a time of
conjunction between the Pleiades, winter
solstice and full moon: "The correspondence
between the winter solstice and the
kali'i rite of the Makahiki is
arrived at as follows: ideally, the second
ceremony of 'breaking the coconut', when the
priests assemble at the temple to spot the
rising of the Pleiades, coincides with the
full moon (Hua tapu) of the twelfth
lunar month (Welehu) ...
Makemson tells us about
takurua (great festivity, border of the
pit, double rule, Janus, etc) as a concept
associated with the time of new year. A play
of words, takurua / tokorua, I
think. |
The Mayan concept of binding the years together (after
the completion of half the One Age cycle) now takes on a
new meaning. There must be (a new) 'order':
|
... When it was evident that the years lay
ready to burst into life, everyone took hold
of them, so that once more would start forth
- once again - another (period of) fifty-two
years. Then (the two cycles) might proceed
to reach one hundred and four years. It was
called 'One Age' when twice they had made
the round, when twice the times of binding
the years had come together.
Behold what was done when the years were
bound - when was reached the time when they
were to draw the new fire, when now its
count was accomplished. First they put out
fires everywhere in the country round. And
the statues, hewn in either wood or stone,
kept in each man's home and regarded as
gods, were all cast into the water.
Also (were) these (cast away) - the pestles
and the (three) hearth stones (upon which
the cooking pots rested); and everywhere
there was much sweeping - there was sweeping
very clear. Rubbish was thrown out; none lay
in any of the houses ... |
I cannot but
notice that 'everyone took hold of them' (i.e. the years
'ready to burst into life'), implying that there was a
necessity in everyone participating. They must have a
place to assemble together, there must have been a
Piringa Aniva:
... The cult
place of Vinapu is located between the fifth and
sixth segment of the dream voyage of Hau Maka.
These segments, named 'Te Kioe Uri' (inland from
Vinapu) and 'Te Piringa Aniva' (near
Hanga Pau Kura) flank Vinapu from both the
west and the east. The decoded meaning of the names 'the
dark rat' (i.e., the island king as the recipient of
gifts) and 'the gathering place of the island
population' (for the purpose of presenting the island
king with gifts) links them with the month 'Maro'
which is June ...
The 6th
station of the kuhane of Hau Maka is
Piringa Aniva, immediately after Te Kioe Uri.
Before they assemble and make chaos the old ruler should
be put out. He should remain only as dark 'ashes'.
After
Piringa Aniva a new order must be created, and as
the 7th and 8th stations we find Te Pei and
Te Pou, corresponding to Anakena, the
place of birth (e.g. of Tu'u ma heke and
Avareipua):
|
1 |
Nga Kope Ririva Tutuu Vai A Te
Taanga |
9 |
Hua Reva |
17 |
Pua Katiki |
|
2 |
Te Pu Mahore |
10 |
Akahanga |
18 |
Maunga Teatea |
|
3 |
Te Poko Uri |
11 |
Hatinga Te Kohe |
19 |
Mahatua |
|
4 |
Te Manavai |
12 |
Roto Iri Are |
20 |
Taharoa |
|
5 |
Te Kioe Uri |
13 |
Tama |
21 |
Hanga Hoonu |
|
6 |
Te Piringa Aniva |
14 |
One Tea |
22 |
Rangi Meamea |
|
7 |
Te Pei |
15 |
Hanga Takaure |
23 |
Peke Tau O Hiti |
|
8 |
Te Pou |
16 |
Poike |
24 |
Mauga Hau Epa |
I
have earlier guessed that the two staffs
represented the old and the new years (who
maybe needed to come together in order for
the new 'ruler' to learn from the old one).
That may be so, but another - more probable
- explanation is that the two staffs
represent the twin rulers of the new year.
Te Pei
should therefore represent the 1st half of the new year
and Te Pou the 2nd half. We know that Te Pou
is one of the Rapanui names for Sirius and that
the heliacal rising of Sirius announced the inundation
of the Nile and the ancient Egyptian new year.
|
... The Orongo rituals are thought to
have begun in the AD 1400-1500s, and the use
of Orongo as a ritual site
intensified some fifty years later. If we
take AD 1500 as a baseline, we find that the
sun's declination was 23o26',
while the declination of the Pleiades was 22o37'. This
means that the Pleiades led the sun into the
sky by about two hours, and that the two
risings were over the same geographical
feature a mere 0o49' apart. The
ethnographies do not mention Orongo
as a site from which the skies were watched.
Let us presume however, on the basis of the
site's special qualities and uses, that the
old men may have watched the skies from
Orongo. In the year AD 1500, they would
have seen the Pleiades at 18o
above the horizon at the end of astronomical
twilight on hua, the twelfth night of
the moon in the Rapa Nui month of
Te Maro (The Loincloth). The Rapanui
word hua means 'the same, to
continue' and 'to bloom, to sprout, to
flower', with a germ sense of both plants
and human progeny growing and thriving ...
The rising Pleiades led a twinkling
procession of bright stars into the sky:
Aldebaran first, then the stars of Orion
(called Tautoru by the Rapa Nui).
Sirius (Reitanga in Rapanui),
at a declination of 16°42', is the brightest
star in the sky on this and every other
morning, and travels a path that takes it
over the centre of Polynesian culture,
Tahiti. The Pleiades set at 2:00 pm in the
afternoon of that day and in the direction
of the solstitial sunset, but the event was
not visible. If the sunset was viewed from
Poike it would have taken place in
the direction of Anakena, the name of
the first month of their calendar, the
landing place of Hotu Matu'a, the
birth place of the island culture and the
traditional home of the ariki mau ... |
|
... Several Tuamotuan and Society Islands
planet names begin with the word Takurua
or Ta'urua which Henry translated
Great Festivity and which is the name for
the bright star Sirius in both New Zealand
and Hawaii. The planet names, therefore,
represent the final stage in the evolution
of takurua which was probably first
applied to the winter solstice, then to
Sirius which is the most conspicious object
in the evening sky of December and January,
and was then finally employed for the
brilliant and conspicious planets which
outshone even the brightest star Sirius.
From its association with the ceremonies of
the new year and the winter solstice,
takurua also aquired the meaning
'holiday' or 'festivity'
... |
|
... The connections between the digging
stick, cuckoo and summer appear also among
the Maori: 'The Maori recognized two main
divisions of the year: winter or takurua,
a name for Sirius which then shone as
morning star, and summer, raumati or
o-rongo-nui, 'of the great Rongo',
god of agriculture. They occasionally
recognized spring as the digging season
koanga, from ko, the digging
stick or spade. The autumn or harvest season
was usually spoken of as ngahuru,
'tenth' (month), although it was considered
to include also the last two months of the
year.
Mahuru
was the personification of spring
... |
Te Pou
may be identified with Sirius and to 'break' te pou
oka (the 'digging stick') is to 'die':
| Hati
Hati 1. To break
(v.t., v.i.); figuratively:
he hati te pou oka,
to die, of a hopu manu in the
exercise of his office (en route from
Motu Nui to Orongo). 2. Closing
word of certain songs. Vanaga.
Hahati. 1. To break
(see hati). 2. Roughly treated,
broken (from physical exertion: ku hahati
á te hakari) 3. To take to the sea:
he hahati te vaka.
Vanaga.
Ha(ha)ti. To
strike, to break, to peel off bark; slip,
cutting, breaking, flow, wave (aati,
ati, hahati); tai hati,
breakers, surf; tumu hatihati, weak
in the legs; hakahati, to persuade;
hatipu, slate. Churchill.
|
When at
Hatinga Te Kohe the 'bamboo (staff)' is trampled on
by the kuhane of Hau Maka it means the
'death' of the preceding season. Is there a period
between the 'abdication' of the 'black rat' (old year in
ashes) and the nivaniva (mad upside down)
darkness (at stations nos. 5-6 in the month of Maro)
before the arrival of the new 'baby king'? Beyond Te
Piringa Aniva and before Hatinga Te Kohe we
have Te Pei, Te Pou, Hua Reva, and
Akahanga.
We leave that
question for the moment. If Te Pou represents the
season beginning at winter solstice, then Te Pei
should be the season from summer solstice (when the
Pleiades no longer are visible in the night sky). Or
should we instead interpret Te Pei as the 'wife'
of Te Pou? Each month has two phases, waxing and
waning. Sun wanes to reach a minimum at winter solstice
(when Te Pou arrives). Moon waxes to reach a
maximum at full moon, after which she is waning. On
Hawaii full moon and winter solstice should coincide.
Moon maybe is at its strongest when Sun is at its
weakest (and vice versa).
The breathing
in and out of the cycles should harmonize and after the
waxing phase of the moon in the first half of the month
Anakena (i.e. Te Pei), when moon is fading
away the sun should move forward, as announced by the
appearance in early morning by the six stars (Tauono).
|
Pei
Grooves, still visible on the
steep slopes of some hills, anciently used
as toboggans. People used to slide down them
seated on banana-tree barks. This pastime,
very popular, was called pei-âmo.
Vanaga.
Like, as; pei ra,
thus, like that; such, the same as; pei
na, thus, like that; pei ra ta matou,
proverb; pei ra hoki, likeness,
similitude; pei ra tau, system;
pei ra hoki ta matou, usage. PS Sa.:
pei, thus. This is particuarly
interesting as preserving one of the
primordial speech elements. It is a
composite, pe as, and i as
demonstrative expressive of that which is
within sight; therefore the locution
signifies clearly as-this. Churchill. |
Earlier I
suggested: ... At new year the earth
oven and the house should be cleaned out (Te Pei).
Then a new fire should be alighted (Te Pou).
Sirius is the light bringer ...
In support of
this statement I used the word âmo (as in
pei-âmo):
| Amo, âmo
Amo.
To carry on one's shoulders: O Yetú
i-amo-ai te tatauró ki ruga ki-te maúga
Kalvario. Jesus carried his cross up to
the Calvary. Amoga, bundle; to tie in
a bundle: he-amoga i te hukahuka, to
tie a bundle of wood. Vanaga.
1. A yoke, to carry;
amoga, burden, load. 2. To bend, to
beat a path. Churchill.
Âmo.
1. To clean, to clean oneself: he-âmo i
te umu, to clean the earth oven;
ka-âmo te hare, ka haka-maitaki, clean
the house, make it good; he-âmo i te
ariga, to clean one's face wetting it
with one's hand. 2. Clear; ku-âmo-á te
ragi, the sky is clear. 3. To slip, to
slide, to glide (see pei-âmo).
Ámoámo, to lick up, to lap up, to dry;
to slap one's body dry (after swimming or
bathing): he-âmoâmo i te vaihai rima.
Vanaga.
Amoamo.
1. To feed, to graze. 2. To spread, to
stretch (used of keete). Churchill. |
And we are
back again to the cross and to a bundle of wood tied
together (with 'female string' of course).
calvary ... outdoor (life-size)
representation of the Crucified Christ ... L. calvāria
skull (f. calva
scalp, calvus
bald, rel. to Skr. kulvas)
... Aram. gogulthō,
gogoltha
skull (= Heb. gulgōleth),
rendered in Gr. by golgothaá
... (English Etymology)
|
