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The story of Kuukuu and his fight with the turtle as told in Manuscript E makes an interesting distinction between him and the other 6 explorers: When telling about his actions the story says 'you' as if the listener (or reader) was Kuukuu, e.g.:

"... Now you spoke, Kuukuu: 'You don't have the necessary ability, but I shall move this turtle. Get out of my way!' ... "

I cannot make any definite sense out of this phenomenon. Possibly it is just a way of making the story more lively for the listener / reader. Possibly it is a way of making the number of the explorers uncertain (because 'you' obviously do not belong to that group); an ambiguity between 6 and 7 could be what is intended.

Possibly 'you' is directed to the sun, or to the kuhane of Kuukuu.

As to the concept of sacrifice I have never understood that phenomenon. But now I think I am beginning to understand. The seasons of Mother Nature are defined from the ruling events. Time is a limited resource and therefore all events cannot be at the same time. The ruling events do no crowd at the same place but are harmoniously spread out over the year (or day etc). Variation is a must, therefore different ruling events follow after each other in an orderly manner. This is the human situation.

The celestial situation is not only similar but the celestial situation is the governing system. The return of the sun in spring revitalizes Mother Nature and the ruling events of man are thereby also returning to what is due in spring.

When sun returns he at the same time is leaving the opposite 'earth', i.e. there he is leaving in autumn. It is a fluctuating cycle and there must be both ups and downs.

The ruling events cannot crowd into the same location at one time. Therefore ruling events must leave when time is due. To leave is like dying, to appear is like birth. We could say 'reappear' when talking about the celestial situation. But then we should also say 'releave' when that time is due.

Strangely 'releave' is a word that does not seem to exist. 'Relieve' means the opposite: 'to raise again'.

When Kuukuu leaves it may be a sacrifice, because at crucial times there should be a sacrifice and he leaves at a crucial time. We follow the lead of the government in the sky, the ruling events there we translate into the ruling events here. When a celestial person leaves that is a sign for us to make a similar move.

In the celestial situation when one being (re)leaves another (re)appears at the other horizon. The human situation is similar: When an old person is relieved from his duties another (younger) must appear and take over. Is this the reason why the storyteller says 'you'?

"... They came to Rapanga, to Ira, to Ringiringi and all those places; and so they came to Mataveri. At Mataveri they met a young man in the middle of their way, and so again were six. They now had come around the land, completely round. Therefore they climbed the slopes of Rano kao to where their yams were planted. The grass was tall again, the place was full of weeds, of waving weeds like waves upon the beach ..." 

Barthel 2 (and Manuscript E) also tells of the young man who appears to take Kuukuu's place:

"After naming the topographical features of Easter Island with names from their land of origin, the emissaries went from the west coast up to the rim of Rano Kau, where Kuukuu had started a yam plantation some time earlier.

After they had departed from Pu Pakakina they reached Vai Marama and met a man. Ira asked, 'How many are your?' He answered, 'There were two of us.'

Ira continued asking, 'Where is he (the other)?' To that he answered, 'The one died.'

Again Ira aksed, 'Who has died?' He replied, 'That was Te Ohiro A Te Runu.'

Ira asked anew, 'And who are you?' He answered, 'Nga Tavake A Te Rona.'

After this, the emissaries and Nga Tavake went to the yam plantation."

"Through the meeting with Nga Tavake, the representative of the original population in the area north of Rano Kau, the number of the explorers is once again complete.

Not only are Kuukuu and Nga Tavake related as 'loss' and 'gain', but also they share the same economic function: it was Kuukuu's special mission to establish a yam plantation after the landing (in his role he represents the vital function of the good planter); Nga Tavake joined the explorers to work with them in the yam plantation of the dead Kuukuu (i.e., he closes the gap caused by the death of Kuukuu among the planters.)"

Metoro does not mention Nga Tavake at Aa1-12 (where he possibly could have appeared:

Nga is a plural marker:

Tavake occurs in Barthel's bird list as number 9:

"Tavake is the general Polynesian name for the topic bird, whose red tail feathers were very popular. This name is closely connected with the original population." (Barthel 2)

"The Red-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda, is a seabird that nests across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the rarest of the tropicbirds, yet is still a widespread bird that is not considered threatened. It nests in colonies on oceanic islands.

The Red-tailed Tropicbird looks like a stout tern, and hence closely resembles the other two tropicbird species. It has generally white plumage, often with a pink tinge, a black crescent around the eye and a thin red tail feather. It has a bright red bill and black feet.