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TRANSLATIONS
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Sequences of
events in time can have been firmly ordered and established, leaving
absolute locations vague. Positions in time are unimportant when
time is circular.
The tail fin of
fishes maybe was called hiki, and at any rate it means to flex
the knees lightly, getting them moving again:
... 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 ...
This idea came to
my mind when I was reflecting on all the effort we have spent trying
to come to grips with the day numbers in the Tahua structure.
We need a polygrip. But distances are easy. Let us therefore try to
measure distances between the 5 vaero glyphs which remain
unexplained:
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The words of
Metoro indicate the possibility to read vaero as vae
with an additional ro(rua):
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Aa5-30 |
Aa5-31 (364) |
Aa5-32 |
Aa5-33 (366) |
Aa5-34 |
Aa5-35 |
| e tagata
vae ihi - e kua tupu te pua |
i te henua
- mai tae tuu |
ki te henua
vae rorua |
i te henua
- ki to vae rua |
kua
tupu te kaho |
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364 / 2 = 182 |
183 (= 3 * 61) |
184 |
Vae
rua means 'two legs' and it could be a possible analogy to the glyph
type vae (the single leg used at the end
of the year).
Tupu
means 'to germinate' and pua could refer to the 'summit' of
summer (puapua) or to ginger (the Easter Island kava
plant):
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Tupu 1. Shoot, sprout, bud; to
sprout, to bud. 2. Pregnant: vî'e tupu (o te poki);
to be conceived (of fetus in its mother's womb): he-tupu
te poki i roto i te kopú o toona matu'a. Vanaga.
To grow, to sprout, to germinate, to come
forth, to conceive, pregnant, germ; mea tupu, plant;
tupu ke avai, of rapid growth; tupu horahorau,
precocious; hakatupu, to produce, to stimulate
growth, to excite. P Pau.: fakatupu, to raise up, to
create. Mgv.: tupu, to grow, to conceive, to be
pregnant. Mq.: tupu, to grow, to sprout, to conceive.
Ta.: tupu, to grow, to sprout. Churchill.
Mgv.: Tupu, the best or worst, used
of men or of bad qualities. Sa.: tupu, king. Ma.:
tupu, social position, dignity. Churchill. |
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Pua, pu'a Pua.
1. A zingiberacea (plant of which few specimens are
left on the island). 2. Flower: pua ti, ti flower,
pua taro, taro flower, pua maúku pasture flower;
pua nakonako, a plant which grows on steep slopes and
produce red, edible berries. 3. Pua tariga (or
perhaps pu'a tariga), anciently, hoops put in
earlobes. 4. The nanue fish when young and tender.
Puapua, summit, top, upper part; te puapua o te
maúga, the top of the mountain; te puapua kupega,
the upper part of a fishing net. Vanaga.
Pu'a. 1.
(Modern form of pu'o), to cover up something or
oneself, to put on; ka-pu'a te ha'u, put on your hat;
ka-pu'a-mai te nua, cover me up with a blanket. 2. To
respond to the song of the first group of singers; to sing
the antistrophe; he-pu'a te tai. 3. To help;
ka-pu'a toou rima ki a Timo ite aga, help Timothy with
the work. 4. Pu'a-hare, to help a relative in war or
in any need; ka-oho, ka-pu'a-hare korua, ko ga kope,
go, give your relative a hand, lads. 5. To speak out in
someone's favour; e pu'a-mai toou re'o kia au, speak
in my favour, intercede for me. Pu'apu'a, to hit, to
beat. Vanaga.
1. Flower, ginger, soap; pua mouku,
grass. 2. To grease, to coat with tar, to pitch; pua ei
meamea, to make yellow. Puapua, a piece of cloth.
Mgv.: pua, a flower, turmeric, starchy matter of the
turmeric and hence soap. Mq.: pua, a flower, soap.
Ta.: pua, id. Ma.: puapua, cloth wrapped about
the arm. Churchill. |
If we
read the left part of Aa5-35 as a variant of the kava glyph
type, then tupu te kaho might allude to 'September' (Akahotu
on Mangareva):
| Hotu
Ta.: hotu, to produce fruit, Sa.:
fotu, id. Mgv.: akahotu, the September
season. Churchill.
H.: Hoku, Night of the full
moon. When this moon set before daylight it was called
Hoku Palemo, Hoku that slips away. When it set
after daylight it was called Hoku Ili, grounded
Hoku. Ka mahina o Hoku, the full moon of the
night Hoku. Cf. hōkū, star. Hō
kū, star. (PPN fetu'u). Wehewehe. |
| Aka
1. Anchor: he-hoa te aka, to drop
anchor. 2. Root of certain plants (banana tree, taro,
sugar-cane). 3. To be paralyzed by surprise. Vanaga.
1. Root; aka totoro, to take
root. P Pau., Mq.: aka, root. Ta.: aa, id.
2. (āka)
anchor. 3. Causative (haka).
Churchill. |
The
corresponding words of Metoro on side b are more
straightforward - 'two bird tails' (manu vaero erua):
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Ab7-51 |
Ab7-52 |
Ab7-53 |
Ab7-54 |
Ab7-55 |
Ab7-56 |
| ko te tagata - kua vero
ki te mago |
ko te tagata mau - i te
marama |
ko te tagata nui |
ko te tagata vaha erua |
i te henua
- i te manu vaero erua |
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Ab7-57 |
Ab7-58 |
Ab7-59 |
| i te henua - o te
manu - ki tona henua |
kua oho te rima - kua
hua ia |
harehare matagi |
The
2nd 'tail of the bird' is another possibility, which could mean that
the 2nd half of the year also has ended (with Ab7-52
where 7 * 52 = 364). In summer the sky is so high that only birds
can reach it.
The
left parts in Ab7-58 and Ab7-59 (where 7 * 59 = 413 = 14 * 29.5)
is vae. And at Ab7-58 Metoro said oho te rima - the
'fire' (5) is departing. He might have regarded the 5
feathers at right as 3 and 2 (spring and autumn) rather than 5.
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