The Lunar Calendar of Tablet Mamari

OVERVIEW

1. Sequence type A, in blue
2. Sequence type B, in green
3. Sequence type C, in red.

The remaining signs, in black, represent the nights of the traditional lunar calendar, of which we have three versions independently collected by Thomson, Englert, and Metraux. Those three versions are in almost perfect agreement, except that:

1. Thomson's version lacks night Hiro of Metraux's
2. Englert's version lacks nights Ari and Hotu of Metraux's
3. Englert puts Hiro after Ata, Metraux puts it after.

A lunar month is 29.52 days long. To be accurate, a lunar calendar must alternate 29-days and 30-days months so as to match the phases of the moon. This can be done by keeping a close watch on the moon phases, and adding an extra night to the basic, shorter, calendar whenever needed.

It seems that the ancient lunar calendar of Easter Island consisted of 28 nights, plus two additional nights to be inserted as needed, one shortly before the full moon, the other after the full moon, immediately before the new moon.

THE NIGHT SIGNS

1. The new moon. Thomson and Englert: Oata, Metraux: Ata. The various meanings of "ata" in Polynesian, "cloud, shadow" are compatible with the notion of new moon: the moon is "clouded", in a "shadow".

2. First night after the new moon, when it become faintly visible. Thomson: Oari, Metraux: Ari. This word, ari, is probably cognate with Hawaiian "ali = white, clarity, whiteness". The crescent is accompanied by what looks like a loop of string with barbs. Routledge reports that: "Every year there was a great gathering of rongo-rongo men at Anakena... They brought 'heu-heu' (feathers on top of sticks), tied pua [a plant] on to them, and stuck the sticks in the ground... Te Haha [her informant] and his comrades stood on the outskirts, and he and one other lad held maru [a string of white feathers tied to a stick] in their hands... In addition to the great day, there were minor assemblies at the new moon, or at the last quarter of the moon, when the rongo-rongo men came to Anakena". Does the barbed loop represent the strings of white feathers used in those ceremonies? In popular parlance "new moon" is often taken as meaning the night when the moon becomes visible again, so that it is quite possible that Routledge, or her informant, may have meant the first night after the new moon, Ari, instead of the new moon proper, Ata.

3-8. Six plain crescents in succession, without any accompanying hieroglyphs. These are the six unnamed nights reported by Thomson, Englert and Metraux: Kokore tahi, Kokore rua, Kokore toru, Kokore haa, Kokore rima, Kokore ono. "Tahi, rua, toru, ... ono" are the numbers from one to six, "kokore" is cognate with Hawaiian "'a'ole = no" and Tahitian "'aore = there is/are not" hence its means probably here "without [a name], nameless".

9. Thomson, Englert, Metraux: Maharu.

10. Thomson, Englert: Ohua, Metraux: Hua. "Hua" variously means in Polynesian "fruit, to fructify" or "vulva, scrotum, bulge". The accompanying sign could be a representation of a prickly fruit or of a scrotum.

11. Thomson, Englert: Otua, Metraux: Atua ("God"). The accompanying sign represents perhaps a feather cloak, worn by high chief and celestial beings. The crescent features a bulge, as if it were "pregnant". This night is followed in Thomson's and Metraux's lists by a night absent from Englert's list: Hotu. "Hotu" means "to bear fruit" in Tahitian, and is very probably the extra night inserted before the full moon whenever needed.

12. Thomson, Englert, Metraux: Maure. The appendage is perhaps phonetic. It its a credible representation of an animal's penis (a dolphin's for instance). Phonetically, "Maure" is "ma = with, ure = penis"

13. Thomson, Englert, Metraux: Ina-ira.

14.. Thomson, Englert, Metraux: Rakau. The night immediately before the full moon. The crescent here is filled in.

15. Thomson, Englert: Omotohi, Metraux: Motohi. The full moon. The sign is a picture of the "Cook-in-the-Moon", common to Polynesian and most Melanesian mythologies. The three "stones" are the cooking stones of the Polynesian earth oven (umu). The homonculus sitting in profile is the cook.

16-20. A sequence of five bare crescents. This is the second series of unnamed nights, Kokore tahi, Kokore rua, ... Kokore rima, which immediately follows the full moon in Thomson's, Englert's, and Metraux's lists.

21. Thomson, Englert, Metraux: Tapume.

22. Thomson, Englert, Metraux: Matua.

23. Thomson, Englert: Orongo, Metraux: Rongo. The last quarter. Note the accompanying string with barbs. Routledge mentions that ceremonies were also held at the last quarter of the moon, where strings of white feathers were used.

24. Thomson, Englert: Orongo taane, Metraux: Rongo tane. The crescent is accompanied by a picture of a frigate bird, called "taha". The first syllable is perhaps used here phonetically for "ta[ne]"

25. Thomson, Englert, Metraux: Mauri nui.

26. Thomson, Metraux: Mauri kero, Englert: Mauri karo.

27. Thomson, Englert: Omutu, Metraux: Mutu.

28. Thomson: Tueo, Englert, Metraux: Tireo. "Tueo" is a typographic mistake for "Tireo"

29 and 30. These are probably the two additional nights, Hotu and Hiro, to be added when necessary to the fixed 28 nights above. According to both Thomson and Metraux, Hotu was inserted between nights 11 and 12 (Atua and Maure). According to Englert, Hiro was inserted immediately after night 1 (the new moon); according to Metraux, immediately before it.

Glyphs Groups Type B (in Green). Their meaning is also unknown. However, all the groups before the full moon, when the moon is waxing, contain a fish head up. All those after, when the moon is waning, have the same fish head down. Hence they probably mean something like "waxing" and "waning".

Glyphs Type C (in Red). Meaning unknown. The first one, which looks like a turtle ("honu") is perhaps a phonetic approximation for "Hotu". The second, two people back to back, is perhaps a phonetic approximation for "Hiro": "he rua = two". But this is pure speculation without a sound basis.

-Jacques Guy