|
TRANSLATIONS
The opponents
Raven and Skate
have mirror
images in form
of Lobster and
Flounder on
Easter Island.
Raven is high in
the sky, while
Lobster dwells
in the sea. From
a point north of
the equator
Easter Island is
down in the sea.
We don't know
the colour of
the rat who
grawed the rope
hanging down
from the sky,
but on Easter
Island there was
a black rat (kiore
uri),
located at
winter solstice,
presumably
gnawing the rope
of time into two
pieces - before
and after. If
so, I suspect
the rope was in
the sea, not in
the sky. July
means summer
(sky high above)
north of the
equator, while
south of the
equator July
means winter
(sun far away
across the sea
in the north).
Why is hua
poporo
appearing in
Ka5-4 and why
not in Ga4-7?
...
The
question
now
raised
is
crucial.
Hua
poporo
- up
to
now
-
has
appeared
to
be
connected
with
the
arrival
of
the
'wet'
season
and
with
autumn
equinox,
or
with
the
arrival
of
new
year
at
winter
solstice.
Why
should
there
be
'black
drops'
as
if
from
tears
at
midsummer?
Answers
will
be
given
following
this
hyperlink
...
I do not feel
quite ready to
answer the
questions yet.
Although I have
written a
preliminary
version of
answers (to
which the
hyperlink
leads). Instead
let us look at
the next and
final summary
page:
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Ga4-7 |
Ka5-4 |
Ca1-19 |
Ca1-20 |
| midsummer |
autumn equinox |
The 'black drops' are not really black, they are light, and they represent seasons of the sun. According to Vanaga, poporo haha is a sort of golden thistle, which I think would have suited the 'sun berries' better as a name. Moreover, haha alludes to the back side, and also means 'entrance' - entrance to the back side (tu'a):
| Haha
1. Mouth (oral cavity, as opposed to gutu, lips). 2. To carry piggy-back. He haha te poki i toona matu'a, the child took his father on his back. Ka haha mai, get onto my back (so I may carry you). Vanaga.
1. To grope, to feel one's way; po haha, darkness, obscure. 2. Mouth, chops, door, entrance, window; haha pipi, small mouth; haha pipiro, foul breath; ohio haha, bit of bridle; tiaki haha, porter, doorkeeper. Churchill. |
On your back side you cannot see and you have to grope (haha).
Metoro's
poporo seems to point forward (if we read popo-ro as
raindrops) - to the coming tu'a side. The hua part (of his hua poporo), on the
other hand, points in the other direction - to the time when sun is enabling
the fruits to ripen. Therefore, the glyphs seem to tell about breadfruit
rather than nightshade (if there were only two alternatives to choose from).
Ga4-7 and
Ga1-20 have no 'fruits', because the solar 'breadfruit stem' is not
there. Instead a lunar 'thread' tells about the tu'a time. First comes a hua season, then a
tu'a season.
Comparing
Ga4-7 with Ka5-4 we can see the shape of the moon at bottom right in Ga4-7
while in Ka5-4 the moon sickle is located at left. At left in Ga4-7 we
instead find the solar 'breadfruit stem'. Both sun and moon are referred to
in the texts, though while in G focus still is on the sun the text in K has focus
on the arrival of the moon (tu'a) season.
The 'berries'
in the hua poporo glyphs indicate how the 'fruits' are ripe for
harvest, they will fall and a new dark season will enter (popo).
The 'balls' (popo) announce the coming drops. Maybe - as if by
sympathetic magic - the fruits will fall with the rain.
|
Several comments
are needed here.
First of all we
notice how the G
and K texts seem
to differ in
meaning. Are
they really
parallel? Maybe
only the general
structure is
similar, while
their meanings
differ?
From my text
introducing
London Tablet:
|
...
In
the
opinion
of
Fischer
London
Tablet
was
made
in
the
period
of
decline
after
the
'ariki
Nga'ara
died,
i.e.
sometime
around
1859.
It
"... might
well
represent
the
youngest
authentic
rongorongo
inscription
that
has
survived
...".
There
are
5
rows
of
glyphs
on
each
side,
and
-
like
in
Large
St
Petersburg
(H,
RR
18)
-
the
reverse
side
(we
know
which
side
this
is
from
comparing
with
the
parallel
texts)
starts
not
at
the
left
but
at
the
right
bottom
corner.
Type
of
wood
is
unknown. |
Fischer's
comments are
irrelevant, but
fact is that K
and H share a
common unusual
trait - the
reading on the
back side starts
at right instead
of at the normal
left.
Considering the
text of K, we
notice how the
end glyphs
beyond period 9
announce a
definite final
stage, with lots
of feathers and
the main person
loosing his
head:
In Ka5-13 (in
period 13) a
head-less
'spirit' bird
presumably
represents the
departed season.
The 'fist'
('fruit') means
it is time for
the next phase.
2
(or maybe 4?)
feathers
announce final
also for the
subseasons. 4
would be more
suitable than 2,
because earth
has 4 corners.
Also, it would
agree with the
common hua
poporo
glyph, where 4
subcanoes are
attached with
strings to the
'mother-ship':
The threads in
the
rongorongo
glyphs, I think,
maybe are the
same 'imbilical
cords' which in
Hawaii connect
the living and
the dead:
... Piko
H. 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)
In the G text
the main person
does not loose
his head.
When (according
to K) the 1st
'year' is
executed (looses
his head) at
summer solstice one of
the consequences
is a canoe. If
the head belongs
to a tall tree,
that is quite
natural. There
is a canoe in
Ka5-4, but not
in Ga4-7. The
ghost needs a
canoe for the
journey to the
beyond, as we
have read in The
White Goddess:
|
"The
divine
names
Bran,
Saturn,
Cronos
...
are
applied
to
the
ghost
of
Hercules
that
floats
off
in
the
alder-wood
boat
after
his
midsummer
sacrifice.
His
tanist,
or
other
self,
appearing
in
Greek
legend
as
Poeas
who
lighted
Hercules'
pyre
and
inherited
his
arrows,
succeeds
him
for
the
second
half
of
the
year;
having
acquired
royal
virtue
by
marriage
with
the
queen,
the
representative
of
the
White
Goddess,
and
by
eating
some
royal
part
of
the
dead
man's
body
-
heart,
shoulder
or
thigh-flesh.
He
is
in
turn
succeeded
by
the
New
Year
Hercules,
a
reincarnation
of
the
murdered
man,
who
beheads
him
and,
apparently,
eats
his
head.
This
alternate
eucharistic
sacrifice
made
royalty
continous,
each
king
in
turn
the
Sun-god
beloved
of
the
reigning
Moon-goddess.
But
when
these
cannibalistic
rites
were
abandoned
and
the
system
was
gradually
modified
until
a
single
king
reigned
for
a
term
of
years,
Saturn-Cronos-Bran
became
a
mere
Old
Year
ghost,
permanently
overthrown
by
Juppiter-Zeus-Belin
though
yearly
conjured
up
for
placation
at
the
Saturnalia
or
Yule
feast." |
|
"Hercules
first
appears
in
legend
as a
pastoral
sacred
king
and,
perhaps
because
shepherds
welcome
the
birth
of
twin
lambs,
is a
twin
himself.
His
characteristics
and
history
can
be
deduced
from
a
mass
of
legends,
folk-customs
and
megalithic
monuments.
He
is
the
rain-maker
of
his
tribe
and
a
sort
of
human
thunder-storm.
Legends
connect
him
with
Libya
and
the
Atlas
Mountains;
he
may
well
have
originated
thereabouts
in
Palaeolithic
times.
The
priests
of
Egyptian
Thebes,
who
called
him
'Shu',
dated
his
origin
as
'17,000
years
before
the
reign
of
King
Amasis'.
He
carries
an
oak-club,
because
the
oak
provides
his
beasts
and
his
people
with
mast
and
because
it
attracts
lightning
more
than
any
other
tree.
His
symbols
are
the
acorn;
the
rock-dove,
which
nests
in
oaks
as
well
as
in
clefts
of
rocks;
the
mistletoe,
or
Loranthus;
and
the
serpent.
All
these
are
sexual
emblems.
The
dove
was
sacred
to
the
Love-goddess
of
Greece
and
Syria;
the
serpent
was
the
most
ancient
of
phallic
totem-beasts;
the
cupped
acorn
stood
for
the
glans
penis
in
both
Greek
and
Latin;
the
mistletoe
was
an
all-heal
and
its
names
viscus
(Latin)
and
ixias
(Greek)
are
connected
with
vis
and
ischus
(strength)
-
probably
because
of
the
spermal
viscosity
of
its
berries,
sperm
being
the
vehicle
of
life.
This
Hercules
is
male
leader
of
all
orgiastic
rites
and
has
twelve
archer
companions,
including
his
spear-armed
twin,
who
is
his
tanist
or
deputy.
He
performs
an
annual
green-wood
marriage
with
a
queen
of
the
woods,
a
sort
of
Maid
Marian.
He
is a
mighty
hunter
and
makes
rain,
when
it
is
needed,
by
rattling
an
oak-club
thunderously
in a
hollow
oak
and
stirring
a
pool
with
an
oak
branch
-
alternatively,
by
rattling
pebbles
inside
a
sacred
colocinth-gourd
or,
later,
by
rolling
black
meteoric
stones
inside
a
wooden
chest
-
and
so
attracting
thunderstorms
by
sympathetic
magic." |
The arrows of
Hercules surely
means the
sun-rays of
spring sun. They
are inherited by
the ruler of the
2nd 'year'. They
remind me about
vero, the
sign of fall.
After the spirit
of Hercules has
departed in his
alder-wood canoe
(or rather, on
Easter Island,
miro-wood
canoe), a season
of darkness has
arrived. The
sun-ray arrows
are no longer
fertile as
before and the
vero
glyphs are
therefore
without moon
crescent.
Crescent means
growth and
should not be
used for the
waning phase.
The waning phase
should be named
sickle, the
craggy reaping
knife.
Possibly we now
can understand
the difference
between ragi
glyphs (in a
restricted sense
- including
crescent) and
vero glyphs:
 |
 |
|
ragi |
vero |
In ragi
we can imagine
the solar 'tree'
at the heigth of
which a shining
moon rides. In
vero we
can imagine how
sun has
disappeared
behind the dark
mountains in the
west - the solar
disc is at the
root from which
next spring sun
will grow.
Poporo haha
('a sort of
golden thistle')
cannot be the
'canoe tree' (miro,
Thespesia
populnea - which I
have suggested
to be more suitable
because of the
form of its
berries).
Miro is
not a thistle,
but its
acorn-like
'berries' surely
implies a
connection with
'Hercules':
|
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. |
|
 |
Haha (to
carry
piggy-back) makes me
think about the
'mast' which the
oak provided men
and beast with:
mast1
... long pole
set up on the
keel of a boat
... WIE. *mazdos,
whence poss. L.
mālus
mast, OIr.
matan
club ...
mast2
... fruit of
forest-trees,
exp. as food for
swine ... *mazdos
... (English
Etymology)
Piggy-back
sounds like the
season when the
pigs can swallow
the acorns.
Haha (the
oral cavity, to
grope) means - I
think - to feel
your way in the
darkness after
having crawled
into the hare
paega of the
year (i.e.
winter).
We notice the
foul smell at
the entrance:
haha pipiro,
foul breath, an
indication equal
to an earthquake
that a major
change has
arrived.
I remember the
strange sun-boat
fish with
hare paega
on his back:
Pipiro
resembles
poporo,
though,
presumably,
refers to spring
rather than to
autumn:
|
Pipi
1.
Bud,
sprout;
to
bud,
to
sprout;
ku-pipi-á
te
tumu
miro
tahiti,
the
trunk
of
the
miro
tahiti
has
sprouted.
2. A
small
shellfish,
common
on
the
coast.
Vanaga.
1.
To
blanch,
to
etiolate.
2. A
spark,
to
sparkle.
3.
Young
branches,
shoot,
sprout,
to
bud.
Mq.:
pipi,
tip
of
the
banana
blossom.
4.
Snail,
T,
pea,
bean.
P
Mgv.:
pipi,
small
shellfish
in
the
shape
of a
mussel.
Mq.:
pipi,
generic
term
for
shells.
Ta.:
pipi,
generic
term
for
beans.
5.
To
boil
with
hot
stones.
6. A
wave.
7.
Thorn,
spiny,
uneven.
8.
Small;
haha
pipi,
small
mouth.
9.
Rump,
the
rear.
Pipine,
to
be
wavy,
to
undulate.
Churchill. |
Pipiro
means disgusting
odor.
... pipiro ke
avai
= disgusting
odor, according
to Churchill, in
one of his
examples to
explain ke
avai = a
superlative
expression.
Possibly popo
relates to the
end of summer
and pipi
to the 'rump' of
winter.
Shellfish (pipi)
can be harvested
when the tide
goes out. The
little snail (pipi)
in the clam
became the moon,
while the bigger
one became the
sun:
|
.. A
very
detailed
myth
comes
from
the
island
of
Nauru.
In
the
beginning
there
was
nothing
but
the
sea,
and
above
soared
the
Old-Spider.
One
day
the
Old-Spider
found
a
giant
clam,
took
it
up,
and
tried
to
find
if
this
object
had
any
opening,
but
could
find
none.
She
tapped
on
it,
and
as
it
sounded
hollow,
she
decided
it
was
empty.
By
repeating
a
charm,
she
opened
the
two
shells
and
slipped
inside.
She
could
see
nothing,
because
the
sun
and
the
moon
did
not
then
exist;
and
then,
she
could
not
stand
up
because
there
was
not
enough
room
in
the
shellfish.
Constantly
hunting
about
she
at
last
found
a
snail.
To
endow
it
with
power
she
placed
it
under
her
arm,
lay
down
and
slept
for
three
days.
Then
she
let
it
free,
and
still
hunting
about
she
found
another
snail
bigger
than
the
first
one,
and
treated
it
in
the
same
way. Then
she
said
to
the
first
snail:
'Can
you
open
this
room
a
little,
so
that
we
can
sit
down?'
The
snail
said
it
could,
and
opened
the
shell
a
little.
Old-Spider
then
took
the
snail,
placed
it
in
the
west
of
the
shell,
and
made
it
into
the
moon.
Then
there
was
a
little
light,
which
allowed
Old-Spider
to
see
a
big
worm.
At
her
request
he
opened
the
shell
a
little
wider,
and
from
the
body
of
the
worm
flowed
a
salted
sweat
which
collected
in
the
lower
half-shell
and
became
the
sea.
Then
he
raised
the
upper
half-shell
very
high,
and
it
became
the
sky.
Rigi,
the
worm,
exhausted
by
this
great
effort,
then
died.
Old-Spider
then
made
the
sun
from
the
second
snail,
and
placed
it
beside
the
lower
half-shell,
which
became
the
earth
... |
|
Old-Spider
found
the
moon
(the
little
snail)
first
and
the
moon
opened
the
shell
a
little
so
they
could
sit
down.
Then
Old-Spider
placed
the
moon
in
the
west.
The
second
snail
which
Old-Spider
found
became
the
sun
and
we
then
expect
the
sun
to
lift
the
shell
roof
even
higher.
But
that
is
not
what
happens.
Instead,
after
Old-Spider
has
found
also
the
sun
snail
-
and
after
the
moon
has
been
placed
in
the
west
to
give
a
little
light
-
she
finds
the
big
worm
Rigi
and
it
is
he
who
raises
the
sky
roof.
Rigi
dies
exhausted
by
his
great
effort
(similar
to
Kuukuu),
though
before
that
his
salted
sweat
collects
in
the
lower
half
of
the
shell
and
becomes
the
sea.
Only
at
this
point
does
Old-Spider
converts
the
second
snail
into
the
sun
and
locates
it
'beside
the
lower
half-shell,
which
became
the
earth'. |
|
