TRANSLATIONS

TRANSLATIONS

In P the hahe glyph conforms to my glyph type variant:


Pa11-17	Pa11-18	Pa11-19	Pa11-20	Pa11-21	Pa11-22

Qb2-5	Qb2-6	Qb2-7	Qb2-8	Qb2-9	Qb2-10

The impression of a conjunction (in Qb2-9) is - it seems - instead delivered by the preceding niu (Pa11-20). The cross at the top of niu glyphs can easily be imagined as the origin from which the hahe glyph type has evolved.

Counting glyphs and then dividing by 3, followed by adding 64, is a model which possibly is applicable in P:


Pa11-17	Pa11-18	Pa11-19	Pa11-20	Pa11-21	Pa11-22 (588)
259			588 / 3 + 64 = 260

260 could then be referring to the end of summer according to a calendar with 13 times 20 days. However, we have learned that one should not stop searching when finding the first interesting result. More than one reading seems to be the norm of rongorongo.

11 * 21 (as in Pa11-21) is a strong sign, because 11 * 21 = 231 (equal to for instance the ordinal number of the first glyph on side b of G):


Ga8-16 (220)	Ga8-17	Ga8-18	Ga8-19	Ga8-20 (224)

Ga8-21	Ga8-22	Ga8-23	Ga8-24	Ga8-25

Ga8-26	Gb1-1 (231)

231 + 64 = 295 is therefore a more plausible day value for hahe in Pa11-21. We surely must try to put each day as 2 glyphs. However, we then will find the day number at hahe to be 294 (without having added 64 days):


Pa11-11	Pa11-12	Pa11-13	Pa11-14	Pa11-15	Pa11-16
289		290		291

Pa11-17	Pa11-18	Pa11-19	Pa11-20	Pa11-21	Pa11-22 (588)
292		293		588 / 2 = 294

Pa11-23	Pa11-24	Pa11-25	Pa11-26	Pa11-27	Pa11-28
295		296		297

A break in time is clearly between Pa11-22 and Pa11-23 - the hands have vanished at the end of day 294. And 588 can be read as 58 times 8, which is equal to 16 * 29. There is no more light and an allusion to day 290 can be imagined.

In Pa11-23 henua (the land) lies in darkness. The fat honu in the first half of day 290 is followed by a smaller one in the afternoon. Mea ke lies in front (Pa11-15) and it is another kind of light.

Niu in Pa11-20 has as its bottom element a puo sign, presumably suggesting 'hilled up' (no longer visible). The double niu glyph in the first half of day 292 (100 more than 192) seems to illustrate how they are producing a little egg between them, and we should remember the apex of the Taranaki storehouse:

The leaner honu in the afternoon (of what is day 290 if we count with 2 glyphs per day), should though not represent the 'afternoon' of the year but rather the spring when food has been scarce for a long time. Maybe honu in Pa11-14 represents a newborn honu. The taranaki 'snake' is fat towards the end of the year (right).

The page 'without having added 64 days':

If we add 64 days - which should be the proper procedure - then day 290 will become day 354 (= 12 * 29.5):


Pa11-11	Pa11-12	Pa11-13	Pa11-14	Pa11-15	Pa11-16
353		354 = 290 + 64		355

Pa11-17	Pa11-18	Pa11-19	Pa11-20	Pa11-21	Pa11-22 (588)
356		357		358 = 588 / 2 + 64

Pa11-23	Pa11-24	Pa11-25	Pa11-26	Pa11-27	Pa11-28
359		360		361

Pa11-29	Pa11-30	Pa11-31	Pa11-32	Pa11-33	Pb1-1
362		363		364

Pb1-2	Pb1-3	Pb1-4	Pb1-4	Pb1-6	Pb1-7
365		366		367

Day 363 should be the day of Rogo, and in Pa11-31 we can see no eyes. The following day (364 = 354 + 10 = 13 * 14 * 2) obviously is important, because at its noon the tablet must be turned around.

The season of 4 is changing into the season of 3 - we can read from the feather signs at left respectively right in Pa11-31. The day number indicates the end of old sun because 363 - 64 = 299.

4 feathers are hanging down from the rising fish in Pa11-24, not 3. The hanging maro sign does not refer to the end of summer but to the end of autumn. With a cycle of 400 days and 3 * 64 = 192 as the primary measure of spring sun power there could be an overlap ('conjunction') between the 4th multiple of 64 (beyond 192) and the first 48 days of the following 4 * 52 = 208 days. 400 - 192 = 208 = 8 * 26 and 192 + 64 = 256 = 8 * 32. 256 - 208 = 48 = 8 * 6:

192	+	208	=	400
*3 64**	+	*4 52**	=	400
*8 24**	+	*8 26**	=	400
192	+	64	=	256	=	*8 32**
256	-	48	=	208	=	*8 26**

Maybe the text is 'shifting gears' between Pa11-22 (to be read primarily as a reference to the afternoon of day 231 + 64 = 295) and Pa11-23 (to be read primarily as a reference to the forenoon of day 359).

If so, then the burned surface of line Ha11 has been strategically located, because it eliminates any questions about where the text is 'shifting gears' (which I assume could have been a common practice among the rongorongo writers):

...
...						*Ha11-28

Pa11-17	Pa11-18	Pa11-19	Pa11-20	Pa11-21	Pa11-22	Pa11-23

Qb2-5	Qb2-6	Qb2-7	Qb2-8	Qb2-9	Qb2-10	Qb2-11

From the above it follows that also tagata at left in *Ha11-28 must be 'to the right' of the time gap. This tagata will then not be parallel with the figures in Pa11-22 and Qb2-10. The earth (henua) suddenly becomes dark (hatchmarks), because the 'fire' (sun) has disappeared behind torrents of rain.

The origin of the practice of dipping people into water at midsummer presumably is to motivate also the sun to take a bath - the heat is drying everything up and rain is needed. To the right of the 'egg' at the apex comes a vacant space, probably illustrating how sun light suddenly has disappeared behind rain clouds (which surely must arrive after a period of intense heat when much water has been evaporated):

Time runs clockwise in the roof. There are 4 'fingers' at right but only 3 at left. To the left of the central 'cat' is his spring wife, who by her open crotch illustrates the birth of a new year. To the right of the cat is his winter maid, who by her leg posture illustrates the opposite, darkness still rules.