TRANSLATIONS

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The flounder is amazingly flat, a strange creature, a natural point of origin for the pearls of myth.

"M783. Makah. 'The war against the South Wind'

Formerly, the land animals and fish paid a visit to the South Wind. They found him asleep and thought they would frighten him. The Cuttle-fish hid under the bed, the Flounder and the Skate lay flat on the floor at the foot of the bed, and the Mouse bit the sleeping Wind's nose.

The latter jumped out of bed and, in so doing, slipped on the two flat-fish and fell. The Cuttle-fish twined its tentacles round the Wind's legs.

(Wikipedia: striped pyjamas squid.)

This so enraged the Wind that he began to blow with such force that the perspiration rolled down his forehead and formed rain.

Finally, he succeeded in blowing all his tormentors home again. But, out of spite, he came back down to earth at intervals to torment his enemies, for the land animals are very uncomfortable in rainstorms and many fish are thrown up on the shore by the big breakers and perish ..." (The Naked Man)

The fish are floundering on the reefs, so to say.

... Did Maui then as Huahega told him, did as his mother said. That wave fell back, the great wave of the monsters soaked away. The bottom of the sea was bare, and all the monsters floundered on the reef, they flapped in pools ...

In this story there are 2 flat-fish, one presumably at each solstice.

The Mouse plays the role of biting, which we recognize from the how he gnawed off the rope from the sky. He generates the action (the wind), he is the kuhane which guides, the Opener of the Way (Upwaut).

The perspiration explains why drops are falling beyond summer solstice, sweat not tears.

The role of the flat-fish is to be slippery, a message confirmed in the next story about battling the winds:

"M784. Nootka. 'The origin of tides'

Formerly, the wind blew unceasingly; low tide did not exist, and it was impossible to gather shell-fish. So people resolved to kill the Winds.

Several animals who had been sent on ahead failed in this mission: one of them was the Winter Robin, who succeeded in entering the Wind's house, but forgot what he was there for as he warmed himself in front of the fire, which burnt him and gave him red spots.

The Sardine was no more successful, and came back with his eyes closer to his snout than to his gills.

Finally, the Seagull, in spite of his weak eyesight and his broken arms, crossed the cape swept by violent winds which guarded the entrance to the enemy village. The Skate and the Halibut took up their position near the door; the Winds, as they came out, slipped on the Halibut, and fell and tore themselves on the Skate's barbs.

(Wikipeida: Skate)

Only the West Wind offered any resistance; he promised however that, in future, he would bring fine weather with gentle breezes and cause the tides to ebb and flow twice a day, so that humans could catch edible shell-fish. On this condition, his life was spared ..."

"... The Halibut's trick of causing the hostile wind to fall by using the contrast between the two sides of its body, one rough, the other slippery, is found in the mythology of the Kwakiutl, the Bella Bella, the Tsimshian, the Haida and the Tlingit ..."  (The Naked Man)

If flat-fish are located at the solstices, then the slippery side should (I guess) correspond to the Rigi side (eels are slippery) and the rough side be the back side (tu'a). The dorsal fin (one) side is rough like a lance (óé).

The Winds seem to be connected with the winter storms and notable is the fact that there is a fire in their house. It may be the house in which the new year fire is alighted, I guess.

Next flat-fish victory:

"M785. Vancouver Island Kwakiutl. 'The pacified wind'

In order to put an end to the violent wind which blew unceasingly, the animals waged war on him, although several fell victim to his stench.

Finally, the halibut stretched out in front of his door. When the wind tried to go out, he slipped on the fish and fell. The animals took him prisoner and only released him on condition that he promised to be more gentle."

The door, at which the 'cruxial' event takes place, must be the door through which time passes from one of the half-years to the next. We remember Ming Thang:

... It is indeed 'the king standing in a gateway' and Soothill (5), p. 62, makes the suggestion that it refers to the emperor's station on the threshold between one room of the Ming Thang [Bright Palace, 'the mystical temple-dwelling which the emperor was supposed to frequent, carrying out the rites appropriate to the seasons'] and another when an intercalary month intervened in the normal cycle of his perambulation ...

The formidable stench is the nose equivalent of a terrible din for the ear, similar to fireworks for the eye and the turmoil of an earthquake for the sense of balance. Agitation for the senses, as in a gusty wind.

A window is like a door for the wind. We remember: '... As the two women were bored, they did what they had been told not to do and broke the celestial vault: the wind rushed through the opening and they saw their native earth beneath ...'

The idea with a window is to let in the light, not the wind, yet the name 'window' means 'eye for the wind'.

There seems to be a hole at winter solstice, a hole because the half-years do not cover a time-space interval in between them. Quite in order, then, that we have a hole at the 'root of the tree' in Gb2-16:

"M786a, b. Nootka. 'The duel between the Raven and the Skate'

The Raven wanted to eat the Skate and challenged him to a duel.

However, the latter avoided the attacks by turning sideways.

According to M786b, the Raven did likewise by jumping up and down on the spot; he insisted that the Skate should lean forward, but the latter succeeded in wounding the Raven by doing the unexpected thing and withholding his fire until the Raven's feet had touched the ground again.

After being pierced by his opponent's javelin, the Raven gave up the fight."

The Skate turns sideways to offer as little area as possible for the Raven to aim at. The Raven tries another trick - to jump up and down instead of standing still. We can understand that. But why did Raven insist of the Skate leaning forward?

The javelin which pierced the Raven - when he touched the ground (probably the western horizon) - corresponds to the lance (óé) and to the barbs of the Skate. I imagine it may correspond also to the vero glyph type:

The Raven and the Skate may be symbolizing season beginning at summer solstice respectively at winter solstice. The Raven - we know - is the thirsty bird. If the Raven is being pierced by the javelin of the Skate, it should be the event of the Raven's fall at autumn equinox.

There is logic in how when the flat-fish turns around at summer solstice (from showing her 'eel' side to her 'dorsal' side) - remember: she is a fish, i.e. a female - her apperance must nearly vanish for a while. I suddenly realize how this picture may be the base for a glyph type we have encountered a few times earlier.

Recently:

Gb1-21 Gb1-22 Gb1-23 Gb1-24 Gb1-25 Gb1-26 Gb2-1
Gb2-2 Gb2-3 Gb2-4 Gb2-5 Gb2-6 Gb2-7 Gb2-8
4+5=9 - 5 - 6+5=11 4+6+4=14 5+4=9
Gb2-9 Gb2-10 Gb2-11 Gb2-12 Gb2-13 Gb2-14 Gb2-15
4+4=8 - 4+3=7 - - 3+3=6 -
9+5+11+14+9+8+7+6+4+19=92

in reversed order: 92=29+15+48

Gb2-16 Gb2-17 Gb2-18
1+3=4 7+12=19 -

-24 and -12 tell us about the final half-months of the 2nd respectively the 1st half-years, I guess. This idea agrees well with how I have interpreted Gb2-13--18 as summer solstice. Both sun (19 in Gb2-17) and moon (6+4+19=29) meet there.

Both in Gb2-9 and Gb2-11 there are vero signs - for the sun (8) and for the moon (7). Gb1-22--23 and Gb1-25 are examples of rau hei, the 'temporally dead' (like mimosa having been touched a moment ago).

Going backwards in time, we should remember:

We are now prepared to look at the Tahua text:

Aa2-1

Aa2-2

Aa2-3

Aa2-4

Ko te ohoga

i vai ohata

eko te nuku erua - no te tagata

Aa2-5

Aa2-6

Aa2-7

Aa2-8

vero tahi

ma te hupee

ka pu te ipu

ka pu - i te mahigo

Immediately we can see that my earlier efforts to put Metoro's words and the glyphs in parallel have not been fully successful here. The uncertainty, I thought, was only at Aa2-3--4, not at Aa2-5. But we now know that a suitable appellation for Aa2-4 is vero. Aa2-5 I have, hesitantly, classified as belonging to GD48 (tao):

... The border line between GD48 and GD86 is, though, hard to define. Aa2-5 (which I initially classified as GD86, but now have reclassified as GD48) is an unusual glyph because it has not so sharp ends as other GD48 glyphs:

 

Furthermore it is shorter than normal. Possibly there is an influence from the preceding glyphs (Aa2-3--4):

When looking for a suitable label for GD48 it was far from self-evident what name to choose. Several possible labels competed. The most frequent word was huki (45 examples), but regarded in relation to the total number of huki (220) it was not relevant, only 20 % of the 220 were associated with glyphs which I had classified as GD48:

Total number in:

B

A

C

E

sum

at GD48

%

hoko

28

24

44

48

144

40

28

huki

60

38

56

66

220

45

20

tao

5

6

0

1

12

7

58

tino

1

6

2

4

13

2

15

vero

17

18

11

2

48

10

21

sum

111

92

113

121

437

104

24

Vero was one of the candidates. Luckily, though, it became tao, which means I can use the label vero for the new glyph type we now have become accustomed to call vero. Indeed, I am just about to add it as a new GD in the glyph dictionary. We must learn more about the words:

Tao

1. To cook in an oven, to sacrifice. P Mgv., Mq., Ta.: tao, to cook in an oven. 2. To carry away. 3. Abscess, bubo, scrofula, boil, gangrene, ulcer, inflammation, sore. Mgv.: taotaovere, small red spots showing the approach of death. Mq.: toopuku, toopuu, boil, wart, tumor. Ta.: taapu, taapuu, scrofula on neck and chin. 4. Mgv.: a lance, spear. Ta.: tao, id. Sa.: tao, id. Ma.: tao, id. 5. Mgv.: taotaoama, a fish. Sa.:  taotaoama, id. 6. Ta.: taoa, property, possessions. Ma.: taonga, property, treasure. Churchill.

Sa.: tao, to bake; taofono, taona'i, to bake food the day before it is used; tau, the leaves used to cover an oven. To.: tao, to cook food in a oven, to bake. Fu.: taò, to put in an oven, to cook. Niuē: tao, to bake. Uvea: tao, to cook, to bake. Ma., Rapanui: tao, to bake or cook in a native oven, properly to steam, to boil with steam. Ta.: tao, the rocks and leaves with which a pig is covered when cooking; baked, boiled, cooked. Mq., Mgv., Mg., Tongareva: tao, to bake in an oven ... The word refers to the specific manner of cookery which involves the pit oven. The suggestion in the Maori, therefore, does not mean a different method; it is but an attempt more precisely to describe the kitchen method, a very tasty cookery, be it said. The suggestion of boiling is found only in Tahiti, yet in his dictionary Bishop Jaussen does not record it under the word bouillir; boiling was little known to the Polynesians before the European introduction of pottery and other fire-resisting utensils ... Churchll 2.

The idea of tao = spear is presumably not what comes first to mind for a Polynesian. If we look at neighbouring words the sense is not spear either:

Taohi  Mgv.: To preserve, to take care of. Mq.: taohi, to take, to keep, to preserve. Sa.: taofi, to keep, to retain. Ha.: kaohi, id. Churchill.

Taomi  Mgv.: To squeeze, to press down. Sa.: taomi, to press down. Ha.: kaomi, to press, to squeeze. Churchill.

Taora  Convulsive, convulsion. Churchill.

Taota  Pau.: Taste, savor. Ta.: taota, taste. Churchill.

I notice: '... Mgv.: taotaovere, small red spots showing the approach of death ...' a) tao is repeated b) vere is similar to vero c) approach of death d) red spots. If sun (Kuukuu)  'dies' at autumn equinox, then he must show signs of sickness before that, and presumably red spots appears in his face. At sundown the sun is changing colour towards red.

Checking what vere means a veritable gold-mine of associations become knitted together, and we can begin to understand why kao (in henua kaoa?) means not only 'side' but also 'cloth' - spiderwebs and cloth are similar:

Vere

1. Beard, moustache (vede G); vere gutu, moustache; verevere, shaggy, hairy, tow, oakum. Mgv.: veri, bristly, shaggy, chafed (of a cord long in use). Mq.: veevee, tentacles. Ta.: verevere, eyelash. 2. To weed (ka-veri-mai, pick, cut-grass T); verevere, to weed. P Mgv.: vere, to weed. Mq.: veéveé, vavee, id. 3. Verega, fruitful, valuable; verega kore, unfruitful, valueless, contemptible, vain, futile, frivolous; tae verega, insignificant, valueless; mataku verega kore, scruple. Mgv.: verega, a design put into execution; one who is apte, useful, having a knowledge how to do things. 4. Ta.: verevere, pudenda muliebria. Ma.: werewere, id. (labia minora). Churchill.

Sa.: apungaleveleve, apongaleveleve, a spider, a web. To.: kaleveleve, a large spider. Fu.: kaleveleve, a spider, a web. Niuē: kaleveleve, a cobweb. Nukuoro: halaneveneve, a spider. Uvea: kaleveleve, a spider. Mgv.: pungaverevere, a spider. Pau.: pungaverevere, cloth. Mg.: pungaverevere, a cobweb. Ta.: puaverevere, id. Mao.: pungawerewere, puawerewere, puwerewere, a spider. Ha.: punawelewele, a spider, a web. Mq.: pukaveevee, punaveevee, id. Vi.: lawa, a fishing net; viritālawalawa, a cobweb; butalawalawa, a spider. Churchill 2.

Sun becomes entangled in the web. That means he is not the spider.

1

Aa2-3

Aa2-4

Aa2-5

eko te nuku erua - no te tagata - vero tahi

2

Aa8-26

Aa8-27

Aa8-28

Aa8-29

kua viri

i to vero hia

e tapamea

ma te hokohuki

... The tapamea and hokohuki we recognize from the day calendar. The meaning here seems to be similar: a way to account for how the 'red cloth' from the sun behaves at crucial moments. Only Aa1-34 of the reversed glyphs has an odd number of 'feathers':

Aa1-32

Aa1-33

Aa1-34

ka puhi hoki ki te ahi

ma te toga tu

te tapamea

Like 43 and 61 number 5 appears to be a sign of 'finito'. In Aa8-28 and Aa8-29 there are 7 'feathers', presumably because the glyphs are located in the moon 'year'. We can see the harmony between the glyphs and their ordinal numbers in the line: 28 is the last sun-lit-moon night of the month and 29 is the dark new moon night. In Aa2-5 there are no 'feathers' at all. In water there is no fire. A flip around of the watery world makes no difference.

Earlier we have 'determined' that the reading should start on side b (as Metoro indicated). Beyond the end viri at Aa8-26 and the start viri Ab1-1 there are 61 glyphs (counted long). We can guess that the extra 1 beyond the solar 60 double-month days represents the kernel of the new beginning. The 'currency' for the number of glyphs in Tahua seems to be 2 glyphs per day (1,334 / 314 = 4 + 78/314). 60 glyphs 'in the dark' therefore corresponds to a month.

Aa8-77

Aa8-78

Aa8-79

Aa8-80

te moa nui - kua rere te manu

ki te kahi no te ragi

ko te vae kua oho

ki to hatu huri

Aa8-78 looks similar to Aa8-27 and their distance (counted long the short way) is 52 glyphs (26 nights). The sky is once again uplighted, it seems. Metoro's kahi may have something to to with the hidden tuna fish (kahi piko):

Piko

1. To twist (vi); twisted, bent; haga piko, bend formed by part of the coast. 2. To hide (vi); hidden; kahi piko, tuna fish meant as a gift for someone, and which is kept hidden away from others. 3. Slip knot (used with fishing lines). Vanaga.

1. Post; moa tara piko, cock with long spurs. 2. Crooked, tortuous; piko mai piko atu, sinuosity; hakapiko, pliant, to bend; pikopiko, crooked; hoe pikopiko, pruning knife; veo pikopiko, arrow that flies ill. 3. To hide oneself, to lie in wait, to set a trap, to take refuge, to withdraw, to beat a retreat, security, ambush, padlock; piko reoreo, false security; piko etahi, to withdraw one after another; pikoga, asylum, receptacle, refuge, retreat, snare. Churchill.

H. Piko Umbilical cord. Hawaiians are connected to ancestors (aumakua), as well as to living kinsmen and descendants, by several cords emanating from various parts of the body but alike called piko, 'umbilical cord'. Islands of History. 

H. Piko 1. Navel, navel string, umbilical cord. Fig. blood relative, genitals. Cfr piko pau 'iole, wai'olu. Mō ka piko, moku ka piko, wehe i ka piko, the navel cord is cut (friendship between related persons is broken; a relative is cast out of a family). Pehea kō piko? How is your navel? (A facetious greeting avoided by some because of the double meaning.) 2. Summit or top of a hill or mountain; crest; crown of the head; crown of the hat made on a frame (pāpale pahu); tip of the ear; end of a rope; border of a land; center, as of a fishpond wall or kōnane board; place where a stem is attached to the leaf, as of taro. 3. Short for alopiko. I ka piko nō 'oe, lihaliha (song), at the belly portion itself, so very choice and fat. 4. A common taro with many varieties, all with the leaf blade indented at the base up to the piko, junction of blade and stem. 5. Design in plaiting the hat called pāpale 'ie. 6. Bottom round of a carrying net, kōkō. 7. Small wauke rootlets from an old plant. 8. Thatch above a door. 'Oki i ka piko, to cut this thatch; fig. to dedicate a house. Wehewehe.

In Aa8-77 a moa nui at left maybe generates the new sun bird. He is stretching out a limb which ends with a little flame. Counted long from the end viri the distance is 52.