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The Rapanui Chant "He Timo te Akoako":
Origin and Interpretation

by Sergei V. Rjabchikov

ABSTRACT. The author has analyzed the parallel records collected, in particular, by K. Routledge and T. Heyerdahl, and gathered recently by S.R. Fischer. In my opinion, we trace the oral verse making, and this process can be understood on the strength of M. Parry, A.B. Lord, B.N. Putilov and M.I. Steblin-Kamensky's ideas. However, the written versions in some rongorongo inscriptions have been found. The variants of this chant describe the puberty rites.

I have taken the three rongorongo records -- the Small Santiago Tablet (Gr 2), the "Tablette échancrée" (Db 2 - Db 4) and the "Gillies Stone" -- as a starting point for the investigation; I use my personal classification and reading of rongorongo glyphs, see also Rjabchikov 1987: 362-3.

v1.gif

Figure 1.

First, the Small Santiago Tablet (Gr 2) contains the following fragment which is presented in the beginning of a genealogy: 12 11 72 48-15 16 Hika poki manu uri Kahi 'Rongo, the son of Tangaroa' (1); see figure 1. I took into account such a beginning of a genealogy: Tangaroa (Ariki) was a father, and ko Rongo-Rongo a Tangaroa -- his son (Métraux 1940: 127). The site Orongo named for the god Rongo (Fedorova 1977: 59) was the place where puberty rites were performed in November-December (month Koro) and were associated with the summer solstices (Métraux 1940: 105-6).

v2.gif

Figure 2.

Second, the three lines of the "Tablette échancrée" (Db 2 - Db 4; see figure 2) read:

(Db 2:) 69 21 57 5 21 15-24 44 15-24 7 15-24 19 24 63-63 44 15 12 15 7 14 15 49 49 (?)

(Db 3:) 6-35-6-35 41-4 15-25 4-35-4-35 8 24 5-15 5 63 17-17 .... 41-4 75-6 6 (?)

(Db 4:) 6-19 1-1 4 12-69-12-69 69-7-69-7 30 8 44 8 4 ...,

Moko [timo] ako, tara atu. Ako ro-ai, taha ro-ai, tuu ro-ai: Kuia, ai Kapakapa Taha, ro Hika, ro Tuu Hau, ro (Ariki) Mau. Apaapa Retu-Rahu. Tupatupa Matua ai atua roa, atua Kapa Tete ... Retu Koa ... Hoki Tikitiki-atua. Hika-Moko, Hika-Moko. Moko-Tuu, Moko-Tuu. Ana Matua-Taha, Matua-atua ..., i.e. 'A pupil is carving (glyphs), the pupil is composing a genealogy. (He) is learning (the glyphs), (he) is turning (the tablet), (he) is directing (the glyphs): (the birds) Kuia -- Kapakapa -- Taha, (then)) the Puberty Rites, (then) the Star of the Chief, (then) the Supreme Chief. The Face-Creator [the sun] is rising. The Father/the great god/the god 'the Bird Kapa'/the Heat is bringing ... the Beautiful Face ... The god Tiki is returning. The puberty rites (are performed) for the group Hanau Momoko/the tribal union Tu'u. The Father/the Frigate Bird/the Father-god [the sun] is shining ...' (2).

v3.gif

Figure 3.

Third, the "Gillies Stone" has fragments of Db 2 and Db 4 (Fischer 1993: 179; Rjabchikov 1995a: 26); see figure 3:

(Side a:) 7 57 4 21 15-24 44 15-24 5 15-24 19 24 ...

(Side b:) 30 6-19 1-1-1 12-69-12-69 ...

(Tu)tu, tara atu. Ako ro-ai, taha ro-ai, tuu ro-ai: Kuia, ai ... Ana, hoki Tiki-Tiki-Tiki. Hika-Moko, Hika-Moko ... , i.e. 'A pupil is carving (glyphs) and composing a genealogy. (He) is learning (the glyphs), (he) is turning (the tablet), (he) is directing (the glyphs): (the bird) Kuia ... (The sun god) Tiki-Tiki-Tiki (the sun is in zenith) is shining and returning (3). The puberty rites (are performed) for the group Hanau Momoko ...'. Glyph 7 tuu is written down instead of glyph 69 moko [timo] 'to carve', and Rapanui tutu signifies 'to strike'.

I emphasize that I.K. Fedorova's (1978: 315) translation of the beginning of the "He timo te akoako" chant is more realistic than S.R. Fischer's (1994: 434) one. 'The Star of the Chief' and 'the Supreme Chief' resemble the Maori name of the star, Ariki Rangi (The Chief/Heaven), which marks November-December (Best 1955: 39). The expression manu vae eha 'bird with four legs' of the "He timo te akoako" is a description of glyph 49a (ariki) mau 'supreme chief'. The segments of different versions of the chant divided by the particles e te are collected in the Table 1. The classification of the "He timo te akoako" versions is presented in Fischer 1994.

Table 1

TEXT A         TEXT J     TEXT N        translation/
                                        comments

kuia                      kuia          'a bird kuia'.

kapakapa                  kapakapa      'a bird kapakapa
                                        (kakapa)'.

herehue        here hua   here hua      'children/sons/
                                        fruits/flowers/
                                        buds'. Such an
                                        expression is
                                        assigned to the
                                        puberty rites and
                                        written on a basalt
                                        slab at Orongo
                                        (Rjabchikov 1995b:
                                        19).

manu vae                  manu vae      'a bird with legs
punaka                    punaka        of a young of the
                                        bird kakapa'.

manu vae eha              manu vae eha  'a bird with four
                                        legs' (it is a
                                        description of
                                        glyph 49a).

               pakapaka                 'dry' (a symbol of
                                        the month Koro in
                                        the Small Washington
                                        tablet (Rjabchikov
                                        1993: 139)).

                          pohutuhutu    'A deformed person
                          tere vai      is disappearing in
                          mangaro       the water'. It is a
                                        description of
                                        glyph 49 [mau] as a
                                        sign for Maui's
                                        name (Rjabchikov
                                        1993: 137).

The fragment atua kahinga te vau karea te vau kuia te vau karea (TEXT E) can be read as atua Kahi(nga)-te-va(r)u; Kare(r)a-te-va(r)u; Kuia-te-va(r)u-Kare(r)a, i.e. 'the god Tuna [Tangaroa] -- eight; the shine -- eight; the bird Kuia -- eight -- the shine'. I suppose that the word va(r)u 'eight' means 'deity' or 'sacred' (4).

The fragment of the TEXT B (A tua ha ita tu -- tu te ue he moa -- tu tu te hau) can be read as A tua hai tatu. Tuu te Ue. He moa. Tutu te hau, i.e. 'A back with tattoo. (The god) Ue is coming (5). A son. A chief lais a fire.' Apparently this text describes the puberty rites.

Both fragments (TEXT C: e te taha, e te kappa kappa, e te herehua, e te kotiro; TEXT E: te manu nui te manu roa kotiro) contain the strange term kotiro. It is the deity's name, ko Tira, because the god Tira Koka is associated with the solar cult (Rjabchikov 1996a: 40-1; 1996b: 15-6).

The TEXT C contains such a fragment, ki te tamaiti, ki te ta-ata, which describes children and their parents. Interestingly, the rongorongo expert, Tomenika, recited this text for K. Routledge on December 22, 1914, and this date corresponds to the summer solstice.

The TEXT G has the following fragment: ne ki runge ne ki te haka mata mata te haka mata hau tea tea. I think that the words runga 'height', mata 'face', hau 'chief', tea 'white' are comparable with the name of a Hawaiian festival, Makahiki [Mata hiti 'The Face is appearing'], which was named for the god Lono [Rongo]. The TEXT I (e te taha e te rono e te kuia e te kappa kap e te heru ua e te kotiro e te manu eha) contains the deity Rongo's name.

Moreover, the TEXT E consists of the following fragments: atua panguru -- atua te hare, i.e. 'the god Adze-Throat (Tiki-Makemake) -- the god of the House'; manu ihopohiia, i.e. 'The Bird-(the god) Iho-the Morning', te ariki o tea te rongo orongo, i.e. 'the White King -- Rongo (from) Orongo'. According to the TEXT G, the sun deity has the following epithets: Hoa (The Friend), Uta (Inland), and te Ariki o ara (The King of the road [ecliptic]).

So the data obtained in my research state that "He Timo te akoako" is a religious text which tells of the annual puberty rites.

NOTES

1. Cf. Maori hikahika 'ceremony performed over a new-born child', Rapanui poki manu 'puberty rites' [poki 'child', manu 'bird'], Maori uri 'progeny, offspring'; the god Tangaroa was incarnated in Kahi 'The Tuna' (Fedorova 1978: 339).

2. Cf. Rapanui moko 'sharp'; the terms Moko and rapa (timo) were associated with the chthonic deity Hiro (Fedorova 1981: 268-9, 278). I.K. Fedorova (1978: 361) translates the word timo as Maori timo 'to strike with a pointed instrument' and Hawaiian kimo 'to pound, bruise, mash as with stick or stone'. The word ai written in this text can signify 'to copulate; to be, to exist, to be situated; (ari-nga:) head; face'. Notice that the word tara (tatara 'to compose a genealogy') is a component of the word manu-tara 'tern'. Timo is also the initial word in the text "Apai" (Thomson 1891: 517). The segment Timo te kakaha piki apai te rotia can be interpreted as '(Someone) is carving an inscription on a skull (or on a gourd), (the line) is going up, (then) the turn (is beginning)'.

3. A trice-repeated Rapanui word means plurality in the folklore texts (Fedorova 1963: 89).

4. According to a Rapanui legend, eight men once carried a chief (Métraux 1940: 391). Cf. also Rapanui varua 'deity', varu 'to shave'. We know that new birdmen shaved their heads (Métraux 1957: 135).

5. According to the "Creation-Chant" (Métraux 1940: 320), Viri ko Ue ('The Round-Prayer') and Aringa Rehe Uru Arero (cf. Aringa 'The Face') produced Rona (i.e. the god Rongo).

REFERENCES

Best, E., 1955. The Astronomical Knowledge of the Maori. Dominion Museum Monograph No 3. Wellington: R.E. Owen, Government Printer.

Fedorova, I.K., 1963. K voprosu o kharaktere yazyka textov ostrova Paskhi. Sovetskaya etnografiya, 2: 85-92.

Fedorova, I.K., 1977. Novye dannye o mifologii ostrova Paskhi. In: B.N. Putilov (ed.) Fol'klor i etnografiya. Svyazi fol'klora s drevnimi predstavleniyami i obryadami. Leningrad: Nauka, pp. 52-63.

Fedorova, I.K., 1978. Mify, predaniya i legendy ostrova Paskhi. Moscow: Nauka.

Fedorova, I.K., 1981. Atributy vlasti i kul'tovye predmety ostrova Paskhi v svete mifologii i etnografii. In: K.V. Malakhovsky (ed.) Puti razvitiya Avstralii i Okeanii. Moscow: Nauka, pp. 263-80.

Fischer, S.R., 1993. A Provisional Inventory of the Inscribed Artifacts in the Three Rapanui Scripts. In: S.R. Fischer (ed.) Easter Island Studies. Contributions to the History of Rapanui in Memory of William T. Mulloy. Oxbow Monograph 32. Oxford: Oxbow Books, pp. 177-81.

Fischer, S.R., 1994. Rapanui's "Great Old Words": E Timo Te Akoako. Journal of the Polynesian Society, 103: 413-43.

Métraux, A., 1940. Ethnology of Easter Island. Bishop Museum Bulletin 160. Honolulu: Bernice P. Bishop Museum.

Métraux, A., 1957. Easter Island. A Stone-Age Civilization of the Pacific. London: Andre Deutsch Limited.

Rjabchikov, S.V., 1987. Progress Report on the Decipherment of the Easter Island Writing System. Journal of the Polynesian Society, 96: 361-7.

Rjabchikov, S.V., 1993. Rapanuyskie teksty (k probleme rasshifrovki). Etnograficheskoe obozrenie, 4: 124-41.

Rjabchikov, S.V., 1995a. [A Letter to the Editor]. L'Écho de Rapa Nui, 32: 26.

Rjabchikov, S.V., 1995b. On Inscription in a Basalt Slab. L'Écho de Rapa Nui, 30: 19.

Rjabchikov, S.V., 1996a. Interpretatsiya trekh toponimov ostrova Paskhi (k simvolike arkhaichnykh verovaniy). In: V.G. Borbotko (ed.) Yazyk i kommunikatsiya: deyatel'nost' cheloveka i postroenie lingvisticheskikh tsennostey. Sochi: Sochi Institute of Spa Treatment and Tourism, Kuban State University, pp. 40-1.

Rjabchikov, S.V., 1996b. Tayny ostrova Paskhi. Vol. 5. Krasnodar: Torgovo-promyshlennaya palata Krasnodarskogo kraya.

Thomson, W.J., 1891. Te Pito te Henua, or Easter Island. Report of the United States National Museum for the Year Ending June 30, 1889. Annual Reports of the Smithsonian Institution for 1889. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, pp. 447-552.

The original was first presented as a paper at the Third International Conference on Oceanic Linguistics and Pacific Area Contact Linguistics Association, January 9 - 15, 1997, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.


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