TRANSLATIONS

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There are no ragi glyphs in the Mamari moon calendar and neither are there any ragi in the calendars for the week (in H and P). In the 2nd, 3rd and 5th periods of the G and K calendars for the year, however, we find signs of ragi. We begin, though, from the beginning:

1
Ga2-27 Ga2-28 Ga2-29 Ga3-1 Ga3-2 Ga3-3 Ga3-4 Ga3-5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
8 suggest the sun.
Ka3-15 Ka3-16 Ka3-17 Ka3-18 Ka3-19 Ka3-20 Ka3-21
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7 suggests the moon.

I intended to investigate whether the K calendar was using a lunar perspective in contrast to a solar perspective in G, but already at the beginning difficulties were found:

In Ka3-17 the beak suggests moon, which was noted at niu in the glyph dictionary:

... Ka3-17 (which, we can conclude, informs about the new moon light) is designed similar to Eb7-6, which we know means the moon ...

In the Translation part a more detailed discussion describes the arguments:

... The interpretation of Eb7-6 and Ka3-17 as the 'moon bird' support each other, because the conclusions are arrived at separately and independently. Eb7-6 'must' represent the moon according to its place in what I earlier have guessed is a calendar for the week, while Ka3-17 (the new evidence) is deduced to represent the 1st night of waning moon by way of the pattern of the numbers (16 = the 'dark' phase when waxing moon has disappeared). 16 is similar to 29 (dark new moon) and both are then comparable with the vero number for the sun (19). Or to be more accurate: 29 (moon) and 19 (sun) imply 'the dark cloth', while 16 (moon) and 11 (sun) relate to the point of changeover from growth to decline:

moon

sun

phase

15

10

apex

16

11

vero 1

28

18

final

29

19

vero 2

The parallel Ga3-1 is not manu rere but manu kake. Its assymmetry resembles that in Cb5-9:

Cb4-17 Cb4-18 Cb4-19 Cb4-20 Cb4-21
 In Cb4-19 somebody is leaving in a canoe, it seems.
Cb4-22 Cb4-23
Cb5-1 Cb5-2 Cb5-3 Cb5-4 Cb5-5
In Cb5-1--2 we have two glyphs with ragi, possibly 2 because there are 2 moons in Cb4-17--18.
Cb5-6 Cb5-7
Cb5-8 Cb5-9 Cb5-10 Cb5-11 Cb5-12
I have redmarked glyphs with ordinal number 9 and 19.
Cb5-13 Cb5-14
Cb5-15 Cb5-16 Cb5-17 Cb5-18 Cb5-19
In Cb5-19 an 'eating mouth' follows the full cycle at Cb5-18.
Cb5-20 Cb5-21

Cb4-20 resembles the 'fire-generator' in e.g. Ka3-14:

Ka3-12 Ka3-13 Ka3-14

Before Cb4-17 there is an 'end-of-period' glyph and beyond Cb5-21 a new glyph line begins:

...
Cb4-16 Cb6-1

The strange 'hook' in Cb6-1 is similar to the 'hook' in Ka3-14, possibly not a coincidence. Beyond Ka3-14 the 1st period of the calendar begins and Cb6-1 is the first glyph in a new line - 'hook' at left (past) is reasonable.

Reading glyphs together with their ordinal numbers seems to be the only secure way to read rongorongo texts. The 'eating mouth' (refilling station) has sun characteristics (a double rim), while the full cycle in Cb5-18 has only one rim (i.e. presumably means moon).

Beyond the final Cb5-20 with hua and ariki a ghostlike king remains (Cb5-21). At Cb5-10 (the halfway station) nuku with maro (3) is followed by ariki and a sign of death (ihe tau) - somewhat resembling Aa1-11:

Logically then, Cb5-9 may have a meaning similar to that in Aa1-10:

Is this not a clue to why the left head in manu kake is drawn smaller? Only one 'eye' in Aa1-10 - together with 'knee' at right - indicates 'past the center' yet not fully 'cooked', i.e. a curious 'half-cooked' character (still alive and hard to kill like a turtle).

Cb4-17--18 resemble the beginning of the 2nd month in the Mamari calendar:

Cb4-17 Cb4-18
Ca9-1 Ca9-2

Their 'greater' shapes, together with ordinal number 18, suggest the meaning is sun rather than moon, though.

Maybe in Aa1-10 we also should read two 'sun canoes', one dangling and newly released and one still 'inhabiting' the arm?

Is the 'canoe' in Aa1-2 a symbol for the sun or for the moon? Its ends are uplifted as in Cb4-17--18, yet it is slim like Ca9-1--2:

I think the 28 glyphs, Cb4-17--Cb5-21, are to be read as two subgroups, where the first subgroup ends with the last glyph in line b4:

Cb4-17 Cb4-18 Cb4-19 Cb4-20 Cb4-21
 In Cb4-19 somebody is leaving in a canoe, it seems.
Cb4-22 Cb4-23

I wrote 'subgroups' (not 'groups') because they must belong together - the number of glyphs otherwise would become odd. 7 + 21 = 28.

¼ + ¾ = 1, a pattern we recognize as '1 + 3'.

21, 42 and 84 are 1, 2 and 4. Glyph number 63 (= 3 * 21 = 9 * 7) in the K calendar, how does it look?

Ka4-14 Kb1-5 Kb2-4 Kb3-7
21 42 *63 *84
6 15 18 23

The impression is that honu at last is beeing 'fully cooked'. There is a balance between fully alive (mago) and fully dead (honu). Period 18 in the K calendar is located beyond autumn equinox we have read earlier, yet the seasons as described in the calendars are rather fluid. 18 - 6 = 12.

15 + 1 = 16 and 23 + 1 = 24, i.e. 2 * 8 respectively 3 * 8.

21, 42, 63 and 84 = 7 * (3, 6, 9 respectively 12).

The pattern '1 + 3' implies that the 'odd one' (1) has a 'ghostlike' character, at least judging from Kb2-4. We should look again for confirmation in line 18:

... Next period has a problem: Is there a glyph missing between Kb2-4 and Kb2-101?

18

...

-

Kb2-1

Kb2-2

Kb2-3

Kb2-4

Kb2-101

Kb2-102

20

-

Ga5-22

Ga5-23

Ga5-24

Ga5-25

Ga5-26

Ga5-27

Ga5-28

Ga5-29

Unless Kb2-101 once extended much to the left of what now remains of the glyph, the answer should be yes, according to how Barthel has copied the sequence of glyphs:

We can even guess that the missing glyph was of the type maitaki (GD53), because of for instance Eb4-10, Ca14-215 and Sa5-407.

Period 18, beginning at the beginning of a new line (b2), consequently once, presumably, had 7 glyphs ...

Period 18 corresponds to period 20 in G and the 'end-of-period' in G has ordinal number 29, beyond which we have:

21
Ga5-30 Ga6-1 Ga6-2 Ga6-3 Ga6-4
19 -
Kb2-103 Kb2-104 Kb2-105 Kb2-106

Although G and K do not seem to walk hand in hand - cfr e.g. the 'solar fist' at right in Ga6-1 while it is at left in Kb2-103 - a new season is beginning in both calendars.

The subgroup '1' has in the 'twins' Cb4-22--23 'spooky' hands (3 together):

Cb4-17 Cb4-18 Cb4-19 Cb4-20 Cb4-21
 In Cb4-19 somebody is leaving in a canoe, it seems.
Cb4-22 Cb4-23

The number of eyes in Cb4-22--23 is also 3 (+ a special one at left in Cb4-23). The central 'story' evidently is:

Cb4-19 Cb4-20 Cb4-21

Leaving in a canoe, making new fire, flying forward.

The figure in the canoe (in Cb4-19) appears again as number 10 in the 2nd subgroup ('3'), or as number 14 counted from Cb4-19:

Cb5-1 Cb5-2 Cb5-3 Cb5-4 Cb5-5
The left part of Cb5-2 and Cb5-13 belong together.
Cb5-6 Cb5-7
Cb5-8 Cb5-9 Cb5-10 Cb5-11 Cb5-12
Cb5-10 connects back to Cb4-19.
Cb5-13 Cb5-14
Cb5-15 Cb5-16 Cb5-17 Cb5-18 Cb5-19
The full cycle is used as a 'fruit' in Cb5-20.
Cb5-20 Cb5-21