TRANSLATIONS

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Once again. The Paris Snuff Box seems to have two calendar cycles, one with 66 glyphs and one with 18 glyphs:

Ya Yb Yc Yd Sum
6 7 10 8 31
8 8 6 - 22
7 6 - - 13
21 21 16 8 66
Ye Yf Sum
4 4 8
6 4 10
10 8 18

The first of the calendars is defined by 4 of the sides (Ya, Yb, Yc, and Yd) of the snuffbox arranged pairwise: (21 + 21) + (16 + 8) = 42 + 24 (note the reversal!).

I once relabelled line Yd into Yc3, because I though Yc1-2 were followed by Yd. That was probably a correct judgment.

There are 6 sides on a square box. If the presumed sailor who sawed a rongorongo tablet into pieces to make the box had not possessed a sense of order the numbers we can read would have been jumbled.

Clearly we can assume a pairwise distribution of the 6 lines. Ya + Yb is one pair, Yc + Yd another, and then Ye + Yf will form the third pair.

Ya + Yb could describe a path of the moon with 42 glyphs, Yc + Yd the path of the sun in 24 glyphs, and Ye + Yf define the year as partly belonging to the moon and partly to the sun.

This is Ya:

*Ya1-1 *Ya1-2 *Ya1-3 *Ya1-4 *Ya1-5 *Ya1-6
*Ya2-1 (7) *Ya2-2 *Ya2-3 *Ya2-4
*Ya2-5 (11) *Ya2-6 *Ya2-7 *Ya2-8
*Ya3-1 (15) *Ya3-2 *Ya3-3 *Ya3-4 *Ya3-5 *Ya3-6 *Ya3-7

In this table I have coloured as if the counting should proceed without any changes through all 3 glyph lines. Ya3 will then have the same colours as if I had counted e.g. Ya3-3 as number 3 instead of as number 17. Glyph line Ya2 will, though, have other colours than if I had counted Ya2-1 as number 1:

*Ya2-1 *Ya2-2 *Ya2-3 *Ya2-4
*Ya2-5 *Ya2-6 *Ya2-7 *Ya2-8

This is Yb:

*Yb1-1 *Yb1-2 *Yb1-3 *Yb1-4 *Yb1-5 *Yb1-6 *Yb1-7
*Yb2-1 (8) *Yb2-2 *Yb2-3 *Yb2-4
*Yb2-5 (12) *Yb2-6 *Yb2-7 *Yb2-8
*Yb3-1 (16) *Yb3-2 *Yb3-3 *Yb3-4 *Yb3-5 *Yb3-6

This time line Yb2 will have the same colours if I begin with the first glyph in the line, while Yb3 will be different:

*Yb3-1 *Yb3-2 *Yb3-3 *Yb3-4 *Yb3-5 *Yb3-6

Manu kake in Yb3-1 will either be at Mercury or at Jupiter. It is a bird type of manu kake, and we can compare with the fish type manu kake in Ya3-5:

18 15 3
*Ya3-5 (19) Ya3-6 *Ya3-7 *Yb3-1 (37) *Yb3-2 *Yb3-3
36 6
42

Manu kake in Ya3-5 is located after 18 glyphs and the bird manu kake after 36 glyphs (counted from the beginning). This indicates another structure than 21 + 21 = 42.

Maitaki in Ya3-6 corresponds to maitaki in Yb3-4:

18 16 2
*Ya3-5 Ya3-6 (20) *Yb3-1 *Yb3-2 *Yb3-3 *Yb3-4 (40)
20 20

Vaha kai in Yb3-2 is located beyond the regular solar year (360 days), it seems. If we assume that the first 36 glyphs are referring to decades of days, and the last 6 to single days, then Ya-Yb will cover 366 days and the last days of the year will be:

*Yb3-1 *Yb3-2 *Yb3-3 *Yb3-4 *Yb3-5 *Yb3-6
361 362 363 364 365 366

Yb3-6 vanishes in front, the year does not reach all the day through. It is a day of Moon, which it should be. Counting colours we should - presumably - begin anew at the start of every glyph line.

Pito in Yb3-3 will be at the day of Venus, also reasonable. Rogo should be at day 363 which can be regarded as the first glyph of the new year. The navel string should be here.

If so, then the last day of the old year is at Jupiter and vaha kai in Yb3-2. Maybe this vaha kai is oriented in the other way than that in G because Rogo determines another type of year than one with 364 days.

The neck of the bird manu kake is very short, it is winter solstice. The fish manu kake must be at summer solstice, and I feel we should restructure:

120 days
*Ya1-1 *Ya1-2 *Ya1-3 *Ya1-4 *Ya1-5 *Ya1-6
*Ya2-1 *Ya2-2 *Ya2-3 *Ya2-4 *Ya2-5 (110) *Ya2-6 (120)
120 days
*Ya2-7 *Ya2-8 *Ya3-1 *Ya3-2 *Ya3-3
*Ya3-4 (180) *Ya3-5 *Ya3-6 *Ya3-7 *Yb1-1 (220) *Yb1-2 *Yb1-3 (240)
80 days
*Yb1-4 (250) *Yb1-5 *Yb1-6 *Yb1-7
*Yb2-1 *Yb2-2 (300) *Yb2-3 *Yb2-4 (320)
40 days
*Yb2-5 *Yb2-6 *Yb2-7 *Yb2-8 (360)
*Yb3-1 *Yb3-2 *Yb3-3 (363)
*Yb3-4 *Yb3-5 *Yb3-6 (420)

Consistently glyphs which have open outlines (redmarked) are located at ends of cycles. I guess we should count to 420 and regard Yb3-1--3 as outside the calendar, glyphs to leap over when counting.

Therefore, we should regard Yb3-4--6 as the first 60 days of next year. And sun will then have 60 + 120 + 120 = 300 days to rule over. Then comes 8 glyphs of which only 2 are blue:

80 days
*Yb1-4 (250) *Yb1-5 *Yb1-6 *Yb1-7
*Yb2-1 *Yb2-2 (300) *Yb2-3 *Yb2-4 (320)

Possibly those 80 days should therefore be regarded as only 20 days. 300 + 20 = 320. This is a reduction with 60 days and seems to be a way of accommodating also the reader who counts from Ya1-1 without adding 60 at the very beginning.

Counting from Ya1-1 day number 250 will be at Yb1-4 and the picture could symbolize Saturn. There are 4 glyphs without bottom.

Koti is indicated at day number 300 - a little fish in front of a peculiar hand with only one string for thumb. It may mean we should count to 4 (instead of to rima). The missing half of the thumb (number 5 symbolizing a 'flame') may have been transferred to the little new rising fish.

Moon then comes to take charge. With Yb2-3 as a Venus day, koti will happen at Jupiter, and Saturn will rule also at Yb2-4 (where 2 * 4 = 8 defines his end).