TRANSLATIONS

TRANSLATIONS

The imagined straight central vertical line should stretch in the middle between the horizon in the east and the horizon in the west. There is such a line, between Anakena and Vinapu, between the sun and the moon, the line which makes me remember the definition of 'fire' in Hamlet's Mill:

... 'fire' is actually a great circle reaching from the North Pole of the celestial sphere to its South Pole ...

The 'noon' is according to this scheme not at Poike but a line crossing vertically from north to south and bringing a new 'fire'.

... 3. On the 'second list of place names', Hanga Te Pau is called 'the middle (zenith) of the land' (he tini o te kainga). This may refer to a line bisecting the island, but it can just as easily mean the gathering of a great number (of islanders). The plaza (130 x 130 meters) would have been very well suited for this purpose ...'

The ti plant should be at the 'zenith' becaus tini is beginning with ti-.

I have to add a page for these ideas:

6. The imaginary central vertical line in hau tea does correspond to an imaginary line on Easter Island. As has been suggested the vertical line at right in the glyph probably represents the horizon in the east and the vertical line at left the horizon in the west, while the central one cannot be a horizon - there is no more parallel horizon:

Instead the central line is imaginary - shown by it being a separate element not connected with the rest of the glyph.

The center of the island is Anakena with the king. As noted in Barthel 2, also Vinapu is located in the middle, and an imaginary line can be drawn between these two central places:

'... On the 'second list of place names', Hanga Te Pau is called 'the middle (zenith) of the land' (he tini o te kainga). This may refer to a line bisecting the island... Vinapu and Anakena were calendary opposites ...'

Astronomers observe stars rising in the east and setting in the west, but they also observe them when they are passing right overhead. A kind of structure with 3 parallel lines is used for observing stars.

Hamlet's Mill:

"It should be stated right now that 'fire' is actually a great circle reaching from the North Pole of the celestial sphere to its South Pole ..."

At noon sun stands high and blazing, and the great 'fire' circle noted in Hamlet's Mill presumably is equal to the imaginary line through Anakena southwards to Vinapu. Sun moves from east to west, but the imaginary line is oriented the other way, from north to south, and therefore it is a line marking time and a line connected with the moon. The name hau tea is quite in order, it is primarily a female glyph type, a glyph type for housing new life.

The main point is not where 'fire' is but when it is, I think. The location straight above must be combined with the right season. On Easter Island it may have been December after all, the season for which a new 'house' has been built.

Vinapu is connected with south and darkness, Anakena with north and light. So much is obvious. He Anakena is July (in midwinter), while the explorers had to return to Hanga Te Pau in order to fetch fire. This is strange.

If 'fire' is a great circle from the north to the south, then it must be reversed south of the equator: 'fire' is a great circle reaching from south to north. Therefore the fire had to fetched from Hanga Te Pau, I suspect.

The new day is born at midnight. It is brought from the south to the north, to Anakena - which explains why the first month of the year is He Anakena.

The link 'housing new life' continues this train of thoughts:

"The traditions show that the residences of the king were fairly flexible. The building of new 'houses' was obviously the result of (male) births in the royal family. In each case, the house that was built last is left to the newborn son and his mother, together with a specific servant, while the king has a new and separate residence constructed for himself.

Ms. E clearly demonstrates this procedure, which was followed in spite of Hotu Matua's quarrel with Vakai. In the text four houses are associated with the four sons. Later residences of Hotu Matua have different names and are the scenes of different activities. The four sons and the four houses are coordinated as shown in Table 10:

TABLE 10
1. Hare Tupa Tuu	1. Tuu Maheke
2. Hare Pu Rangi	2. Miru (Te Mata Nui)
3. Hare Moa Viviri	3. Tuu A Hotu Iti (Te Mata Iti)
4. Hare Moa Tataka	4. Tuu Rano Kau

The first house is located in Oromanga. It is the residence (maara noho) of the immigrant king that was envisioned in the dream voyage and sought by the explorers. The second and the third houses are also said to have been in Anakena, a short distance away ('60 meters', according to my informant). Supposedly, the same is true of the fourth house. It is difficult to translate the names of the houses. Below is an incomplete list of possible translations:

tupa tuu	'the crab has arrived'; 'the litter has arrived'; 'a stone tower has been erected'
pu rangi	'the shell trumpet calls'; 'hole in the sky'; 'royal tribe'
moa viviri	'rooster who turns around'; 'energetic son'
moa tataka	'the roosters form a circle'; 'son who departs' (? RAR.)' or 'son who doesn't fulfill the expectations (? MAO.)'; 'son who unites many around himself'

It appears that the names of the houses of the four sons are arranged in pairs and express some characteristics of the descendents who live in them. Only Ms. E shows this type of connection.

Arturo Teao mentions some of the names of the houses, but he does not associate them with the respective sons. According to him, 'Hare Tupa Tuu' is the first residence of the king after the immigration (TP:44). After the quarrel with Vakai, Hotu Matua moves to 'Hare Moa Viviri' and later to 'Hare Moa Tataka'.

The second and the third residences are associated with successful agricultural activities (TP:51). Then this source deviates from Ms. E: the fourth residence is 'Te Ngao O Te Honu', and the island king is accompanied to this place by a small adopted boy. The fifth residence is 'Taro Tataka'. In each case, the king is followed by Vakai.

According to Leonardo Pakarati, 'the neck of the turtle' was the birthplace of the youngest son, Tuu Hotu Iti. He has no information about the place called 'taro is standing in a circle'.

Ms. E lists as the last residences 'Aro Huri' (for three months), 'Maunga Pua' (for three months), and 'Tavarivari A Umi'. As already mentioned, 'Aro Huri' is a slight elevation in the flank of Maunga Koua, and it is the fourth point of demarcation along the border of the tabooed royal district. 'Maunga Pua' is the old name for the mountain now called 'Maunga Koua'. It is the fifth point of demarcation along the border of the royal precinct. The last name could not be located." (Barthel 2)

... The second and the third houses are also said to have been in Anakena, a short distance away ('60 meters', according to my informant). Supposedly, the same is true of the fourth house ...

60 meters (one meter for a solar double-month, I suppose) away a new house could have been built each year, or at least when a new male child was born - the new 'fire' having been delivered in the month He Anakena by the female in the south and brought to Anakena in the north.