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TRANSLATIONS
It is time to
return to the
glyph
dictionary.
After once again
rereading the
pages about
hua poporo
presented so far
here in the
Translations I
have made a few
minor changes,
not worthy of
mentioning here.
One new
observation,
though, should
be noted: In
Ca1-19 the
'stem' of hua
poporo is
leaning
backwards.
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Ca1-19 |
Ca1-20 |
Ca1-21 |
Ca1-22 |
Ca1-23 |
Ca1-24 |
Ca1-25 |
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Ca1-26 |
Ca2-1 |
Ca2-2 |
Ca2-3 |
Ca2-4 |
Ca2-5 |
Ca2-6 |
I have
made preliminary comment,
to be evaluated
later on:
... Another way of reading Ca1-20 is
to identify the 'string' with moon and midwinter (while the 'stem' in Ca1-19
represents the summer sun -
leaning
backwards as if
to suggest what
has been). The sun 'year' has 4 'berries' = 'quarters', while moon has another
pattern, the basic structure of which is illustrated as 4 + 3.
The suggested
meaning of the
leaning
backwards sign
is purely based
on my guess. But
if I am right,
it is an
important new
finding.
Next page about
hua poporo
is:
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If we read poporo
as popo-ro (with popo = ball), the question then
becomes: What is ro?
The meaning of ro
is 'drop', which becomes clear when we read that ro-i-nohi = ro-i-mata = tear.
'Tear' equals 'a drop in the eye'.
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Nohi
Pau.: nohi,
eye, face, front, mesh. Ma.: kanohi, eye.
Ro-i-nohi, a tear. Ta.: ro-i-mata, id. Sa.:
lo-i-mata, id. Ma.: ro-i-mata, id.
Churchill. |
We are reminded of
the'weeping god':
 
Poporo
means - among other things - small oval droplets of dripping water. |
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We have seen what may
be a gradual development of the central figure - a tree growing
from a nut - into what looks like a canoe taking shape from the
trunk (Ca1-19), and now, (in Saturday, the darkest time of the week)
how a canoe may be ready for launching:
Possibly, what is
illustrated is a growing solar tree (miro) symbolizing how light grows,
how it reaches its
maximum height and then is felled. From the trunk a canoe (miro)
can be shaped, to be launched at new 'year':
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Miro
1. Wood, stick; also (probably
improperly) used for 'tree': miro tahiti, a tree
from Tahiti (Melia azedarach); miro huru iti,
shrub. 2. Wooden vessel (canoe, boat); today pahú
(a Tahitian word) is more used, especially when speaking
of modern boats. 3. Name of the tribe, of royal blood,
descended from Ariki Hotu Matu'a. Vanaga.
Miro-oone, model boat made of
earth in which the 'boat festivals' used to be
celebrated. Vanaga.
... on the
first day of the year the natives dress in navy uniforms
and performs exercises which imitate the maneuvers of
ships' crews ... Métraux.
Tree, plant, wood, plank, ship,
building; miro hokuhoku, bush, thicket; miro
takataka, bush; miro tupu, tree; miro
vavau, switch. Miroahi, firebrand. Mimiro,
compass, to roll one over another, to turn in a circle.
P Pau.: miro, to rope. Churchill.
1. Wood. 2. Ship (Ko te rua o te
raa i tu'i ai te miro ki Rikitea tupuaki ki Magareva
= On the second day the boat arrived at Rikitea which is
close to Mangareva. He patu mai i te puaka mo ma'u ki
ruga ki te miro = They corralled the cattle in order
to carry them on to the boat.) Krupa.
T. 1. The tree Thespesia populnea.
... a fine tree with bright-green heart-shaped leaves
and a yellow flower resembling that of the fau,
but not opening wide. The fruit is hemispherical and
about twice the size of a walnut, consisting of brittle
shell in which are several septa, each containing a
single seed. The wood resembles rosewood and is of much
the same texture. Formerly, this tree was held sacred.
Henry. 2. Rock. (To'a-te-miro =
Long-standing-rock.) Henry. |
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(Thespesia populnea, Wikipedia) |
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Maybe
Thespesia
populnea is
more suitable
(than nightshade
and breadfruit)
as a sun berry
tree, because of
its yellow
flowers and its
hemispherical
fruits.
"The wood of the
portia tree is
used to make the
thavil, a
Carnatic musical
instrument of
South India.
Milo is
popular in
Hawaii for
woodworking
(commonly turned
into bowls)
because of the
range of colors
expressed (tan,
through yellow,
to red).
Traditionally it
was planted in
sacred groves
and used for
religious
sculpture
throughout
eastern
Polynesia. It
was used for the
rongorongo
tablets of
Easter Island
..." (Wikipedia)
Even its name
populnea
makes one wonder
if there may be
some
relationship
with poporo.
Without knowing
the etymology I
would guess
nea means
new and that
popul is
equivalent to
popor (r and
l being just
expressions of
different
tastes). A vocal
is needed at the
end to support
the consonant,
and we have
arrived at
poporo-nea
('the new
poporo').
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In Tahua
- we have seen - there is a hua poporo glyph (Aa1-14)
with only 3 'droplets':
| There
is a short sequence of glyphs in the Tahua text
which is initiated with a niu glyph:
The
intended meaning of the sequence may be to bring to mind
the story about 'killing' the old fire and how a new
fire then is alighted, corresponding to the new year
sun.
Here
niu would then correspond to the first phase of
the story - when the old fire has been stamped out and
only the ghost of it remains at the top. The bottom part
is like a sack into which the still red hot embers of
the old fire have been put.
Aa1-13
marks the 'dawn' of a new year. The 3 glyphs arrive
after 12 glyphs referring to the solar year. |
The 'nut' at
bottom in Aa1-14 is not a droplet - it represents the 'head' of the old sun
from which the new year grows. The
1st quarter of the year is emerging from the 'nut' of the old year. The
story about Ure Honu and the skull
of king Hotu Matua is illuminating.
We should also compare
niu in Aa1-13 with Ca1-25:
The 'sack' at bottom
in Aa1-13 is another representation of the old year. Instead of a
single 'stem' (the left two curved lines above the 'sack' in Ca1-25) we see
the 4 'limbs' of the old quarters. In Ca1-25 the oval still has
life within (the oval is closed), not so in Aa1-13 - the nut has already been perpetuated
in the next year (Aa1-14). |
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"... Another year
passed, and a man by the name of Ure Honu went to work in his
banana plantation. He went and came to the last part, to the 'head'
(i.e., the upper part of the banana plantation), to the end of the
banana plantation. The sun was standing just right for Ure Honu
to clean out the weeds from the banana plantation.
On the first day he
hoed the weeds. That went on all day, and then evening came.
Suddenly a rat came from the middle of the banana plantation. Ure
Honu saw it and ran after it. But it disappeared and he could
not catch it.
On the second day of
hoeing, the same thing happened with the rat. It ran away, and he
could not catch it. On the third day, he reached the 'head' of the
bananas and finished the work in the plantation. Again the rat ran
away, and Ure Honu followed it.
It ran and slipped into
the hole of a stone. He poked after it, lifted up the stone, and saw
that the skull was (in the hole) of the stone. (The rat was) a
spirit of the skull (he kuhane o te puoko).
Ure Honu
was amazed and said, 'How beautiful you are! In the head of the new
bananas is a skull, painted with yellow root and with a strip of
barkcloth around it.'
Ure Honu
stayed for a while, (then) he went away and covered
the roof of his house in Vai Matā. It was a new house. He
took the very large skull, which he had found at the head of the
banana plantation, and hung it up in the new house. He tied it up in
the framework of the roof (hahanga) and left it hanging there
..." (Manuscript E according to Barthel 2) |
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"M759
Arapaho. 'The bird-nester' There was once an
Indian who was married and the father of a boy and a girl. The
Trickster, who wanted to appropriate his fine garments and his wife,
persuaded him to go and fetch eaglets from the top of a high peak.
The Indian took off his clothing and started to
climb up the cliff, which he found quite an easy task, since the way
to the nest was like a stairway. But the Trickster commanded that
the peak increase in height. He made the sides completely smooth so
that the Indian was unable to come back down and remained stranded
at the top.
The Trickster did not attempt (as in Salish
mythology) to assume the outward appearance of his rival. He related
what had happened but said nothing of the part he himself had
played, and claimed that the hero, before disappearing, had told him
to take care of his wife and children.
The wife consented but it was not long before her
new husband started to scold his stepchildren without cause or
reason. Such is the feeling with the stepfather or stepmother for
children. The woman, who loved her children and was unhappy to see
them being ill-treated, decided to divulge the suspicious
circumstances in which her husband had disappeared.
Everybody went to the foot of the peak which was
strewn with beads; these were the tears shed by the hero who had
wept for days and nights. They called upon the wild geese to help:
they flew to the top, put the man on their backs and landed him
safely. He was at once comforted and cared for; he recovered his
health and strength.
He then set off to look for his wife and children;
he found them again and gave them food, for his rival had deprived
the children of food in the hope that they would quickly die of
hunger.
The hero then hid in a meat sack, jumped on the
Trickster and killed him. The corpse was cut up and the pieces
scattered.
However, the Trickster came back to life. He went
away and stopped to rest by a lake, and meditated on death: should
death be final or not?
On seeing that a stick, then a buffalo turd, and
lastly a piece of pith remained afloat after he had thrown them into
the lake, he opted for resurrection. However, when a pebble sank, he
reversed his decision. It was better that people should die, he
concluded, otherwise the earth would quickly become overpopulated.
Since that time, people only live for a certain period and die for
ever ..." (The Naked Man) |
At midsummer the
tree has grown
all the way up
to the sky,
where eaglets
are supposed to
be. I imagine
the eaglets are
alluding to such
'zenith' birds
of prey as
manu rere.
The skull of
Hotu Matua
was hung up
(tied fast)
under the roof
top, in the
framework (hahaga):
| Hahaga
Ridge, summit, wall plate. Maroa hahaga, to measure lands, to
walk at a great pace. Churchill. |
| Maro
Maro: A sort of small banner or pennant of
bird feathers tied to a stick. Maroa: 1. To stand up, to
stand. 2. Fathom (measure). See kumi. Vanaga.
Maro: 1. June. 2. Dish-cloth T P Mgv.:
maro, a small girdle or breech clout. Ta.: maro,
girdle. Maroa: 1. A fathom; maroa hahaga, to
measure. Mq.: maó, a fathom. 2. Upright, stand up, get
up, stop, halt. Mq.: maó, to get up, to stand up.
Churchill. |
| Kumi
1. Long, far; to grow long; maikuku kumi,
long fingernails; larger share; he kumi maana, he iti
maaku, the larger share (he keeps) for himself, the
small one is for me. 2. Fathom (also: maroa). Vanaga. |
The tears (from
'the weeping
god'?) are like
beads. The tears
flow after
midsummer. On
the backs (tu'a)
of the wild
geese (who
migrate in due
season) the hero
returns back to
earth again.
The hero
represents the
1st year and the
Trickster is his
weird, the 2nd
'year'. At new
year the weird
is killed and
cut into pieces
which are
scattered - we
recognize the
theme from
Osiris and Set.
Pebbles cannot
float, therefore
people must die
forever. The
stick,
presumably,
represents the
sun and the
buffalo turd
the moon,
presumably
the hero and the
trickster. Sun
and moon live
forever, but not
people:
"The Kayapo had
myths explaining
the origin of
the earth oven,
but
unfortunately
only fragments
of them are
extant. They are
linked to the
cycle of the
dioscuri, the
founders of the
men's houses and
the initiators
of hunting rites
...
According to one
version ... one
of the heroes,
although the
myth does not
specify which,
asks for a round
manioc loaf to
be made, clasps
it in his arms
and orders a
fire to be lit
all around him.
Before the fire
dies down, the
Indian has
changed into a
stone, on to
which the women
pour water to
prevent it from
cracking.
But the loaf has
had time to
cook, and the
man resumes his
natural
appearance.
However, his
skin has changed
from white to
red, and it is
since then that
stones have been
used to heat the
oven ...
The other
versions ...
relate how a man
becomes furious
with fire which
has burnt his
nephew. He
orders his
sister to
prepare an oven.
'But where is
the meat?' she
asks.
The man replies,
'With me', and
he lies down on
the burning
stones, which
roast him.
Whereupon, he
gets up, walks
to the river and
(having changed
into a cayman
...) disappears
into the water.
A
long time
afterwards, he
comes back safe
and sound,
bearing no trace
whatever of the
ordeal he has
endured. He
relates how he
has lived in the
land of the fish
and, as a proof,
shows all the
small fish which
have been caught
in his long
hair. They are,
in fact, women,
who a long time
previously gave
up their human
form ... " (The
Naked Man)
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