TRANSLATIONS
To continue with a few more
reflections from the story about the great 'crayfish' (ura):
Ahu Vinapu
and Ahu Mataitai were to be the two places (!) where the
new statue was to be raised. Obviously we are meant to think
here.
As to Vinapu, the reference
sounds understandable - because of its location at midwinter and
because of the solar cult which once probably reigned there:
... The cult place
of Vinapu is located between the fifth and sixth segment
of the dream voyage of Hau Maka. These segments, named 'Te
Kioe Uri' (inland from Vinapu) and 'Te Piringa
Aniva' (near Hanga Pau Kura) flank Vinapu from
both the west and the east.
The decoded
meaning of the names 'the dark rat' (i.e., the island king as
the recipient of gifts) and 'the gathering place of the island
population' (for the purpose of presenting the island king with
gifts) links them with the month 'Maro' which is June.
Thus, the
last month of the Easter Island year is twice mentioned with
Vinapu. Also, June is the month of the summer [a misprint
for winter] solstice, which again points to the possibility that
the Vinapu complex was used for astronomical purposes
...
... The fact
that the year ends at Vinapu and begins anew at
Anakena may have meaning beyond the obvious transition of
time and may also indicate a historic transition. The carbon-14
dating test assigned a much earlier date to Vinapu (ninth
century) than to Anakena.
This raises the
question of an 'original population', which, according to the
traditions, lived along the northern rim of Rano Kau
(i.e., inland from Vinapu) and their relationship to the
explorers ...
Searching for Vinapu in what
is written earlier found this interesting item:
... The stone skull
with the peculiar pits on top brought to mind a small and crude
stone cranium already found archaeologically behind the
Vinapu temple plaza on the south side of the island, and a
second examination of this piece showed much to our surprise
that here also two deep pits had been carved on the forehead,
asymmetrically on each side of the sagittalis ...
The double pit in the stone skull
must certainly represent takurua, I think.
Ahu Mataitai is a name which may contain an allusion to
the opposite of Vinapu, i.e. the sea (as opposed to the
sky where sun lives).
Tai
1. Ocean, sea (often used without an
article); he-turu au ki tai hopu, I am going
down to the sea to bathe. 2. To be calm, good for
fishing: he tai. There exists a surprisingly
developed terminology for distinguishing the phases
of the tides: tai pâpaku,
low tide; ku-gúgú-á te
tai, tide at his lowest, literally 'the sea has
dried up'; he-ranu te tai, when the water
starts rising again; this is a strange expression,
since ranu means 'amniotic liquid,' the
breaking of the waters which precedes birth; in this
phase of the tides the fish start coming out of
their hiding places and swim to the coast in search
of food; tai hahati, rising tide; tai hini
hahati, tide as it continues rising; tai u'a,
tai u'a parera, when the tide has reached its
high; tai hini u'a, tide all throughout its
full phase; tai hori, tide as it starts
receding; tai ma'u, tide during its
decreasing phase, right until it becomes tai
pâpaku again; tai raurau a riki. the
slight swell, or effervescence of the sea at a
change or the moon. 3. Good spot for raising
chickens; the stone chicken coops called hare
moa, were built in places 'tai moa'.
Ahé te tai o taau moa? whereabouts are the
raising grounds of your chickens? 4. Song in
general; song executed by a group of singers;
ku-garo-ana i a au te kupu o te tai, I have
forgotten the words of the song.
Taitai, tasteless;
said especially of sweet potatoes and other produces
of the soil which do not taste good for being too
watery; kumara taitai, watery, tasteless
sweet potato. Vanaga.
1. Salt water;
taitai,
brackish, salty. 2. Sea, ocean; tai hati,
breakers; tai hohonu,
depths of the sea; tai kaukau, tide; tai
negonego, tide; tai o, ripple; tai
parera, tide; tai poko, breakers; tai
titi, tide; tai ua, tide, ebb; tai
vanaga, ripple. Churchill. |
Half the year (or
nearly so) sun is absent (out far away in the southern sea). If
the year begins at Anakena and ends at Vinapu,
then the year referred to maybe is just half a year?
Sun lives 260 days of the total 364 of the year,
that is not half the year but 5 / 7 of the year. 2 / 7 perhaps
is the 'long tail'.
Tai hohonu means 'depths of the sea':
... Pair 19 [Mahatua]
and 20 [Taharoa]
has directions contained in its names ('backside' tua and
'flank' taha). Pair 21 [Hanga
Hoonu]
and 22 [Rangi Meamea]
leads one to think of the contrast between 'depth' (wordplay on
hohonu) and 'height' ('sky' rangi). Thus, both of
the pairs of east-west direction have directional
characteristics ...
Hohonu
Deep; tai hohonu, depths of
the sea; hakahohonu, to deepen; ata
hakahohonu, abyss. Churchill. |
We should here
reread my earlier thoughts about the stations of the kuhane
of Haumaka beyond Poike:
18 Maunga Teatea |
The
male (white) 'noon' (p.m.). The counterpart to the
female Pua Katiki, i.e. the 'arm' in
puapua (= the female 'cloth' wrapped about the
male 'arm'). |
6 |
19 Mahatua |
The Sun
now stands at the backside (tua) of noon, the
start of the period of descending (p.m.). He is hot
(mahana), he has been allured and ensnared (mahaga)
by the female (the object of admiration -
maharoga). |
7 |
20 Taharoa |
Sun is
moving towards the horizon (tahataha), the
great (roa) descending. |
8 |
21 Hanga Hoonu |
Sun
will (soon) bend (haga) down into the depths
(hohonu). This station is like Tama -
it belongs to the moon (darkness). |
- |
22 Rangi Meamea |
The
flat rosy (meamea) place where sky (rangi)
meets 'land' (sea) and the king 'dies', i.e. will
live forever (be immortal). |
9 |
23 (Mauga) Peke Tau O
Hiti |
The
'insect', scorpion, in the west is the dried mummy
of the king, securing (tau) that sun will
come again (peke), show itself again,
reappear (O Hiti) the next 'season', ta'u
(day). |
10 |
24 Mauga Hau Epa |
The 2nd
(female - cfr hau) of the two mountains
announcing twilight time in the evening. The word
epa also associates with female, as it means to
extend horizontally (like Papatuanuku). The
sun lies down 'horizontally'. |
Maybe GD17 (hônu)
is a visual cue for tai hohonu:
Hônu
1. Turtle. 2. Spider (the species
found in houses). Vanaga. |
GD17 may also refer
to hônui:
Hônui
1. Person worthy of respect, person
of authority. 2. Livelihood, heirloom,
capital; ka moe koe ki toou hônui, you must
marry to ensure your livelihood (said to a little
girl); he hônui mo taaku poki, this is the
heirloom for my son. Vanaga.
Great (hoonui); honui,
chief T.; tagata hoonui, personage;
hakahonui, to praise, to commend. Churchill.
|
The kings on Easter
Island were of the Honga lineage:
"The ariki-mau or king of Easter Island
was a divine chief who had mana (supernatural power) and
was therefore surrounded by tapus; as a member of the
Honga lineage of the Miru tribe he was descended from
the gods Tangaroa and Rongo." (Métraux)
That may, however, have nothing to do with
hônui. We
must note, though, that the Tahitian toa may be the word
which Metoro used for the periods of the night
(equivalent to a watery region), e.g. at
Aa1-40:
|
e ia
toa
tauuru |
Toka
1. Any large, smooth rock in the sea
not covered by seaweeds (eels are often found
between such rocks). 2. To be left (of a small
residue of something, of sediments of a liquid, of
dregs); to settle (of sediments); ku-toka-ana te
vai i raro i te puna, there is little water left
at the bottom of the lake; ku-toka-á te oone,
the sediments have settled. Tokaga, residue,
remainder; firm, stable remainder or part of
somthing. Vanaga.
A rock under water. P Mgv.:
toka, coral. Mq.: toka, a bank where the
fishing is good. Ta.:
toa, rock, coral. Tokatagi,
sorrow T. Churchill. |
Finally, in
Te-tu-kote-ura-rarape-nui (the name of the great crayfish)
te-tu-kote could be alluding to kotetu (huge)
equal to tetunui (cfr tetu, very lage, very wide,
huge), but kote is obviously primarily referring to
ragi kotekote in Nuahine
káumu à ragi kotekote.
Kotikoti
To cut with scissors (since this is
an old word and scissors do not seem to have
existed, it must mean something of the kind).
Vanaga.
To tear; kokoti, to cut, to
chop, to hew, to cleave, to assassinate, to
amputate, to scar, to notch, to carve, to use a
knife, to cut off, to lop, to gash, to mow, to saw;
kokotiga kore, indivisible; kokotihaga,
cutting, gash furrow. Churchill. |
The old year is cut
off as a ripe fruit, the navel string of the new year is cut off
and tied properly:
"... At the moment of delivery the man who ties
the navel cord (tangata hahau pito) is called in. The
tying of the navel cord is sacred and must be performed
according to ritual ...
The first knot (hahau a te matau, string
of the right) is tied after the string has made transverse turns
around the navel cord passing from left to right. After three
more transverse turns around the navel cord right to left, the
second knot (hahau patu maui, string to the left) is
tied. These
knots keep the child's strength in his body. The navel cord is
cut by a boy or girl (kope or vie nagi pito, young
man or woman who bites the navel) ..." (Métraux)
Pito
1. Umbilical cord; navel; centre of
something: te pito o te henua, centre of the
world. Ana poreko te poki, ina ekó rivariva mo
uru ki roto ki te hare o here'u i te poki; e-nanagi
te pito o te poki, ai ka-rivariva mo uru ki roto ki
te hare, when a child is born one must not enter
the house immediately, for fear of injuring the
child (that is, by breaking the taboo on a house
where birth takes place); only after the umbilical
cord has been severed can one enter the house. 2.
Also something used for doing one's buttons up
(buttonhole?). Vanaga.
Navel. Churchill.
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. |
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