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TRANSLATIONS
From the vantage point of the kuhane stations described in Manuscript E correlated with multiples of 29.5 glyphs in the text of G we should be able to understand more about the text on the K tablet. On the K tablet there is room for only 2 * 5 = 10 glyph lines, a fact which immediately makes one think about the sun-is-present season. The creator of the K text probably thought about that, and corroboration is found in the fact that the whole text of K can be put in parallel with the text on side a of G. The K text describes the time when sun is present - yet allowing of course for introductory glyphs and for a final 'tail' stretching out from the southwest corner of the island over the stretch of sharky waters to Nga Kope Ririva (and maybe a bit more). We have thereby determined where the mainland is ending, the strait of sea comes, and where Nga Kope Ririva should be:
If we read the glyphs without counting we will find the parallel obvious. The differences in details do not feel very important. If we count, problems at first seem to appear. Nga Kope Ririva is in G defined to arrive already at position 3 * 59 = 177 (counted from Gb8-30):
The tendency in G to let each glyph line be 'inhabited' by one kuhane station, can explain why the 'name' glyph telling Nga Kope Ririva arrives already at Ga7-8. The whole glyph line a7 can then be used for further comments. If also in K there is a tendency to attach each kuhane station to the beginning of a glyph line, then it is only natural to find a henua at *Kb5-2, presumably serving as a first glyph of Nga Kope Ririva. Instead of 29.5 (= 236 / 8) the text of K is using 24 (= 192 / 8) as a fundamental measure. It is not possible to let the length of the lunar month dictate the number of glyphs in each glyph line - the physical restraints of the tablet does not allow it. But there is room for more than 4 glyph lines on each side. The easy approach would surely be to leave two of the lines outside the regular calendar. On the other hand, the forces of numerical harmony may have prompted the first glyph line to be 24 and the last one (b5) to be 24 - 4 = 20, both presumably outside the regular calendar. 24 glyphs in a1 could serve the function of informing the reader (which certainly would be able to count) that 192 / 8 = 24 is a number used in the text. The difference between 2 * 5 = 10 and 8 would lead the reader to contemplate where the extra glyph lines might be, and naturally he would assume them to be either at the beginning, or at the end (or both). From this the counting reader could deduce that probably the last 4 glyphs in line b4 in some way was outside the regular calendar. He would know that the end of sun's journey was in the southeast corner of the island, and the missing glyph is such a strong mark as to convince him. Either there are two extra glyph lines at the end of side b or there is one at the beginning of side a and one at the end of side b. Quickly scanning the text on side a he would discover the misty beginning described in a1 and the more firm 'ground' in a2:
In Ka1-24 the bottom part of maitaki is missing, which presumably indicates that the region of the sky is referred to. In Ka1-21 the viri-formed wings create darkness below, while the left part of the glyph is a sign for the going away in the last part of the year. We find it used also in the very last part of the 'mainland':
The conclusion of the presumtive reader must be that a1 and b5 probably are outside the regular calendar. Looking at the end of line b4 would confirm for him - even if he had only a limited knowledge of the meaning of the glyphs - that he was on the right track:
Beyond Kb4-14 there remain 24 glyphs. One of the total number of glyph positions (192) is not occupied, because there is no land at that point. |
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