TRANSLATIONS

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There are no signs of tao in the Mamari moon calendar. Possibly it is ihe tau which is the corresponding moon sign, and presumably alluded to in Ca7-27:

Ca7-27

Moon dies and reincarnates every month, while the 'fire' of the sun is eternal. It only moves from one place to another, 'hides' on the other side of a mountain or inside a sack.

Therefore the 'conversation' could be between moon (left) and sun (right):

6
Ea1-14 Ea1-15 Ea1-22 Ea1-23

The left 'persons' (Ea1-14 and Ea1-22) are thicker than the right ones, which harmonizes with the qualities of moon respectively sun.

Next pages in the glyph dictionary:

The first 10 pairs of this kind belong to a separate group:

1 6
Ea1-14 Ea1-15 Ea2-32 Ea2-33
2 7
Ea1-22 Ea1-23 Ea3-10 Ea3-11
3 8
Ea1-31 Ea1-32 Ea3-17 Ea3-18
4 9
Ea2-11 Ea2-12 Ea3-28 Ea3-29
5 10
Ea2-22 Ea2-23 Ea4-5 Ea4-6

10 'periods' at the beginning of the text on side a is a good foundation for guessing the the subject is the 'sun year'. The final glyph would then be tao in Ea4-6, maybe indicating a new year is sent sailing in the sky. We recognize the triumphant cry of the moa in Ea4-5 - the sun baby has been released.

This idea will be followed up in next page.

Counting ordinal numbers from Ea1-1 we find that multiples of 32 are exceptional:

1 6
Ea1-14 Ea1-15 Ea2-32 (64) Ea2-33
2 7
Ea1-22 Ea1-23 Ea3-10 Ea3-11
3 8
Ea1-31 Ea1-32 Ea3-17 Ea3-18
4 9
Ea2-11 Ea2-12 Ea3-28 Ea3-29
5 10
Ea2-22 Ea2-23 Ea4-5 Ea4-6 (106)

Indeed, the sign 32 is insisted on also at Ea3-32 (where 3 * 32 = 96):

10
Ea3-30 Ea3-31 Ea3-32 (96) Ea3-33 Ea3-34 Ea3-35 (99)

Ea1-32 is depicted as only a 'ghost', Ea2-32 is ihe tau (death), and not until in the 10th period does a 'living canoe' enter into the text.

Line a1 has 32 glyphs (Ea1-32 is the last in the line), line a2 has 33 glyph (necessary in order to put Ea2-32 in its correct position), while line a3 has 35 glyphs - presumably to reach 99, which means line a4 will begin with 100 (as if a new season has been born).
"The explorers reach Easter Island in a 'canoe' (vaka). The name of their craft is given as Oraorangaru 'saved from the billows' (Brown 1924:40) or Te Oraora-miro 'the living-wood' (ME:58). The Routledge reference 'Each (man went) on a piece of wood' (RM:278) also seems to refer to the name of the canoe. As far back as 1934, the name was no longer understood.

I favor the following explanation: The difficulty in interpreting the name of the canoe of the explorers arises from the name segment oraora. To begin with, the compound form oraora ngaru should be analyzed in comparison with other Polynesian compounds, such as MAO. pare-ngaru 'that which fends off the waves' (i.e., the hull of the boat), TAH. tere-'aru 'that which moves through the waves' (i.e., riding the waves on a board).

There are several possible translations for oraora as the reduplication of ora. Te Oraora Miro can be translated as 'the pieces of wood, tightly lashed together' (compare TAH. oraora 'to set close together, to fit parts of a canoe') and be taken to refer to the method of construction of the explorer canoe, while Oraora Ngaru means 'that which parts the water like a wedge', or 'that which saves (one) from the waves, that which is stronger that the waves'." (Barthel 2, p. 67)

Strangely, Barthel does not mention the preceding when he later on summarizes the information about the names of the immigrant canoes:

"Routledge's informants still knew the names of the immigrant canoes (RM:278); they were given as Oteka and Oua.

One Rongorongo text shows ua as the term used for two canoes, while RR:76 (phallus grapheme ure, used in this case for an old synonym teka; compare TUA. teka 'penis of a turtle'. HAW. ke'a 'virile male') tends to confirm the oral tradition with a transpositional variant (Barthel 1962:134)." (Barthel 2, p. 161)

Te Oraora Miro (The Living Wood) is, I think, a perfect name for the concept I have suggested is conveyed by the tao glyph type.

Beyond the first 10 (which belong in a group) there follow 11 more:

11 17
Ea4-21 Ea4-22 Ea8-103 Ea8-104
12 18
Ea5-32 Ea5-33 Ea8-110 Ea8-111
13 19
Ea5-42 Ea6-1 Ea8-118 Ea8-119
14 20
Ea6-15 Ea6-16 Ea8-126 Ea8-127
15 21
Ea6-34 Ea6-35 Ea9-23 Ea9-24
16 Redmarked Ea8-126 consists of 3 entitites.
Ea7-34 Ea7-35

Although there are 21 pairs of glyphs there are only 20 tao signs - the 8th pair has no tao.

And then the summary page:

The tao glyphs are like 'hot buns' immediately after having come out from the 'oven'. They indicate the vitality of the very young.

Gradually the force of vitality abates and they become cooler. At the end of their movements all their warmth will have gone away. They have become stiff as dry wood (toa):

tao tapa mea toa

The form of tao is like that of a canoe or an eye, both capable of very quick movements.
Excursion:

Some notes regarding the structure of Small Santiago Tablet (G).