TRANSLATIONS

TRANSLATIONS

Keiti has also a 'list' which evidently is structured according to hura signs. It comes after the following glyphs which we recognize, for instance from the 'egg-headed' gagana in Eb6-24:


Eb6-20 (530)	Eb6-21	Eb6-22


Eb6-23	Eb6-24	Eb6-25	Eb6-26 (536)


Eb6-27	Eb6-28	Eb6-29	Eb6-30

And recently we speculated whether 548 at Eb7-2 could correspond to 365⅓ * 150%:


Eb6-31	Eb6-32	Eb6-33	Eb6-34

Eb6-35	Eb6-36	Eb7-1	Eb7-2 (548)

At the end of a great cycle a new great cycle must come, possibly with the planets involved. I have earlier (at Level 4) imagined them to be listed in their proper order according to the week in the following 14 glyph long 'list':


Eb7-3	Eb7-4	Eb7-5	Eb7-6	Eb7-7	Eb7-8

Eb7-9	Eb7-10	Eb7-11	Eb7-12	Eb7-13	Eb7-14

Eb7-15	Eb7-16

A 'cross' hura forms the top of Eb7-14 and it has 'great balls' in contrast to the rest of the hura 'balls'. Let us once again look at this list over the week.

Experience tells us that number 16 in the line should end the sequence of glyphs in the 'list' and looking at the glyphs from Eb7-17 and forward it is clear that such is the case. Possibly, though, the list should begin earlier than with Eb7-3.

The interpretation of the first 6 glyphs from Eb7-3 onwards is not self-evident:


Eb7-3 (549)	Eb7-4	Eb7-5	Eb7-6	Eb7-7	Eb7-8 (554)
Sun		Moon		Mars
Sun		Moon			Mars

Eb7-7 is like Eb7-5 and Moon has 2 faces (mata). Therefore Eb7-7 should belong to Moon rather than to Mars. 549 = 9 * 61 (and 6 * 61 = 366 implies 549 could refer to 1½ cycle). 54 * 9 = 486 = 6 * 81 = 18 * 27 = 324 * 150%.

Mars is the 'reincarnation in spring' of the Sun child who is born at winter solstice, a reckless youth with Herculean powers. Vai in Eb7-4 has 4 'horns', but the complex in Eb7-8 has only 3 (= the number of procreation and spring).

Mars has also 2 'faces' and these seem here to be illustrated as a pair of oppositely oriented haga rave signs (the one at left weak and the one at right strong). 55 * 4 = 220 could be the very last day of spring - the central sign is a toa (probably signifying a 'dry sugar cane', a sign of the 'season of straw').

The triplet of hura glyphs share the sign at bottom, a dropformed 'nut' from which grows the hura 'plants'. Evidently also Metoro saw them as 'plants', because he said te rakau ('the tree'):


Eb7-3 (549)	Eb7-5	Eb7-7
ka tu te rakau	te rakau	tupu te rakau

From the birth of Sun at new year he is steadily growing in stature, like a tree. The 3 subdivisions of spring is mapped from the week, in the order Sun, Moon, and Mars.

The number of the uplifted hura 'balls' in this 'spring' season is 4 + 5 + 5 = 14, presumably meaning 14 * 15 = 210 days. During the first 4 * 15 = 60 days Sun is not 'present in person', but then he arrives and will stay for 10 * 15 = 150 days - only during half his total of 300 days because he has two 'wives'.

7 * 9 = 63 is the reverse of 36 and it is probable that Eb7-9--10 refer to the season of Mecury:


Eb7-9 (555)	Eb7-10
Mercury

The 'tree' has sunk very low, we can see, and mercury is a liquid (which like all liquids move effortlessly downwards).

The many 'balls' in the 'tree' can be explained by the many cyclic convolutions the observations of Mercury will indicate, as visualized for instance in this mask of Humbaba (cfr at hanau):

Niu in Eb7-10 has a haga rave sign (reversed) at left. Metoro said ka tu te niu here, as if to indicate the beginning of a new cycle - earlier he had said ka tu te rakau:


Eb7-3	Eb7-10
ka tu te rakau	ka tu te niu

Next we come to Jupiter and Venus:


Eb7-11	Eb7-12	Eb7-13	Eb7-14 (560)
Jupiter		Venus

'Father Light' (Jupiter) is to be understood 'literally'. The sense which can be read here is that Jupiter 'impregnates' (ure) Venus. The empty hand says he ends his own 'life' in order to give its 'light' to next generation. Remember how Mokuora could grow because his father Ulu 'draw a black cloth over his head'.

The resemblance between Eb7-11 and Eb7-14 is striking, as it should be between father and son. 560 = 20 * 28, i.e. the new one is not born as yet, he is inside his pregnant mother. No light can be seen from him, not until 'Sunday':


Eb7-11	Eb7-14	Eb7-4
Jupiter	Venus	Sun

The swollen 'nut' in Eb7-14 has a double perimeter, like in vai. Possibly also the quartet of 'great balls' above are drawn in harmony with the state of Venus being pregnant.

Eb7-13 has a pair of hura 'balls' instead of the normal tagata head. Probably they indicate Venus as morning and evening star.

Tagata in Eb7-13 says the cycle ends (is fully grown) here but which cycle? Number 13 indicates it is the yearly cycle of Sun. The following Eb7-14 has a number (714) which can be understood as 300 + 414 (i.e. 'one more' is indeed secured and in place). The cycle which is 'fully grown' evidently consists of two parts, the 'half' for Sun (10 * 30 days) plus the 'half' for Moon (14 * 29.5 nights).

Metoro identified Eb7-14 with te rakau, which 'proves' my description above probably is correct.


Eb7-11	Eb7-12	Eb7-13	Eb7-14
kua hua	atua mata viri	Erua oona mea ki te puoko	ka tupu te rakau

At Eb7-11 he saw the 'fruit' (hua) which was to be 'planted'. At Eb7-13 he saw the beginning of the new generation (marked by him via a Capital Letter). Maybe he had counted 7 * 13 = 91.

Atua mata viri is noteworthy. I read these words as the 'god' (atua) whose 'eyes' (mata) are 'turning around' (viri). The basic glyph type is tagata rere, which maybe combines the meanings of tagata with the meanings connected with manu rere. It ends and therefore it is a new beginning.

Saturn surely must be represented by the next pair of glyphs:


Eb7-15 (561)	Eb7-16
to manu mata etahi	te toga
Saturn

What is his role? He is the one who 'delivers' the 'great fire' in the sky. He is the 'midwife', who secures the birth of 'One Eye' (mata etahi).

The left part of Eb7-16 I once upon a time identified as a kava sign.

The head of manu rere in Eb7-15 is a maitaki sign:


Eb7-15	maitaki

If Spring Sun has 3 subdivisions of time, then the 3 'balls' in maitaki could refer to them. The first of them should be 'delivered' by Saturn.

The vertical straight line could then be there in order to explain that only half his time Sun is present. The back side (left in the glyph) will then represent the equally long time spent with his winter maid.

The 'list' is not primarily a list over the planets, it is a list over the year. The planets were used to make a list over a sequence of 7 days which we call a 'week'. The planets were also used to make a list over the seasons of the year:

*'spring' (possibly 4 15 + 10 * 15 = 210 days)**

Eb7-3 (549)	Eb7-4	Eb7-5	Eb7-6	Eb7-7	Eb7-8
Sun		Moon			Mars

birth of 'autumn'

Eb7-9 (555)	Eb7-10
Mercury

*'autumn' (possibly 8 15 =120 days)**

Eb7-11 (557)	Eb7-12	Eb7-13	Eb7-14
Jupiter		Venus

birth of 'spring'

Eb7-15 (561)	Eb7-16
Saturn

360 - 210 - 120 = 30 and we can guess Mercury and Saturn each has 15 days. However, in G there are 16 * 29.5 = 472 positions in the calendar. And its regular calendar ends with 14 * 29.5 = 413. Above I have listed 14 glyphs, but if we begin from Eb7-1 there are 16 glyphs to consider.

In G the last 2 'months' at the end of side b seem to function as an intermediary phase before the 'front side' arrives. Similarly the pair Eb7-1--2 seems to work as a prelude to the 14 glyphs above:


Eb7-1	Eb7-2

Eb7-1 is a Rogo glyph, a glyph type which we usually will find at the beginning of the year. But this Rogo has signs which indicates he marks the end (he is leaning slightly backwards with an open hand and with 'waves in his hair', and he has a completely drawn elbow ornament).

They form a pair these two glyphs, we can see from their 'waterfilled' common bottom form. Hipu are containers used for carrying liquids and in Gb2-27 the origin of vai is stated to be hipu, a statement which causally connects Eb7-2 with Sun in Eb7-4:


Gb2-27	Eb7-2	Eb7-4
hipu + vai	hipu	vai

'The living water of Tane' must be refilled before the year can begin for real.

There is a certain resemblance between some of the hura glyphs and the maitaki glyphs - both glyph types have 'balls' connected with a 'string':


hura	maitaki

'... The Dakota use a circle as the symbol of time, a smaller one for a year and a larger one for a longer period: the circles are arranged in rows, thus: OOO or O-O-O ...'

Such 'balls' indicate periods of time also in the rongorongo system of writing, and - like in the system of the Dakota indians - greater size means greater (longer) periods.

In a maitaki glyph the vertical straight line is drawn in a way which stands in contrast to the straight lines in hura glyphs - it is drawn inside instead of on the outside. This contrast probably means the 'balls' of hura should be contrasted with the 'balls' of maitaki - it means they are of a different kind.

The balls of maitaki are only halves, probably in order to indicate they represent periods relating to the yearly path of Sun. He has 'two wives' and he is therefore 'present' only during half the year, the other half he spends with his 'winter maid' north of the equator. Thus we can conclude that the 'balls' of hura do not refer to Sun periods.

Yet, indirectly hura balls apparently were used for counting the time of the year as the following example from Keiti demonstrates:

'front side' of the year

Eb7-1	Eb7-2	Eb7-3	Eb7-4	Eb7-5	Eb7-6	Eb7-7	Eb7-8
'back side'

Eb7-9	Eb7-10	Eb7-11	Eb7-12	Eb7-13	Eb7-14	Eb7-15	Eb7-16

5 of the 7 hura glyphs are drawn like 'trees' growing from an oval 'nut' at bottom. In the first part of the year we can count the 'berries' in the 'trees' as 4 + 5 + 5 = 14, which possibly means 14 periods with 15 nights in each (14 * 15 = 210 nights).

Counting with a 'greater fortnight' like this is a sign of Moon (who is visible during 2 * 14 = 28 nights in a month). The duration of the 'front side' of the year, when Sun is ruling, cannot be measured by Sun - you need a 'yardstick' to compare with, something else, and this is Moon. 210 nights can then be converted into 'Sun currency' for instance by dividing with 30 giving the result 7 months.

The second part of the year, the 'back side', is a more complex matter. In Eb7-11 the 'crown of the tree' is drawn as a special sign and it is repeated in Eb7-14 with greater balls. In between is the central event:


Eb7-11	Eb7-12	Eb7-13	Eb7-14
Eb7-11	atua mata viri	Erua oona mea ki te puoko	Eb7-14

Atua mata viri (the words of Metoro) means 'the god whose eyes are turned around'. Yhe glyph describes how the old ruler (year) is 'waving goodbye'. The glyph type is tagata rere which evidently was used at the end of seasons.

His empty hand underlines the situation - he has no more 'light' ('life') to offer. But he will continue anyhow by using his ure (right bottom sign) in order to impregnate his wife and ensure his continued life in next generation (next year). His eyes are turned around in the process.

Metoro indicated the new beginning by a Capital letter (Erua oona mea ki te puoko, 'two mea he has as his head'). The head of atua mata viri has disappeared. Mea presumably means 'red' here, because anciently 'red' was used to indicate 'great' stars (irrespective of their 'true' colours).

Counting time on the 'back side' we can rely on the structure of G. This tablet has 16 * 29.5 - 1 = 471 glyphs (although its basic calendar cycle is 14 * 29.5 = 413 nights long). 16 is also the ordinal number (in the line) of the last glyph of the 'back side' above (Eb7-16). 471 - 210 = 261, a number which probably symbolized the absence of Sun. It is 'one more' (alluding to the regeneration of next year in atumn) than the 10 months with 26 days in each as defined for the 'Sun King'.