The double mama
glyphs in Ga4-23--24 ought to indicate the 2nd part
of the 'undulating serpent of time', its 'wave down':
15
Ga4-23
Ga4-24
Ga4-25
Ga4-26
Ga4-27
If
period 29 is corresponding to the black 29th night in the
month, we should try to connect the 15th period with the
beginning of Waning Moon, for instance in a structure like this:
Waxing Moon
Waning Moon
30th night
13 nights
14th night
15th night
13 nights
29th night
15 nights
15 nights
Mars
rules number 14 and then comes Mercury as number 15 - the pattern of
the week has the strong one before the weak one. Significantly we
can see a mama in Wednesday (the day of Mercury):
Wednesday
Hb9-33
Hb9-34
Hb9-35
Hb9-36
Hb9-37
Hb9-38
(1099)
In
the 'list' of 31 kiore-henua (and growing maro) periods in G we could, maybe, change the beginning of Waxing Moon to
the 31st night, or - if we count with 192 days - even
to the 32nd night. But the picture will remain the same, apparently
there is a growing light followed by its waning.
This
structure does not necessarily refer to a month. It can be applied
to any undulating movement. Early in my studies of the rongorongo
texts I became convinced these 31 periods were describing a calendar
for the year. I could not prove it, though, and still the meaning is
uncertain.
Let
us therefore continue with a few more pages in
order to see if this important question mark can be eliminated.
Glyph number 108
(counted from Gb8-30) is Ga4-24, which presumably is significant (10 and 8 are together, similar to how
10 and 99 are together at mama in Hb9-38):
15
Ga4-23
Ga4-24 (108)
Ga4-25
Ga4-26
Ga4-27
The number of chevron
marks are 6 in each mama (whereas they are
4 in Hb9-38 and perhaps indicating the 4 weeks in a month).
Twice 6 equals 12, which is equal to the number of months in a year
according to our own calendar. This is an
argument for the idea that the 2 mama in Ga4-23--24 are referring to the path of Sun rather than to
the cycle of Moon. Even if we count with a single 'limb' for Sun
number 12
is a good measure, because half a year can be counted e.g. as
12 * 15 = 180.
Why not count 12 * 20 =
240? Because the period number is 15! Also, 108 has its zero in the
middle and by putting it at the end it becomes 180.
4 * 27 (as in Ga4-27) =
108 can make us perceive Ga4-25--26 as the glyphs of central importance
in period 15, and number 26 in Ga4-26 obviously refers to Sun. We
can count from Rogo in Gb6-26, and the result is a surprising
déja vu:
15
Ga4-23
Ga4-24
Ga4-25
Ga4-26 (110)
Ga4-27
171
172
173
110 + 64 = 174
175
30
Ga7-1
Ga7-2
Ga7-3
Ga7-4 (174)
235
236
173 +
64 = 237
238
6 * 29 = 174
Ab8-30
(1280)
Aa2-31
(121)
174 = 6 * 29 =
64 + 110 = 238 - 64. In Ga7-4 (where significantly 74 + 100
= 174) this number might indicate the last day of a black
period (comparable to the location of nuku in
Aa2-30):
Aa2-28
Aa2-29
Aa2-30 (120)
Aa2-31
Aa2-32
Aa2-33 (123)
Aa2-34
Aa2-35
Aa2-36 (126)
As to
174 at Ga4-26 it is natural to count from Rogo and winter
solstice:
63
108
Gb6-25
Gb6-26 (409)
Ga4-25
Ga4-26 (110)
174 = 6 * 29
Another alternative is to count from Gb6-25 and end with Ga4-25.
If we should count Gb8-30 only once then 174 is the measure from
Gb6-25 up to and including Ga4-26.
Anyhow, the rounded bottom of
Rogo in Gb6-26 seems to be mirrored in the rounded bottom of
Ga4-26.
I have not listed
the strange Ga4-26 among my mama glyphs, but I could easily
have done so because of the similarity with Ga2-29 (which I included
among the mama because of its rounded bottom):
15
Ga4-23
Ga4-24
Ga4-25
Ga4-26
Ga4-27
mama
glyphs
Ga1-16
Ga2-25
Ga2-29
Ga3-23
Ga4-23
Ga4-24
Ga7-3
Gb1-9
Gb1-11
Gb1-14
Gb1-19
Gb2-8
Gb2-10
Gb6-18
Gb8-16
Instead of classifying Ga4-26 as a mama glyph I saw
it as an example of niu, which indeed is a more appropriate
classification. Though I could also perceive the shape of vaha mea:
niu
glyphs
Ga2-29
Ga3-13
Ga4-26
Ga6-5
Gb2-28
Gb3-8
Gb7-25
vaha mea
glyphs
Ga1-4
Ga3-4
Ga3-13
Ga4-26
Ga6-5
Gb2-10
Gb2-28
Gb3-8
Gb7-25
My method of classifying glyphs is no exact science and
therefore some glyphs will be located in more than one place.
Vaha mea in Gb7-25 we recognize from the kea chapter, where
kiore-henua without a growing maro string possibly could mark an opposite point in time as compared
to that at vaha mea in
Ga4-26:
Gb7-25
Gb7-26
Gb7-27
Gb7-28
Gb7-29
Gb7-30
Gb7-31
Gb8-1
Gb8-2
Gb7-25, we should
remember from kea, is one of those glyphs which mark
sequences of 36 glyphs (and 108 = 3 * 36):
35
35
35
Gb5-10
Gb6-17 (400)
Gb7-25 (436)
Gb8-30 (472)
364 = 14 * 26
108 = 3 * 36
35
35
35
Gb1-26
Gb3-1 (292)
Gb4-7 (328)
Gb5-10 (364)
256 = 8 * 32
108 = 3 ' 36
Therefore we should try to interpret mama at number 108 as
another such glyph marker:
35
35
34
Gb8-30 (472)
Ga2-5 (36)
Ga3-12 (72)
Ga3-13
Ga4-24 (108)
472 = 8 * 59
108 = 3 ' 36
Niu / vaha mea
in Ga3-13 jumps up into our field of
attention. This one has an open 'limb' in front. But let us continue:
35
35
35
Ga4-24 (108)
Ga6-3 (144)
Ga7-20 (180)
Ga8-12 (216)
108 = 9 * 12
108 = 3 ' 36
Between Ga8-12 and Gb1-26 there are 39 glyphs and room for another
36-glyph step:
35
Ga8-12
Gb1-22 (252)
216 = 6 * 36
36
My
sense of order says, though, that we should end already with Ga7-20,
because 180 = 3 * 36 + 2 * 36 is a structure characterized
by 3 followed by 2 (and 3 + 2 = 5 or 'fire'):
35
35
35
Ga2-5 (36)
Ga3-12 (72)
Ga4-24 (108)
108 = 3 ' 36
35
35
Ga6-3 (144)
Ga7-20 (180)
72 = 2 ' 36
Mama in Ga4-24 is here the last glyph of the 3-fingered season
of growth and beyond lies the waning (2nd) season.
Ga7-20 exhibits a closed fist and its oval form could motivate a
location among the mama glyphs. And indeed all the final
glyphs seem to be (for various reasons) dark characters:
Gb6-17 (400)
Gb7-25 (436)
Gb8-30 (472)
Gb5-10 (364)
Gb4-7 (328)
Gb3-1 (292)
4 = 472 - 468 =
8 * 59 - 13 *
36
Gb1-22 (252)
Ga8-12 (216)
Ga7-20 (180)
Ga6-3 (144)
Ga2-5 (36)
Ga3-12 (72)
Ga4-24 (108)
Here
I have amused myself by moving from left to right and upwards in
rongorongo fashion, alternating the direction of time at each
step upwards. Though I have not turned the glyphs upside down in lines with even numbers.
The
pattern suggests a connection between these 13 glyphs and
the final 13 days in a calendar stretching for 472 days. 36 days in
a month would then reach 360 days after 10 months.
Vaha kai
in Gb5-10 (where 5 or 'fire' is combined with 10 for the number
of months with 'fire' present) is glyph number 364 instead of 360
because of 4 glyphs in the interval between Gb1-22 and Gb2-1
(although Gb1-20--25 seem to form a group):
Gb1-14
Gb1-15
Gb1-16
Gb1-17
Gb1-18
Gb1-19
Gb1-20
Gb1-21
Gb1-22 (252)
Gb1-23
Gb1-24
Gb1-25
Gb1-26
Gb2-1
Gb2-2
Gb2-3
Gb2-4
Gb2-5
Maybe we should say that in a day there are 2
glyphs (one for the daytime and one for the night), in which case 10
months will stretch for 180 days. This would eliminate the
discrepancy between 10 months on one hand and a single 'limb' on the
other.
