TRANSLATIONS

TRANSLATIONS

The first page of tagata rere:

A few preliminary remarks and imaginations:

1. These are the tagata rere glyphs in G:


Ga1-7	Ga1-9	Ga7-13

Gb5-7	Gb5-8	Gb5-9	Gb5-11	Gb5-26

The first three of them look more as 'true' tagata rere than the following 5, I think; looking straight at us and birdlike in appearance. Maybe tagata rere means bird man?

The wings of tagata rere are shorter than those of manu rere:


tagata rere	manu rere

I imagine tagata rere hardly could fly. If tagata rere represents some kind of bird it must be a moa rather than a manu.

Interestingly, Metoro never mentioned moa at any of the total of 58 tagata rere glyphs he had opportunity to comment upon. There ought to be some intrinsic opposition between tagata rere and moa.

Possibly Metoro from the surrounding glyphs deduced that the tagata rere glyphs he encounterd could not be moa. But if so, then tagata rere glyphs must occur only at distinct special occasions.

Another, and more plausible, possibility is that moa always must be seen with the upper part of their torso turned toward us - with two wings, kara, in view instead of one:


manu rere	moe	tagata rere	kara etahi	vae kore	moa

Maybe tagata rere are the spirits of men, while manu rere are the spirits of dead gods. Nothing runs (rere) as quickly as thought.

2. The tagata rere glyphs must, according to my classification, have their upper bodies in front view. Their heads, though, can either be en face or seen in profile.

Among the 17 tagata rere glyphs in Mamari a sitting posture is common:


Ca2-11	Ca6-26	Ca7-9	Ca7-18	Ca7-26

Ca8-5	Ca8-12	Ca8-23	Ca8-25	Ca12-12

Cb2-13	Cb2-23	Cb2-25	Cb6-2	Cb6-3

Cb7-23	Cb8-1

Tagata rere glyphs appear to be short in stature compared with tagata:


tagata rere	tagata

If tagata is contrasted with tagata rere in meaning, we can draw the conclusion that tagata rere glyphs are located at the beginning of seasons (which would explain their short stature, not yet fully grown).

If the beginning comes at the same time as the end there will be - in cyclical time - difficulty in distinguishing them. Therefore the beginning should come before the end. The reverse would be catastrophic, yet maybe such was the rule.

The sitting posture may be a secondary effect of a wish to show pregnancy, which will be easy with a side view. Next page:

3. These are the 22 tagata rere glyphs in Q:


Qa2-130	Qa4-129	Qa6-9	Qa6-21	Qa6-43

Qa9-13	Qa9-31

Qb1-7	Qb1-12	Qb1-14	Qb1-50	Qb1-51

Qb3-22	Qb3-23	Qb5-101	Qb5-126	Qb5-130

Qb5-132	Qb5-134	Qb5-202	Qb5-204	Qb7-128

Those who are drawn as sitting down ought to be seen in profile (cfr kai), but the upper part of the tagata rere has been turned towards us. They have turned a quarter around:


tagata rere	Gb8-5

Owls are capable of turning their heads much more than men.

It could be said that a sitting down person who has twisted her upper body towards us is sitting sideways.

... The older sister of god and man, La'ila'i, is the firstborn to all the eras of previous creation. By Hawaiian theory, as firstborn La'ila'i is the legitimate heir to creation; while as woman she is uniquely able to transform divine into human life.

The issue in her brothers' struggle to possess her is accordingly cosmological in scope and political in form. Described in certain genealogies as twins, the first two brothers are named simply in the chant as Ki'i, a man and Kane, a god. But since Ki'i means image and Kane means man, everything has already been said: the statuses of god and man are reversed by La'ila'i's actions. She 'sits sideways', meaning she takes a second husband, Ki'i, and her children by the man Ki'i are born before her children by the god Kane ...