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Dr Fischer's Double Standard

by Sergei V. Rjabchikov

Steven Roger Fischer called me a hobby epigrapher in his letter (Rapa Nui Journal, vol. 13: 61). I would like to give many thanks to Dr Fischer for a compliment. Yes, I prefer to be among hobby epigraphers such as Jean-François Champollion, Georg Fridrich Grotefend, Henry Rawlinson, Boris G. Kudrjavtsev (the Russian pupil discovered the parallel records on several rongorongo boards), Alice Kober, Michael Ventris and among hobby ethnologists such as William Thomson, Katherine Routledge, Fedor P. Krendelev, Sebastian Englert rather than to get into the team of this scientist. I have found his criticism to be double standard. He raised no objections when Dr Irina K. Fedorova (1995, 1996) interpreted the postcontact versions of the Rapanui script (the records on a sheet and on a fish tablet). And now Dr Fischer has noticed that the inscription on the Chicago fish tablet I reseached (Rjabchikov 1999a), was manufactured in 1925. It enabled him to put in doubt whether my interpretation was accurate. I would like to express my opinion on this question. It is not in reason to suppose that not a single connoisseur of the ancient writing remained on Easter Island. Undeniably the native Tomenika knew the mysterious code. Moreover, Dr Georgia Lee's collection has a Rapanui wooden plaque decorated with the glyphs and the texts written in Roman letters which correspond to each other (Rjabchikov 1997a: 27; 1998: 70). Besides, as the Franco-Belgian Expedition to Easter Island (1934-1935) took place, the native Charli Teao tried to communicate the readings of several glyphs to Dr Alfred Métraux (1940: 398-9), but the latter gave little attention to this report. Only two readings were registered that are faithful, reasoning from my decipherment (Rjabchikov 1999b: 90-1). The native was a nephew of Te Haha, the famous rongorongo expert, so this opinion might be taken into consideration. There is also Atan manuscript, many records of which may serve as a quasi-bilingual source for the decipherment of the script. But, and it should be emphasized, all the above-mentioned data may be used as the circumstantial evidence at the final stage of research work since the formal analysis of the inscriptions is the basis of the decipherment.

I am glad that Dr Lee (1999: 48) exploited my interpretation of glyph and corresponding petroglyph 60 mata though she did not refer to my works (e.g., Rjabchikov 1987: 363; 1996: 18; 1997b: 165; 1998: 71). I hope that my other results to be necessary in future.

It should be borne in mind that the readings of the rongorongo texts offered by Dr Fischer are pure fantasy. I have published two reviews on this issue (Rjabchikov 1997c: 4-5, see also http://rongorongo.chat.ru/#STR on the World Wide Web; 1997d). Is not it the reason for Dr Fischer to go for me with "convincing" critique?

REFERENCES

Fedorova, I.K., 1995. Tomenika's Text. Rapa Nui Journal, 9: 73-6.

Fedorova, I.K., 1996. [Transcription of the Text of the Madrid Fish Tablet, "Ika"] in Mellén Blanco, F., 1996. A Fish (Ika) with Hieroglyphic Writing from Isla de Pascua Discovered in Madrid. Rapa Nui Journal, 10: 57-9.

Lee, G., 1999. The Petroglyph Site at Papa te Kena, Easter Island. Rapa Nui Journal, 13: 44-8.

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

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

Rjabchikov, S.V., 1997a. Tayny ostrova Paskhi. Vol. 6. Krasnodar: Torgovo-promyshlennaya palata Krasnodarskogo kraya.

Rjabchikov, S.V., 1997b. [A letter to the Editor]. Rapa Nui Journal, 11: 165-6.

Rjabchikov, S.V., 1997c. Rapanui Studies. Krasnodar: Torgovo-promyshlennaya palata Krasnodarskogo kraya.

Rjabchikov, S.V., 1997d. Easter Island Writing: Speculation ans Sense. Journal of the Polynesian Society, 106: 203-5.

Rjabchikov, S.V., 1998. Polynesian String Figures and Rongorongo: Additional Remarks. Bulletin of the International String Figure Association, 5: 63-76.

Rjabchikov, S.V., 1999a. Tangaroa in the Inscription of the Chicago Fish Tablet. Rapa Nui Journal, 13: 14-5.

Rjabchikov, S.V., 1999b. Utrachenny klyuch k pis'mennosti ostrova Paskhi. In: Y.A. Sorokin and A.M. Kholod (eds.) Versii antropotsentrizma (materialy III mezhdunarodnogo simpoziuma "Chelovek: yazyk, kul'tura, poznanie", 27-28 aprelya 1999 goda, g. Krivoi Rog, Ukraina). Krivoi Rog - Moscow: Bibliotechka "Saksagani", MITS CHYAKP, Institut Yazykoznaniya RAN, pp. 89-91.


2 additional reviews of the erroneous decipherment by S.R. Fischer of the rongorongo script

"RONGORONGO, Easter Island Writing" Home Page


Copyright © 1999 by Sergei V. Rjabchikov. All Rights Reserved.


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