|
TRANSLATIONS
Possibly small signs are clues to sound values, and this may
well be
such an example: Ikaika ('brilliant') was the name of
Jupiter on Hawaii, and the names of Jupiter and Saturn were
often jumbled in Polynesia.
| "Planets or wandering stars were
of interest mainly for astrological purposes or as
weather indicators, as in the case of Saturn or
Jupiter whose misty aspect forewarned of storms.
In modern times much confusion
prevails regarding the identification of the ancient
names with individual planets. Naholoholo,
for example, was applied to both Venus and Saturn by
various Hawaiian authorities, although their natures
are quite distinctive. Since the name signifies
swift-moving, the identity with Venus is the more
logical as Saturn is the slowest of the planets.
Holoholo-pinaau was said to
be Saturn by one, Mars by another; the name which
means 'weaving to and fro' is most appropriate to
Mars. It is possible, however that the same name was
applied to different planets in the various islands
of the same archipelago." (Makemson) |
I do not
subscribe to the suggestions by Makemson as to what name is
most appropriate for which planet.
Horohoro, for example, has
other relevant meanings.
|
Horo
1. To wash down, to gulp, to swallow, to bolt food;
horohoro, to swallow, to gobble, gluttonous,
greedy, insatiable, voracious. P Pau.: tahoro,
to swallow; horomiti, id. Mgv.: horo,
oro, id. Mq.: hoó, to eat poi, to
swallow without chewing. Ta.: horo puupuu, to
bolt food; horomii, to swallow, to devour. 2. To
escape, to hide. P Pau.: horo, to hide, to
bury, to avoid. 3. To trot (horau). P Pau.:
horo, to run, to gallop. Mgv.: oro,
ohoro, to pass along quickly. Mq.: hoó,
to run, to make haste. Ta.: horo, to run. 4.
To put an edge on, a jointing plane (orooro);
horohoro, to brush, to polish, to clear up,
to rub wood, to rumple; maea horohoro, snowy
rock. P Mgv.: oro, to rub, to whet, to
sharpen. Mq.: hoó, to rub on a stone. Ta.:
hororaa to, a cane mill; oro, to rasp, to
grate. 5. To starch (horoi). Mgv.: oro,
to wash. 6. To have recourse to, to repass. 7. ?
horo varevare, without branches. Churchill.
Mgv.: horo, to crumble,
fall, slip down. Ta.: horo, a landslide. Sa.:
solo, to slide down, to fall. Ma.: horo,
a landslide. Churchill.
Horoga, demarcation.
Horohopae, to save, to economize, steward (horauhopae).
Churchill.
Horoi.
1. To dry, to wipe (horo 5);
horoimata, handkerchief. P Mgv.: horoi,
oroi, a towel, handkerchief, anything used as
a wiper after bathing. Mq.: hoói, to wash, to
cleanse, to purify, to scour, to rinse, to dry, to
bathe, to dry the tears, to console. Ta.: horoi,
handkercief, to wash, to cleanse. 2. To clean, to
efface, to sharpen (horo 4). Mq.: hoói,
to efface. Churchill.
|
Hb9-53 is located as the first glyph beyond a pau position (9 * 52 = 468 = 18 * 26). Saturn (Ikaika) is in the dark. He has been washed down (horo) - fatal for a 'fire' - from the 'tree' (in Thursday).
At the same time he is put at the edge - a new week is just around the 'corner'. It is in the dark that a new fire will be alighted. First, however, all traces of the old one must be swept away (washed away, buried, hidden, scoured).
The only meaning buried in the word horo which at first does not seem to fit with the Saturn situation is 'to run' (move quickly, trot):
"The gait specification in the senses run, trot, gallop, must be thrown out of the reckoning, for the Polynesians had no large mammals on which to study differences in methods of locomotion. The germ sense is that of swift motion." (Churchill's comment on item 3.)
Churchill's comment does not ban 'quick movement' from horo. I can only understand it as the quick movement in falling down from the top of the 'tree':
  
The fate of the warrior is to die, thereby giving life.
"After the enumeration of the three main gods, the theme of the first man follows: 'Tiki the lord' (T:20 and L:30 [Tiki Te Hatu in both lists]), or 'Tiki, who gives commands' (? or L:31 'Tiki, who is satisfied?' [Tiki Tena], a possible translation from HAW.) has 'Uru the husband' for a son (T:21 and L:32 [Uru Kenu respectively Urukenu]).
This sequence coincides with the one established in other parts of eastern Polynesia (Hawaii, Tahiti, Chatham Islands), where the son of the first human pair, Tiki and Hina, was named Uru. If T:23 ['Nau Ta Mahiki'] can be emended to read 'Nana Mahiki', the parallel becomes even more obvious, since names such as 'Nana', 'Nanana', and similar ones immediately follow 'Uru' (Stoke´s 1930)." (Barthel 2)
The son of Ulu was not Nana but Mokuola in another version, we know:
... With the first mouthful, health returned to the body of the child, and from that time he grew in strength and stature until he attained to the fulness of perfect manhood. He became a mighty warrior in those days, and was known throughout all the island, so that when he died, his name, Mokuola, was given to the islet in the bay of Hilo where his bones were buried; by which name it is called even to the present time ...
Another good picture to illustrate the Saturn situation is the frieze on the gable of the Taranaki storehouse:
Beyond the apex the king has vanished,
only his 'egg' is left (though from us seen at right). Then come a vacant space
(Saturn), followed by a new child.
The word nana is mixed (nane) with several related seemingly different words:
| Nana Mgv.: 1. To look at, to view. Ta.: nana, to see, to look at. Ha.: nana, to view attentively. 2. Angry, offended. Ma.: nana, in a passion. Churchill.
Nanagi, to tear with the teeth. Nanai, spider; kahu nanai, cobweb. Churchill.
Pau.: Nanao, to insert the hand. Mgv.: nanao, to take fish out of a wicker basket. Ta.: nanao, neneo, to introduce the hand. Mq.: nanao, to grope in. Sa.: naonao, to feel for by introducing the hand. Ma.: nao, to feel with the hand. Churchill. |
| Nane Mgv.: To mix, to mingle. Ta.: nane, mixed, confused. Ta.: anoni, anoi, to mix, to confuse. Ha.: anoni, to mix together. Churchill.
Nanenane, sweetness. Churchill.
Pau.: Nanea, enough, satisfying, to multiply. Mgv.: nenea, to abound, multiply. Ta.: nanea, capacious, containing much, multiply. Sa.: nanea, food affording large portions in the distribution. Ma.: nanea, copious, satisfying. Churchill. |
| Nani Mgv.: To chew. Ha.: nani, to bite, to catch hold of with the teeth. Churchill.
Mq.: Naninani, to strut, to show off. Ha.: naninani, to enjoy the honors of a chief. Churchill. |
| Nanu Mgv.: To curse, Ma.: nanu, to grumble at. Churchill. |
Letting my imagination roam free, those 'peculiar eyes' at midsummer (when spring sun becomes initiated and a warrior) are depicted as looking attentively (nana) and with passion ('all eyes'), therefore in the mood of a jumbled and confused (nane) mind, and suddenly the youngster struts like a chief (naninani).
When Metoro said hakaturou (to curse) at noon it was probably in order to refer to nanu, thereby alluding to the other closely related words (nana, nane, nani) - which heathen meanings the Bishop would not like to hear of.
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Aa1-24 |
Aa1-25 |
Aa1-26 |
Aa1-27 |
| ko te nuahine - i mamau i te ahi |
e uhi tapamea |
ko te ahi - hakaturou |
ki te henua |
It is an old woman (nuahine) who - it seems - is arresting (mamau) the 'spring' sun. At the apex of Poike the black (po) is converted to white by the tapa beater (ike - a word not far from ika). The 'ghostly' Y at the top of the sun in Aa1-26 is reflected, I guess, in Saturday:
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Hb9-51 |
Hb9-52 |
Hb9-53 |
Hb9-54 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Hb9-55 |
Hb9-56 |
Hb9-57 |
Hb9-58 |
Possibly the glyphs should be read in
pairs, in which case there might be opened eyes
depicted in Hb9-55, followed by Rei (Mother
of Pearl). The pearl must be the 'fruit' (hua),
the son of the sun.
Hb9-57 may be a picture of disorder
and Hb9-58 could illustrate the eternal soul leaving
the scene by rising towards the sky.
Saturn in
a way is located at 'noon', a paradox indeed, the
darkest of planets at the brightest of seasons. The
reason is that he follows Venus, the brightest of
planets, and he therefore has the unfortunate
position of illustrating the downfall of all grown
up life
beyond its apex.
We have
one word left to explain, viz. mahiki:
... This sequence coincides with the
one established in other parts of eastern Polynesia
(Hawaii, Tahiti, Chatham Islands), where the son of
the first human pair, Tiki and Hina,
was named Uru. If T:23 ['Nau Ta Mahiki']
can be emended to read 'Nana Mahiki',
the parallel becomes even more obvious, since names
such as 'Nana', 'Nanana', and similar
ones immediately follow 'Uru' ...
I cannot find mahiki in my
word lists, but it should be ma-hiki ('with'
hiki), I guess. And then it is possible to
connect:
| Hiki
To flex the knees lightly, as
used to do the youths of both sexes when,
after having stayed inside for a long period
to get a fair complexion, they showed
themselves off in dances called te hikiga
haúga, parading on a footpath of smooth
stones, with their faces painted, lightly
flexing their knees with each step. Vanaga.
Tail fin G (? hiku).
Churchill.
Hiki kioe (Cyperus
vegetus), a plant whose roots were eaten
during times of famine and the stems of
which were used for medicinal purposes.
Barthel 2. |
Once again we are back at midsummer,
when spring sun is 'turned upside down', and when it
is time to show off. The bending of knees
illustrates how the path of the sun (the footpath of
smooth stones) is bent (curved, has a joint).
The tail of the rat (hikukio'e)
had the alternative name hiki kioe:
The name (Nau Ta Mahiki) does
not have to be emended, I think.
|
Nau(nau)
Sandalwood which used to grow on the steep
slopes of the coast: nau opata.
Vanaga.
The Sandalwood (Santalum)
tree. During the birdman ceremonies at
Orongo, a piece of sandalwood was tied
to the arm with which the victorious birdman
held up the egg of the sooty tern. Barthel
2.
...
He [Oroi] went into a (grove of )
sandalwood. He had hidden there so he could
watch the arrival of the king and (at the
moment when) the foot (of the king touched
the loop) quickly pull the rope. Then
Oroi would come out immediately and kill
the king ... Barthel 2. |
| Tá
OR. Write, writing. The name
of writing before the term rongorongo
in 1871 became current. Fischer.
1. To tattoo ( = tatú),
to tattoo pictures on the skin, also:
he-tá ite kona, tá-kona. 2. To weave (a
net): he-tá i te kupega. 3. To shake
something, moving it violently up and down
and from one side to the other; he-tá e
te tokerau i te maga miro, the wind
shakes the branches of the trees; also in
the iterative form: e-tá-tá-ana e te
tokerau i te tôa, the wind continuously
shakes the leaves of the sugarcane. 4. To
pull something up suddenly, for instance, an
eel just caught, dropping it at once on a
stone and killing it: he-tá i te koreha.
Tá-tá-vena-vena,
ancient witching formula. Vanaga.
1. Of. 2. This, which. 3.
Primarily to strike: to sacrifice, to
tattoo, to insert, to imprint, to write, to
draw, to copy, to design, to color, to
paint, to plaster, to note, to inscribe, to
record, to describe, number, letter, figure,
relation; ta hakatitika, treaty;
ta igoa, sign; ta ki, secretary;
ta kona, to tattoo; ta vanaga,
secretary. Churchill.
... the root ta
through its long series of known
combinations carries a strongly featured
sense of action that is peripheral,
centrifugal, and there seems to be at least
a suspicion of the further connotation that
the action is exerted downward ... The
secondary sense of cutting will easily be
seen to be a striking with a specialized
implement, and we find this sense stated
without recognition of the primal striking
sense only in Mangareva, Nukuoro, Viti, and
Malekula. In Indonesia this secondary sense
is predominant, although Malagasy ta
may come somewhat close to the striking idea
... Churchill 2. |
... the root ta through its
long series of known combinations carries a strongly
featured sense of action that is peripheral,
centrifugal, and there seems to be at least a
suspicion of the further connotation that the action
is exerted downward ...
It must be added here, that Venus (which the Maya
feared so much) has two disordered 'eyes' as her
last glyph:
|
