Cb7-22	Cb7-23	Cb7-24	Cb7-25	Cb7-26	Cb7-27
hokohuki	tagata ka pau	tagata rima oho ki te kihikihi - ki te ragi		koia ra kua mau - i te ahi	e tagata rogo
Cb8-1	Cb8-2	Cb8-3	Cb8-4	Cb8-5
Hetu erua		tagata rere ki te ragi	te hokohuki	te moko

The reason for the excursion into the rogo subject is its importance for our investigations:

"... The seasons - Tau or Kau - of the year were generally two, ... The commencement of the seasons, however, were regulated by the rising of the Makarii stars, the Pleiades, at the time of the setting of the sun. Thus in the Society group, the year was divided into Makarii-i-nia, Pleiades above the horizon, and Makarii-i-raro, Pleiades below - the first from November to May, the latter from May to November.

... In regard to the division of the year by months, the Polynesians counted by twelve and by thirteen months, the former obtaining in the Tonga, Samoan, and Hawaiian groups, the latter in the Marquesas and Society groups.

Each month consisted of thirty days. It is known that the Hawaiians, who counted twelve months of thirty days each, intercalated five days at the end of the month Welehu, about the 20th December, which were tabu-days, dedicated to the festival of the god Lono [Rongo], after which the New Year began with the first day of the month Makalii [Pleiades], which day, being the first of the year, was called Maka-hiki (equivalent to 'commencement day'), and afterwards became the conventional term for a year in the Hawaiian, Marquesas. and Society groups ..." (Heyerdahl 6, quoting Fornander)

We may assume that Rogo announced 'beginning' also on Easter Island. However, a 'beginning' is a general term which not necessarily means the beginning of a year. Furthermore, we remember that in the Mamari moon calendar I have located the nights Orogo and Orogo Tane at the end of the visible period of the moon.

Maybe Rogo denoted 'beginning' for the sun and 'end' for the moon? At Orogo the arrival of the birds in spring announced the beginning of the new light season. In the book 'Ethnology of Easter Island' by Alfred Métraux we find:

"... Little is known of the social function of the rongorongo men. We know only that they taught chants in special schools, met once a year at Anakena to read the tablets, and gathered at Orongo during the annual competition of the bird-men ... where they 'chanted all day; they stopped an hour to eat, that is all ..."

 "... Besides the annual gathering and chanting by rongorongo men at Orongo during the feast of the bird-man, these learned bards met once a year at Anakena to chant for the king. People came from all over the island to hear them 'read' from the tablets. This public 'reading' must be considered as a general contest between rongorongo men and a test of the ability of each. Visitors arrived with huhu (sticks with feathers) to which turmeric was tied, as a courtesy to the king. The food to be consumed during the feast was supplied by the king, who was aided by people of neighboring districts ..."

"... Te Haha described to Routledge ... one such gathering, which he attended in his youth:

Both King Nga-ara and his son, Kaimako ... sat on seats made of tablets, and each had a tablet in his hand; they wore feather hats, as did all the professors. The rongorongo men were arranged in rows, with an alley-way down the center to the Ariki. Some of them had brought with them one tablet only; others as many as four. The old ones read in turn, or sometimes two together, from the places where they stood, but their tablets were not inspected ...

... In addition to the great day, there were minor assemblies at new moon, or the last quarter of the moon, when the rongorongo men came to Anakena. The Ariki walked up and down reading the tablets, while the old men stood in a body and looked on ..."