|
TRANSLATIONS
If toga (south) is connected with winter solstice on Hawaii, it is as it should be. Aquarius and Pisces (together 1/6 of the cycle) lie in the winter half, as regarded from a point of view north of the equator, and during winter sun is far away in the south. North was connected with the direction up among the Maya and therefore south with down. Water runs downhill to the south, to the sea (tai). I did not know the myth continued, but it did, and the time of the gods is of a different caliber than our own. Not only did Nut give birth on five consecutive days, but for Lono - who had 'repaired' to another island - an indeterminate amount of time was spent while he was enjoying himself: "Lonoikamakahiki remained a long time a guest of Kakuhihewa, and their adventures, excursions, amusements, and betting exploits are related at great length in the legends, but they are so greatly exaggerated, so mixed with the marvellous, and withal so confused as to sequence of time, that it is hardly possible to eliminate any historical fact from them, except the general one that during this time les rois s'amusaient ... Yet, though there was no doubt in Kakuhihewa's mind that Lono was a chief of very high rank on Hawaii, and probably one of Keawenui-a-Umi's sons, still his real name and position appear not to have been known to Kakuhihewa nor to his grand counsellor Lanahuimihaku, and the latter did not scruple openly to call Lono an Alii inoa ole, 'a nameless chief', to which taunt Lono merely replied that if ever Lanahuimihaku fell in his power he would flay him alive ... Time is dissolved and therefore events become jumbled without order. We can understand why during 5 dark intercalated days time cannot be measured and that as a consequence it will not be possible to determine what comes first and what comes after. Light is necessary for time and order. Another ordering principle is names. Without names there cannot be any order. By not revealing his name Lono created 'darkness'. Then there was another event, which I did not understand until I had pondered the above effects of darkness: While there, another double canoe arrived during the night from Kauai, having on board a chiefess named Ohaikawiliula, bound to Hawaii on a visit. Lono accosted the stranger, inquired the news from Kauai, and in course of conversation learned that a new Mele or chant had just been composed in honour of this chiefess's name; that it was only known to a few of the highest chiefs on Kauai, and had not yet become public. Prompted by curiosity and a natural bent for acquiring all sorts of knowledge, Lono entreated the chiefess to repeat the chant, which she complaisantly did, and Lono's quick ear and retentive memory soon caught and correctly retained the whole of it ... The new canoe arrived during the night with a lady on board. The eyes are rather worthless without light, but ears function better than during the day. Memory is not disintegrated by a loss of light - like the ears memory works best in the night. In the final of the myth the board of checkers ensures continuity: One day when Lonoikamakahiki and Kakuhihewa were playing Konane, Kaikilani arrived from Hawaii. Going up to the enclosure of the palace and perceiving Lono inside occupied at the game and with his back towards her, she commenced chanting his Mele inoa - 'the chant of his name' - in the well-know strain: O Kahikohonua ia Elekau Kama, O Halalakauloonae, &c., &tc. At the very first intonation of the chant Lono knew who the singer was, and remembering the unpleasant affair at Kalaupapa, resolutely kept his seat without looking round to the singer. Here again the turned back is a sign of disapproval, and only the ears and the memories are useful. But as stave after stave of the chant rolled over the lips of Kaikilani, and the allusions to common ancestors and scenes endeared to both came home to the obdurate mind of her husband, the stern heart relented; yet, mastering his emotions until she had finished, he turned around, and in reply chanted her own name. This was the token of his forgiveness and reconciliation, and gladly Kaikilani sprang to her husband and was again tenderly saluted by him." One piece of most relevant information is delivered in a footnote: "Tradition has preserved, and the old inhabitants, on the author's first visit to the place, pointed out the very broad stone on which Lono and Kaikilani were said to have been sitting and playing when the game was so fatally interrupted. The place was called 'Pikoone', and is near the harbour of Kalaupapa." Pikoone must be pito-one, the sandy umbilicus at which time begins and ends - in other words One Tea, where the moon queen Vakai finished her life's journey after having given birth to a boy. Kaikilani was left half dead at Pikoone. The close by harbour of Kalaupapa indicates a bay like Hanga Takaure. From these reflections a new dimension in Aa6-14 opens up, because the glyph maybe has the 'harbour' (haga rave) - disjoint - at the top end and the baby boy (tama) at bottom.
And then we can identify also One Tea:
442.5 = 15 * 29.5 indicates the conjunction of sun and moon (face to face and one body) but only theoretically - it is a point in the calendar. In A another measure has been used, with 15 * 31 = 465. In Gb8-3 hua (the baby boy) has 5 + 5 = 10 'feathers', in Aa6-14 there are 4 + 6 = 10 'feathers'. Tama (Gb7-3) has position 14 * 29.5 and no 'feathers'. If we count 14 * 31 = 434, we arrive at Aa5-59:
And we get confirmation by multiplying 5 * 59 = 295 = 10 * 29.5. The glyphs are well ordered:
But what glyph comes as 465 + 31 = 496 = 16 * 31?
|
