next page

previous page

up

home

The book of Makemson, which I have borrowed from the library once again, contains much information pertinent to the discussion.

Long before winter solstice the 'turtle' casts her shadow on events, because when summer disappears she enters the scene. By implication we will understand summer as male (represented by Kuukuu).

"A connection between the new year and the harvesting of crops reminiscent of an earlier period when the evening appearance of the Pleiades in the east more nearly coincided with the arrival of the Sun at the autumnal equinox is seen in the prolonged Hawaiian ceremonies ushering in the new year.

For in the month September-October, while the old year still had two months to run, announcement was made to the people by placing a certain signal outside the temple walls that the new year had begun." (Makemson)

Time runs ('the old year still had two months to run'). Except at the solstices, when sun seems to take a rest.

Sun (summer, Kuukuu) disappears at crop time.

"crop ... A. bird's craw ... B. †head of a plant ... top of an object ... upper part of a whip ... produce of plants used for food ... pluck, pull ... " (English Etymology)

On the other side of the equator:

"The important time of year in New Zealand was the tenth month when the sweet potato crop was harvested and stored in pits against the unproductive months of the winter.

The eleventh and twelfth months were considered completely negligible. Since March-April is usually declared to be the month of harvest or the tenth month, the year must accordingly have started in May-June, which places the winter solstice in either the first or second month." (Makemson)

Maybe also Sun was stored in a pit during the two 'neglilible' months of winter? In the conceptual model where celestial 'persons' rise from 'pits' at the eastern horizon there surely must be a 'storing in pits' at the western horizon.

10 months at some time became 12 months:

"From the natives of South Island [of New Zealand] White [John] heard a quaint myth which concerns the calendar and its bearing on the sweet potato crop.  

Whare-patari, who is credited with introducing the year of twelve months into New Zealand, had a staff with twelve notches on it. He went on a visit to some people called Rua-roa (Long pit) who were famous round about for their extensive knowledge.

The name Rua-roa (Long pit) certainly alludes to solstice time. Whare-patari means 'the house of the Magellanic cloud'.

"According to Tutakangahu, the sage of the Tuhoes, the Maori priests gathered young shoots of food plants and offered them on special altars to those stars which were believed able to provide abundance by influencing the growth of both wild and cultivated products as well as the multiplication of fish and game. The priests then intoned rituals beseeching the stars to bestow a plentiful supply:

Tuputuputu atua / Ka eke mai i te rangi e roa e, / Whangainga iho ki te mata o te tau e roa e.

Magellanic Cloud [Tuputuputu is another name for the Magellanic Clouds], sacred one, / Mounting the heavens, / Cause all the new year's products to flourish.

In the succeeding stanzas the prayer was addressed to Atutahi (Canopus), Takurua (Sirius), Whanui (Vega), and other food-bringing stars in turn, the second and third lines being repeated for each star. It will be noticed that these food-giving stars are not in general the same as the stars which governed the months." (Makemson)

They inquired of Whare how many months the year had according to his reckoning. He showed them the staff with its twelve notches, one for each month. They replied: 'We are in error since we have but ten months. Are we wrong in lifting our crop of kumara (sweet potato) in the eighth month?'  

Whare-patari answered: 'You are wrong. Leave them until the tenth month. Know you not that there are two odd feathers in a bird's tail? Likewise there are two odd months in the year.' The grateful tribe of Rua-roa adopted Whare's advice and found the sweet potato crop greatly improved as the result. We are not told what new ideas he acquired from these people of great learning in exchange for his valuable advice. The Maori further accounted for the twelve months by calling attention to the fact that there are twelve feathers in the tail of the huia bird and twelve in the choker or bunch of white feathers which adorns the neck of the parson bird." (Makemson)

Conceptually there seems to be a connection between neck and tail. I believe the explanation is that at crop time the 'head' is taken (by cutting the 'neck') and that will be the end ('tail') of the old 'bird'.

On Easter Island they may once have had 10 months, whereof 2 'odd feathers' could have been located at the 'tail' of the old year - because once upon a time the Maori had lifted their kumara crop in the 8th month.

"... There are other traces of an ancient year of ten months. The Marquesans, for example, termed a year of ten lunar months one puni or 'round'. Puni was the name for year in Easter Island. According to the ancient history of Kanalu some Hawaiian tribes assigned fourteen months to the year, or hookahi puni ma eha malama, one puni consisting of ten months plus four odd months ..." (Makemson)

There are 14 glyphs before we arrive at the 'break' in Aa1-15:

If we count with 14 months (which number indicates a 'lunar' calendar), then we must include the X-area (given that one glyph corresponds to one month). The creator of Tahua may however have used a solar view with 12 periods (glyphs), of which 8 probably cover the 'summer' time (and the two last of which have a 'tail' character).

Maybe, though, we should include Aa1-3--4 and reach a 'summer' with 10 periods:

The connections between the digging stick, cuckoo and summer appear also among the Maori:

"The Maori recognized two main divisions of the year: winter or takurua, a name for Sirius which then shone as morning star, and summer, raumati or o-rongo-nui, 'of the great Rongo', god of agriculture.

They occasionally recognized spring as the digging season koanga, from ko, the digging stick or spade. The autumn or harvest season was usually spoken of as ngahuru, 'tenth' (month), although it was considered to include also the last two months of the year. Mahuru was the personification of spring." (Makemson)

"The Maori term o-rongo-nui was undoubtedly applied to summer as in phrases such as te ra roa o te marua-roa o te o-rongo-nui, 'the long days (ra, Sun) of the summer solstice'; but it was also extended to cover the months of spring and early summer as well as those of late summer and fall.

This is evident from such statements in the legends as: 'That bird is a cuckoo, and that is the bird of matahi o te tau o o-rongo-nui', i.e., of the first month of the summer season, although in New Zealand the cuckoo, like the robin in the north temperate zone, was the harbinger of spring.

Also, 'Hine-rau-wharangi' was born in the month Ao-nui (first light) of the o-rongo-nui'. Among the Takitumu tribe Ao-nui was the name for May-June, the first month of the year which belonged to late fall or early winter.

Rongo was the name for June in the Chatham Islands and began the Moriori year." (Makemson)

In the Maori perspective Aa1-3--4 probably would be read as included in 'summer'. Earlier I had thought along other lines:

'Two persons running and holding the sky in their uplifted left hand (Aa1-3--4) - are they Hau Maka and Hua Tava? Is Hiva depicted in Aa1-2? And who is representing the beginning of it all in Aa1-1? Until now I have thought about these glyphs as 'celestial' in character, with Aa1-3 and Aa1-4 as perhaps describing the revolving skies of the two half-years. Time is running. The sky should be observed during the night and therefore a moon in Aa1-2. Even Metoro may have thought along these lines - he said tagata ui ki tona marama (a man is looking at the light).'

The firstborn son of Hua Tava was Kuukuu. Hau Maka had only 2 sons (Ira and Raparenga) - couldn't they represent the two 'odd feathers' in the 'tail'? But then we should expect 8 sons of Hua Tava (corresponding to the 'even' feathers of the 'summer'), whereas they according to Manuscript E were 5 only.

If we consider that in Hawaii new year was inaugurated already in September-October, i.e. around autumn equinox, then it would be possible to reinterpret Aa1-1--4 accordingly. On Easter Island new year may also have started around autumn equinox:

The difficulty we earlier had in understanding why two 'running' persons followed in suit now disappears. Because possibly the new year starts with Aa1-1--2 (before autumn equinox) and then the time between autumn and spring equinox is 'neglilible', i.e. does not need any representation in glyph form.

The 2 'neglilible' periods are not represented by glyphs. We would then have 12 glyphs for 'summer' (Aa1-1--12). Consequently we arrive at the Hawaiian model with 14 months for the year:

'The Marquesans, for example, termed a year of ten lunar months one puni or 'round'. Puni was the name for year in Easter Island. According to the ancient history of Kanalu some Hawaiian tribes assigned fourteen months to the year, or hookahi puni ma eha malama, one puni consisting of ten months plus four odd months ...'

The 4 'odd months' could be the 2 'neglilible' (not seen as glyphs) 'months' + Aa1-1--2.

The 'months' of 'summer' (red in the table below) are 6 only, with 4 'winter' (black) 'months':

 We have, though, 4 glyphs, (Aa1-1--2 and Aa1-11--12) which may be 'black':

     

Aa1-12 seems to powerfully announce 'end'. Therefore the two Vaitu periods could be Aa1-11--12.

Maro and Anakena would then be Aa1-1--2. That leaves the two Hora ('summer') periods and they should be 'red':

We may now 'read' the 12 first glyphs of the Tahua text like this:

The two 'equinox' glyphs (here suggested to mean Hora Iti and Hora Nui) may be interpreted as belonging to 'summer'.

The 'black' glyphs are 4 in number and may be interpreted as 'odd feathers' in the plumage of the 'year bird'. These 4 should be located between Hora Iti and Hora Nui (if these two glyphs really do represent the equinoxes), but that would lead to a totally different structure:

The 'end' glyph (Aa1-12) cannot reasonably be the first glyph of the year. But if we relocate that glyph to where it was originally - at the end - then we will have only 3 glyphs before the 4 identical glyphs arrive (which obviously must be grouped together). Three groups à 4 periods is one of the goals.

So 'Hora Iti' (autumn equinox, Aa1-3) must belong to the 1st quartet of glyphs:

But this is not a good structure, because 'Hora Iti' is 'red' and it would be strange if the 'black' half of the year should start with a 'red' glyph ('period'). There is therefore no better structure than what we find in the Tahua text. Symmetry demands this structure - the 'black' season should not be split up by the 'red' Hora Iti.

If we count 14 * 30 = 420, then these 420 nights could be divided into 12 * 30 = 360 nights 'inside the calendar' and 2 * 30 = 60 ('neglilible') nights 'outside the calendar'. These 60 nights would be representing the '7th flame of the sun' needed to reach 15 * 28 = 420 nights. If we count with 8 * 30 = 240 nights in 'summer' ('red'), then 4 * 30 = 120 nights will be in 'winter' ('black'). There would be 2 'wives' in 'summer' and 1 'wife' in 'winter.

The central 'lady' would be represented by: