|
TRANSLATIONS
Let me first, though, insert here in the middle of the
ongoing discussion about orientation of 'knees' a piece
to the puzzle about the Flounder and GD81 (pare):
"... The ancient Chinese believed that
with the arrival of the dry season the earth and sky
ceased to communicate (Granet, p. 315, n. 1).
The Spirit of drought was personified by
a little bald woman31
31 Hills and rivers are the
first to suffer from drought. It deprives hills of their
trees, i.e. their hair, and rivers of their fish, which
are their people ...
The same word, wang, means mad,
deceitful, lame, hunchbacked, bald and Spirit of drought
(Schafer).
with eyes at the top of her head. While
she was present, the sky refrained from sending rain, so
as not to harm her (ibid., n. 3) ... " (From
Honey to Ashes)
The little bald woman with eyes at the top of her head
surely reminds us about the Flounder:
|
"Flounder
(rarely: flukes) are flatfish that live in
ocean waters ie., Northern Atlantic and
waters along the east coast of the United
States and Canada, and the Pacific Ocean, as
well. The name 'flounder' refers to several
geographically and taxonomically distinct
species. In Europe, the name flounder refers
to Platichthys flesus, in the Western
Atlantic there are the summer flounder
Paralichthys dentatus, southern flounder
Paralichthys lethostigma, and the
winter flounder Pseudopleuronectes
americanus, among other species. In
Japan, the Japanese flounder Paralichthys
olivaceus is common.
While
flounders have both eyes situated on one
side of the head, flukes are not born this
way. Their life involves metamorphosis.
During metamorphosis, one eye migrates to
the other side of the body so that both eyes
are situated on the upward-facing side of
its body. After metamorphosis, flounders lie
on one side on the ocean floor; either the
left or right side might face upward
depending on the species ...
Flounder are
ambush predators and their feeding ground is
the soft mud of the sea bottom, near bridge
piles, docks, and other bottom incumbrances;
they are sometimes found on bass grounds as
well. Their diet consists mainly of fish
spawn, crustaceans, polychaetes and small
fish ..." (Wikipedia) |
|
"Fluke1
... flat fish, esp. the flounder ... ult.
IE. *plaq- is further repr. by Gr.
plakoûs, L. placenta flat cake.
Fluke2
... triangular plate on either arm of an
anchor ... triangular extremity of a whale's
tail ...
Fluke3
... (orig. billiards) successful stroke made
by chance ..." (English Etymology)
|
The eyes on top of the head of the Spirit of drought
(antithesis to the Spirit of water, which we may call
king Oto Uta) maybe moved (metamorphosis) from an
earlier ordinary arrangement?
Reading Aa4-58 and Aa4-60 together we
find signs of a metamorphosis of the 'eyes':
Signs of 'zenith' are found in Aa6-33
(respectively in Ra2-15--16) in form of a 'warrior'
standing ready for fight. The stance is still a living
reality:
|
A haka
is a tribal dance in Maori culture ( New
Zealand natives ). Hakas traditionally have
various uses in everyday Maori life. They
are used to tell a story, to express
emotions and opinions, but are best known in
their most aggressive form : The Ka Mate War
Dance.
Warriors used
the Ka Mate to prepare for a battle.
To focus their strength. To proclaim their
powers, To celebrate the triumph of life
over death, but mostly to challenge and
intimidate the opponent.
Haka
performers accompany the
rough body moves by
rhythmically chanting
vocals, crying out loud and
grunting. The typical
movements of body percussion
(like hands slapping against
the chest, feet stamping on
the ground, slapping the
biceps …) are often combined
with finer facial
expressions (grimaces like
showing teeth and the white
of the eyes, poking out
tongues, sniffing through
the nostrils, glaring
…).
Sports teams
around the world have been
known to perform war hakas
immediately prior to
international matches, as an
alternative to just standing
still while the national
anthem sounds. The haka
reflects the importance of
the game, it motivates the
teams and their supporters
to greater efforts, and, of
course, like in the old days
on the Māori
battlefields, the hakas
challenge the opponent in an
intimidating way. And crowds
go wild … Sports is war. And
entertainment. The
International Rugby Union
Team of New Zealand, the All
Blacks, have been doing
hakas since 1906. Sometimes
hakas written especially for
the occasion, occasionally
since 2005 a new haka
named 'Kapa o Pango',
but most commonly the 'Ka
Mate'. The 'Ka Mate'
generally opens with a set
of five preparatory
instructions shouted by the
leader, before the whole
team joins in. These are the
words:
|
Leader: Ringa pakia!
Uma tiraha! Turi whatia!
Hope whai ake! Waewae
takahia kia kino!
Leader: Ka mate, ka
mate
Team: Ka ora, ka ora
Leader: Ka mate, ka
mate
Team: Ka ora, ka ora
All
together :
Tēnei te tangata
pūhuruhuru
Nāna nei i tiki mai
whakawhiti te rā
Ā upane, ka upane
Ā upane, ka upane
Whiti te rā, hī!
|
Leader:
Slap the hands against
the thighs!
Puff out the chest!
Bend the knees!
Let the hip follow!
Stamp the feet as hard
as you can!
Leader: ’Tis death, ‘tis
death (or: I may die)
Team: ’Tis life, ‘tis
life (or: I may live)
Leader: ’Tis death, ‘tis
death
Team: ’Tis life, ‘tis
life
All together :
This the hairy man that
stands here…
…who brought the sun and
caused it to shine
A step upward, another
step upward
A step upward, another
step upward
The sun shines!
It is
death, it is death: it
is life, it is life;
this is the man who
enabled me to live as I
climb up step by step
toward sunlight.
|
|
(Source: Internet) |
These are
the glyphs immediately preceding Aa6-31:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Aa6-22 |
Aa6-23 |
Aa6-24 |
Aa6-25 |
Aa6-26 |
Aa6-27 |
Aa6-28 |
Aa6-29 |
Aa6-30 |
|
The parallel text in R
continues here with these
three glyphs which
correspond to Aa6-27 --
Aa6-30: |
 |
 |
 |
|
Ra2-9 |
Ra2-10 |
Ra2-11 |
|
Here we notice the breaking up of
henua in Aa6-23 (mostly called koti
- GD66 - by Metoro and so this time too:
no te koti pu).
The strange and heterogenous
glyph type GD84 (rona) occurs in Aa6-27
(with parallel in Ra2-9).
| Rona Figure made of wood, or stone, or painted,
representing a bird, a birdman, a lizard, etc. Vanaga.
Drawing, traction. Pau.: ronarona, to pull one
another about. Churchill.
While the rongorongo signs (rona) are generally
'carved out, incised' (motu), ta implies an incision
('cutting, beating') as well as the process of applying signs to the
surface with the aid of a dye ... Barthel 2. |
The visual impact of GD84 glyphs
suggest someone making great contortions as if
being twisted (or drawn, rona) around. I remember the
curious 'swimmer' in the middle of the flowing
tail of Chalchiuhtlicue, where the legs at left is
showing him lying on his back, while at right we
find him twisted around and lying on his stomach:
|
