TRANSLATIONS
 
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The glyph sequence Aa1-1 -- 15 is a presentation of the astronomical year.

There is no clear indication of any birds involved. However, the bird list of Manuscript E does give us clues about how to understand the glyphs. The bird list is another representation of the year. Probably there were many different representations of the year and we should expect similar lists of trees, stars etc to provide us with further help in the translations. The sacred geography of Easter Island does also provide a 'map' (or rather 'maps' because there were several different descriptions). In Vanaga we have e.g. a list of motu which probably is worth studying:

... some names of islets: Motu Motiro Hiva, Sala y Gómez; and around the island: Motu Nui, Motu Iti, Motu Kaokao, Motu Tapu, Motu Marotiri, Motu Kau, Motu Tavake, Motu Tautara, Motu Ko Hepa Ko Maihori, Motu Hava ...

2 + 10 = 12, and Motu Tavake is islet number 7 of the 10.

Although there are 15 glyphs the system calculates with 16 'stations' divided in the middle, resulting in twice 8 (the number representing Easter Island). Schematically the system may be visualized like this:

winter solstice
1 3 quarters are presumably measured by the sun and equal in length, whereas the 4th and last quarter seems special and ruled by the moon. 4
2 3
summer solstice

A possible solution to the two unknowns, viz. the lengths of the 3 regular quarters respectively the 4th irregular one, may be 4 * 28 = 112 respectively 1 * 28 (because 13 * 28 = 364). That would necessitate adding extracalendrical 1¼ to reach 365¼.

Only one limb of the four in the chicken of Aa1-15 is drawn complete, possibly to signify ¼. The chicken + the complete limb could mean 1¼.

At the same time, though, the glyph Aa1-15 may be counted as 2, because if the 4th 'quarter' has 28 nights, then it would be nice to be able to divide this period into 4 weeks.

The 'break' in the middle of Aa1-15 may furthermore symbolize koti, i.e. that the left part belongs to the old year, whereas the right part does not. The left part (the 'finished' leg) is to be read as 'full stop' for the old year.

Aa1-14 has only 3 'berries' instead of the normal 4. That is a sign and maybe the sign means that only 3 'quarters' are visible in the light from the sun, whereas the 4th is invisible due to the sun's disappearance. The 4th 'berry' probably is seen at the bottom of the central 'canoe', indicating that the new year will grow from that 'berry'.

In the texts of H/P/Q the glyphs representing the 4th 'quarter' do not follow immediately after the glyphs representing the 3 first regular 'quarters' of the year. This fact is more easy to accept when we understand that the 4th irregular 'quarter' is of a separat kind than the other 3.

Compared to the structure described above for Tahua (A) one other structural detail also differs, viz. that there are just 7 + 4 = 11 (instead of the expected 12) glyphs parallel with those in Aa1-1 -- 12 (1st - 3rd 'quarters'). I draw the conclusion that we perhaps should add another glyph at the beginning, which would result in:

A
H
P
Q

The beginning of the year possibly is described in H/P/Q as originating at the mythically important three little islets outside Rano Kau, where the bird (Manu tara) egg competition was held each year.