the rongo rongo script

7/24/2019 The Rongo Rongo Script

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The Rongo RongoScriptFor those of you who thought the Rongo Rongo script was never deciphered,

the following will come as quite a surprise.

In 1892 the aster Island scripts were deciphered, !ut have !een ignored

!ecause they do not say what the scientists want to hear. "hey are not a!out

voyaging from #elanesia, they are a!out life in $outh %merica& "he following

ta!let is a detailed history of tri!al conflict in $outh %merica, leading up to the

e'odus to Rapa nui& It is a!out the slow and persistant attrition of the (aucasianelement in $outh %merican culture. "he ta!lets even mentions which tri!es

were from the ancient land of "ulan )"ulapin or "urtle Island, ie* +ahama

!ans-. %lthough it does not spell out that the "ulan and Rapa people were

(aucasian, it can !e inferred from other legends which descri!e the children of

the sun as pale sinned people. ot only this !ut many /eruvian mummies

were either !londe or red heads. It must !e noted that these (aucasians were

not from urope !ut natives of %merica, as genetics shows that the founding

mem!ers of many indigenous %merindian tri!es 12,000 years ago were

(aucasian. ther studies indicate that the Ra element in $outh %merican

culture is from gyptian trade during the +rone %ge 34,000 years ago. "hese

people also having many red heads amongst them. "hese people could also !e

classed as indigenous $outh %mericans as an assimilation period of 2,000 years

is significant. It is no surprise to find that the face of man has !een constantly

changing over time, not only through man induced events, !ut also through

natural selection. Resus negative, !londe5red hair and !lue eyes are all

recessive genes.



Translation of an Easter Islandinscriptionon a tablet Marked No 1 (front).

By . ! arroll" M.." M.#. $ctober %th" 1&'.indly lent By S. *ercy S+ith" Es,." -.R..S.

6"he !ones of our ancestors of the $un7fires, the masters of the !eloved tri!e of

our sacred dead ancestors of the holy $un7people, the people of the mountains,

the (harcas, a holy clan. "he agle chief was of these dead ancestors and their

fires of the $un and a master of the free (hunchas. "he men of the two7sailed

vessel came, attaced the uichua. "hese gorging !ar!arians attaced the $uns

men and the uito people and their rulers. "hey, the $naes, too their places.

"he sacred ancestral fires in the coast7lands for seven years were e'tinguished,

and among the Rapa people for si' years. "hen the chief of the agle tri!es

fought in the coast7lands for si' years, and again the chief and the agle clan

went to the coast lands for five years. "hen this chief of the agle tri!es died,

and the tri!es fled from the coast7lands to the region of the head waters* the

$naes occupied after the agle chief, and tri!es were overwhelmed and ended

on the coastlands. Five years after the agle tri!es were overthrown the clan of

the royal !ands struggled !efore the $naes. "hey were then seen to !e seied

!y the !ar!arians, who gorged upon these loved tri!es for five years. "his clan

of the $un and its chiefs was overthrown, was mastered, was homeless, werethese $uns men. "he great (a:a were homeless. "he $uns men, the mountain

clansmen, were dead, and the fires of this clan, and the chiefs of this clan of the

mountains. "hen the (harcas under their chiefs fought for the freedom of their

homes. "he uichuas were overthrown, and their freedom thus ended, their

$un7fires and their clans chief was dead, and the people on the coast had

mastered these !eloved tri!es. "he (ha7Rapas, a !ranch of the agle tri!es,

with the ;uanacas, living on a part of the coast* the main !ody of the agle

tri!es nearest the coast, with assistance from uilago, !eloved of the tri!e,

under a chief of chiefs of the $uns men, returned, and with their weapons

ended all overthrew all, and thus finished the trou!le. "he master of the <ord of <ican, a child of our ancestors, and of

the ancestors of those on the coast of the (a:ario, and of the #ucoas of the

coast, all fought for seven years, !ut after si' years the (a:ario !egan to rela'.

"he ;uanacas and the agle tri!es also, after si' years attacing of the place of

the $naes, and after these si' years of attacing, and !y the aid of these

(a:ario, the freedom of the $naes was stopped after these si' years. "hen the



#aya clan threatened the (a:ario, and the free homes of the tri!es !eloved,

"hen these #ayas turned and attaced the ancestors clan of the royal !ands,

!ut the (a:ario !rought this freedom to an end after si' years. "hen the $cyri

of uito, a prince of the $un7fires, overwhelmed the #ocoa clan, and the royal

!and of the coast7lands, after eight years of struggle with these and the Intagas

of the coast7lands, and the =am!ayas !rought it to an end. "he Intagas and the(hinchas derived their $un7fires from the Royal7(harcas. "heir princes were

chiefs of the children of the $un. "he sacred (hinchas, among the coast people,

the $uns men, who as free men of the (hin had returned, had these sacred

(hin, to the coast as masters> the chief !ody they were of the (ha7Rapas.

(him!orao had a handsome son, of his !ody the chief descendant, named

?uchicela, they were of the sacred head7waters people of the $un, some of

whom went to the coast7lands, our ancestors, from their !odies. % temple was

seven years in !uilding !y these ancestors, the war chiefs and the #ancus. "hey

made it for their $un7fire, for they were $uns people, and of the (harcas.

6?uchicela was the sacred head of the $uns people, the (him!u. "oa, who

!ecame his chief wife, she was water7!orne, and in the front of all taen as the

chief descendent. In the temple of uito for seven years staying, this chief of

the $uns people the (him!u* the lady "oa and all her tri!es thus o!tained. In

these days, in the coast lands, the souls suffered !y the dead !odies !eing

gorged, of the $un7families, !y the $erpents. "he $uns men of $uns ancestors,

!eing driven !elow !y these $erpents* and the free mothers to wives turned !y

them. "he ;uaracas, the Rapas, the Intagas, and their sacred heads, these holy

war7!irds* the $naes overwhelmed them and their power !rought to an end,and these holy ones were overwhelmed*. "he $un7fires on the coast, were

e'tinguished. "he agle tri!es attaced the tri!es dwelling near the head7waters

and overwhelmed them for five years, and for another five years they were

watched* then the Rapas undertoo this duty for five years* then the clan of the

Royal7!ands did so for nineteen years. "hen the $naes attaced the #ocoa for

four years. "hen the chiefs of the $un7peoples gathered the (harcas, the agle

tri!es, the Royal clan, and overran the $naes for five years* then the (ha7

Rapas and the agle people overwhelmed them, mastered, and then watched

them. "hen the #ocoa @oined uilago and the uispe* and the great mothers

near the coast were released, and !ecame again the great mothers of our peoples. "hen the people of uito, with the ;uanacas, a !eloved tri!e, with

people from the head7waters region, with their masters and the men, li!erated

the vaults and tom!s of the (hallu nation, that the $naes had seied. "hen they

assisted the #ocoa* and the trou!les in uito were ended after five years* and

the women were set free, and !ecame the free mothers of the $uns men. "he

"uccumans women were also li!erated, and !ecame wives of the $uns men.



"hen the handsome prince li!erated more of the women from the $naes of the

coast tri!es, and this prince made free these mothers* and in uito the trou!le

ended, and the (hallu !eing li!erated, and the wars in uito were ended for our

ancestors, and the mothers of the $uns people then there.

%fterwards the agle clan attaced and overthrew the !ar!arians, and the chief

of $naes, and also the #ocoa chief, for the women and the mothers of the$uns people had !een seied in their dwellings !y the !ar!arians who had

overcome the !eloved tri!es, and seied their women as wives for these

!ar!arians, and had gorged themselves upon the !eloved tri!e of the (ha7Rapa,

whose tom!s they had taen, and had mastered the free men of the Fires of the

$un* !ut the agles came down and overthrew them, and released them, and

also the sacred (hin people and their chiefs, who had !een overwhelmed.

"hese (hin people had long !efore !een conquered and taen !y the $naes,

who had enslaved them. "hey were !ranches of the dead uichua ancestors,

many of whom were (ollas, a sacred people who were overthrown and ended

and so were their free mothers, and the dead !odies of these women were ill7

used. "he agle warriors revenged the sacred masters of this $uns people, and

returned to the $uns people the $uns good times, and also upon the coast with

the masters they loved* and they also relieved the ;uanaca tri!e, sacred and

!eloved, they returned the ;uanaca, these $uns people, to their homes. "he

much loved Auayllas tri!es were watched and eventually turned to the $un

people. "he (ha7Rapas and their chiefs of the $un people, and of the $un7

circles, made the !ar!arian Auangas their servants, and too the sacred

things, and the daughter of a chief of the clan of the upper7waters, the people of

the no!le !ands of the (harcas, she was the daughter of these $uns people*from her afterwards descended the chiefs of the (oyaimas.

In later times Auasca and %ta overthrew these $uns people, seied them, and

also seied their valley to the end of the pass and on the coast, they attaced the

!ranch of the #anta. "he coast people who were descended from the people at

the region of the head7waters, where their sacred ancestors died near the fires of

the $un. "he coast7land tri!es thus referred to are the (hincha, and their rulers,

who were overthrown when uitos freedom was ended !y %ta and his

warriors.

/revious to these sacred ones !eing overwhelmed and ended, the agle tri!e

had conquered and overturned the chiefs of the (hincha nation, !ut the $naescoming lie venomous $erpents to these $uns people, these ancestors were

seied, and those ancestors of the people from the head7waters were !ound up,

and then this sacred and handsome tri!e was destroyed !y the !ar!arians. "he

$naes too that portion of uito and ended these head7waters people who had

!een related to the (uchuna, whom the agle tri!e had once overthrown.



ur wise teachers tell us how the sacred ancestors of these tri!es came from the

coast, with their $un7fires, their women, their temple officers of the $uns

people, and the Bestals of the $uns people, to uito came these !eloved tri!es.

From the snowy mountains, say our wise teachers came the people of Rapa

when their $un7fires were e'tinguished, and their sacred ancestors were seied,the men of this tri!e moved off. 6"he sacred !odies !orne !y our ancestors,

the holy men of the tri!e, these holy ones approached the coast, dividing into

these !ranches in the coast countries, one settling near where sacred "u was

!eloved !y his tri!e, another among the (a:ario, the others scattering among

those people their relations from the snowy mountains, those from <ican, and

those from Runahuanac, among these $uns people on the coast, and among the

people from the headwaters these tri!es settled, and near other clans now dead.

"he Auarina, whose chief was gorged and whose clan is dead. "he Cramarca of

the head7waters whose clan is dead. "he Auarina were gorged

among the head7waters regions* their clan is dead. "he "itiuru replacing them,

after the Auarina were gorged and their clan was dead. "he /uruhua arose as a

tri!e in this region of the upperwaters* !ut the clan of /uruhua is also dead, and

no longer found in =anahuara and among the head7waters, this clan is dead.

"he /uru !ranch of these lived longer among head7waters * !ut was not so great

as the clan that was dead. %mong these head7waters, and the dead clans that

once were there, were the =unca, they after four years of struggling with the

tri!es on the laes were driven off. ur wise teachers tell us that during four

years, !ar!arians gorged the (hinchas and the $uns men. "he #allanca and the

(olla were also gorged, and other holy men, when they were holding a feast ofthe $un, and a potato feast with chants and songs near their temple !y the

sacred roc, a war !egan which lasted four years !efore the tri!es were again at

peace, during which the Intags, and the (hangos, in@ured the sacred men, and

the spirits and the souls suffered and many of the clans were dead !efore the

$uns men were free from strife. "hen the clan from the snowy mountains

lighted the $un7fires and !ecame allies with the rulers of the (hincha, and the

Runahuanca, !ut when the chief of the /uruhua, after si' years died. "he (ha7

Rapa were punished and overwhelmed !y the !ar!arians, who gorged the loved

tri!e.

"hen the chief of the agles tri!e came to their assistance with his officers andmen, and ended the trou!les of this tri!e, and the $naes were thus

overwhelmed, and their acts ended !y the agle chief from the mountains, who

ended the trou!le and set them free. /unished and overwhelmed were those on

the coast, and the uichua were again free. "he coast tri!es were punished

during four years, and overwhelmed. "hey were punished with, and !y the

assistance of, the <ady "oa and her hus!and, of the mountain people* they



overthrew the !ar!arian $naes, as well as assisting in the fights with these

$naes, parts of the "schimu lands were overrun !y these $naes for five years.

"hese !ar!arians also gorged the loved tri!e of the (hallapampa, !ut, with

"oas assistance, after a time they lighted the $un7fires and !ecame free men. In

after times a prince of uito in these parts attaced, near ;uam!acho, a part of

the "schimu7(anchua people, and these near Aua7Rapa, another portion of the"schimu, and also the men of a free people the Auama* afterwards this prince

attaced the ;uamachuco, related to the peoples of the upper head7waters

districts. "hen there was an intervention of the agle chiefs from /una Island

and from Aua7rapa, and the Auama men again !ecame free* !ut %ta, the prince,

again attaced the (hallapampa )a people of the fishing7flats- and the

;uamachuco, while one of his chiefs went off and attaced Rapa, and too it,

and also the holy men of the (ha7Rapa. "hen the chief of the agles tri!es

!eing dead, the people of the head7waters and those of =anahuara were made

to suffer> the $naes overwhelmed them, their women were taen, their Fires of

the $un e'tinguished. "hese $uns people were in@ured, and their women. "hey

were punished, overwhelmed, overthrown !y these $naes, who were the

overthrowers. #any of the dwellers in the island of /una were illed, punished,

and overthrown. "he "ocay were many of them illed* these were children of

the $un, and the men of this $uns tri!e were punished and overwhelmed, and

their souls destroyed. "hese were of uichua ancestry, !ut the $naes

overwhelmed them, as they did the head7waters people, and those of

=anahuara, as also the children of the =uncu, and the (hallapampa people, and

those from the =ngachungana, and the (ha7Rapa* their women and the $un7

fires. "hey were mastered, as were the #uo people, the holy temple of thechiefs near (hungana of the $un people. ot even the en@oyment of the souls of

the dead could !e free, !ut all were overwhelmed, punished, and overthrown.

"he "schimu, the !ranches of the "schimu, and the Aualla, who assisted to

in@ure the souls of the dead* !ut !y the $acred (hief of $ouls, and the acts of

the Rapa people, these wiced ones were punished, and many overthrown and

taen to Rapa, roped, tied, !ound, and overwhelmed. "he !ar!arians attaced

the Auarca !eloved tri!e, the !ar!arians assaulted this loved tri!e the Auarca,

and their sacred temple with its Fire of the $un, and the sacred and free Bestals

fled to the vaults and to /una off the coast, these women of the $un, the sacred

ones, !eing overwhelmed. "hen the prince commenced an attac, lasting twoyears, and with the Intagas it continued for two years* they continued to attac

the four clans of the #anta the %pechique, the /ichua, the /ampahuaci, the

/assau and also three tri!es of the (huns the (hunana, the (hintay, the

(ollenche. "he $naes, the #anta had punished, and overwhelmed the tri!es,

and their rulers in uito, the sacred and loved children of the $un, and of the

$un7fires e'tinguished on the coast, and the masters, and the sacred warriors,



and the ancestors of the (ha7 Rapa D a $uns people, with the $un7circles of

these (ha7Rapa. "hen the prince and the officers, with the rulers of these loved

tri!es again recovered their freedom. %fterwards the agle chiefs overthrew the

places of rest, having punished and overwhelmed the ;uamachucos, and then

attaced in the country of the upper7waters, the three clans and tri!es, the

(hunana, the (hintay, the (ollanche, and overwhelmed the clans in a fouryears raid, and the remaining tri!es in an attac lasting two years. "he masters

of a loved tri!e, the /icu, of the free (harcas, with the rulers of the (hincha

men, and the Auamachacas, were engaged in a war in the coast7lands, @oined in

!y the ;uanaca in the coast7lands. "he Auamachaca !ecame captives of the

(him!ri7men from the mountains* and the men of this tri!e were forced to the

coast, and thus overwhelmed and punished !y the men of the $un* !ut the

$naes of the %pechique tri!e )the mountaineers- and the Auama too many of

them captives to the coasts.

6From the old land of "olan )"ulapin- had come the ancestors of the rulers of

the (hincha, and the foremost master among the rulers of Runahuanac. $ome

of their women had come from the mountaineers, overthrown later !y the Incas,

and some from the Auallmi, who in later times were found among the "schimu.

From the old land of "olan had come the Bestals of the $un* these were of the

ancient "olan people. "he !ar!arians coming to the coast gorged themselves

with the holy men found near the coast for si' years, those who were under the

rulers of uito, or under the chiefs of the agles tri!esmen. "he women of the

Rapa, the mothers of this clan of the $uns people, and the Bestals of the $un of

this free and loved tri!e were captured. "he rulers of the (hincha, the clan, and

the chiefs of <iri!am!a, and those of the town of <ican, whose ancestorslighted the fires of the $un, among this $uns people. "hese chiefs of men, their

heads were turned from their /rince %ta, and he only reigned as their chief for

eight years. <ong !efore this the chief Aualla and his clansmen had migrated

under the guidance of the $pirits, taing their women and the women of the

sacred chief with all his men, and, on a two7sailed vessel, sailed away. "his

chiefs ancestors were the agle chiefs and the (ha7Rapa, the agle chief of the

/uruha. thers were among the dead (him!u7rau. "he <uan ancestors who

lighted the $un7fires among the $uns people, the descendents of the (hincha.

In the songs and chants of the women they sing of these things, as do the

women of the region of waters, and of the =a:ahuara. It was the ancestors ofthose who in the town of <ican lighted the fires of the $un for the $uns people,

the (hincha, and ept it !urning there for si' years, even when opposed !y the

rulers of the Auaman, as the women sing in their chants. "hen many of the

people from =a:ahuara, after these si' years with the sacred chief in a two7

sailed vessel went off to the island of /una. %fter this the fires of the $un went

out in <ican, and the days of our ancestors in various parts of uito were



ended, and these free, $uns children of the (hincha, the ;olden $uns people,

those sacred, free, and !eloved tri!es, are remem!ered in the chants of the

women of the (ha7Rapa.

6"he women of the /icu tri!e had to change to the (hincha their fires of the

$un from their sacred and loved clan home. "heir women had !een punished

and overwhelmed, and the tri!al fires e'tinguished !y the Auarcas after fiveyears fightings. ear the $un7fires of the ancestors of the $uns people and the

town of <ican were !ranches of the "icu tri!e, also the chiefs of the Intaga, the

(hanges, and various people of the $uns clans. "hree of these united, and these

three @oined the clan of the chief Aualla, thus adding to this clan these

three others. "hen these united tri!es went to =mpris with the chief of the

=ntaga, and the (hangos, and part of the clan of the royal !ands. "hey

afterwards @oined the $un7people of /una. $ome remained with the (hief

Aualla and his clan, others @oined the $un7people of /uruha, and of /uruhua*

some passed to the agle chief of the #anchua, others were with the <ican

ancestors $uns fires* while others were among the coast7lands people, and

among the sacred women, the mothers of the $un7peoples, and they e'tended to

the /urumacua, near the #auli River of the coast. "hus among the $uns

peoples ancestors are found these =ntaga, (hangos, =ngayncusi, Auascas, the

women of whom %ta afterwards punished, and overwhelmed, and ended the

ancestral songs of their women of the coast. Cpon the coast were some of the

clans of the (hief Aualla, and those of the rulers of Runahuanca, and the

(hincha. "he sacred, loved tri!e was for eight years oppressed !y him.6

The Easter Island inscriptions and the /ay in /hich they are translated.By . ! arroll" M.." M.#. $ctober %th" 1&'.$t. Eilda, Eogarah, near $ydney, %ustralia,

" "A A. $(R"%RI$ F "A /<=$I% $(I"=.

;"<#,

In a letter of yours @ust received !y me I find this sentence therein>7 6It would

gratify a very widely e'pressed desire if you would indly give us a setch ofthe method you pursue in translating the ta!lets.6 Aaving foreseen that some

such wish might !e e'pressed !y those interested in the aster Island

inscriptions, I have !een preparing a grammar and voca!ulary as a ey to the

inscriptions, and an e'planation of how to read the characters and the languages

in or for which they were cut or engraved, and I said so in the introduction to

the translations you e'pressed to me a wish to have pu!lished in the ournal of



the ournal of the /olynesian $ociety . Ghen this grammar and voca!ulary,

Hc., is completed and pu!lished, it will of course mae everything so clear that

anyone will !e a!le to learn, not only the ey and the mode of woring out the

decipherment, !ut the whole of the su!@ect, and allow them to translate the

inscriptions. +ut to mae this ey, grammar, and voca!ulary completely

satisfactory will necessarily occupy a considera!le num!er of printed pages*and I also find that I am still discovering fresh characters, words, and

grammatical forms in the inscriptions I have received and am still reading*

therefore the said eys, grammar, and voca!ulary of the several inscriptions are

still !eing added to. "hus !oth the !ul or volume of what has !een prepared

and what is !eing added to it will cause me to pause !efore pu!lishing this at

present* !ut this will not prevent me giving a rapid setch of how I came to !e

a!le to learn what the inscriptions contained, what they were a!out, and the

plan upon which they were written, Hc. I therefore proceed to give this

information as under, that you, and the readers of the ournal in which, with

this letter, it may !e printed, may thus now how the translations are made.

I" is over thirty years ago since I !egan the study of ancient writings, and

having, as they !ecame nown, e'amined the oldest hieroglyphics of gypt,

+a!ylonia, India, Indo7(hina, and others discovered in %sia, I !ecame

gradually convinced that a similar plan was to !e found among these, as the one

system upon which they were designed. "he later findings of the Aittite, the

(ypriot, those of ridu, and old (haldea, those in %ra!ia and elsewhere,

confirmed this !elief, while the writings thereon of the most profound scholars

of France, ;ermany, %merica, %sia, and ;reat +ritain made it certain that thiswas so. Cpon further following out these investigations and collecting the

ancient writings of %merica, I learned that in that so7called new continent from

the north in %lasa and (anada, to #e'ico and the central region, and onward

to the older nations in cuador, /eru, and other places many ancient peoples

there used hieroglyphic and phonetic, as well as ideographic, sym!olic, and

conventionally drawn figures as records of their mythologies, genealogies,

traditions, histories, poems, and other matters and things. "hese %merican

writings also contained similar forms for similar ideas, and were used upon the

same plan as those in the so7called old continents. "here also frequently was

found a conventional drawing of human heads and figures, as well as those ofanimals, which were often intended to conceal from the common people what

the chiefs, priests, scri!es, or others instructed therein would readily recognie

and understand. (ontinually pursuing these investigations and matters as

opportunities served, or as I could procure materials from correspondents, I at

length o!tained a considera!le num!er of specimens of writings in ancient

characters of the old and new continents, and also learned that my



correspondents, as well as scholars independent of my own investigations, were

giving confirmations of my views as to the connections and correspondences

!etween the ancient hieroglyphics, or the characters, and. the ideas they were

intended to convey.

#ore recently I o!tained copies of the aster Island inscriptions, and, upon

e'amining them, was much impressed with the many instances in which thecharacters were similar to those used !y the old civilied nations of %merica,

who wrote in hieroglyphics or in phonetic characters. <earning that the natives

of aster Island were /olynesians, and not %mericans, I thought it must !e only

a coincidence that the characters of the aster Island inscriptions were lie

those of the %merican peoples, and that they must !e a ind of writing used !y

/olynesians. I therefore !egan to search for similar /olynesian characters and

writings of ancient or recent times. %fter a few years of investigation I

discovered that the ancestors of the /olynesians did not write in these or in any

other characters after they had passed !eyond the #oluccas, on their way to the

eastward, to the islands of the /acific* and that, !efore then, their writings in

ancestral times even were entirely different, and not in any particulars lie

those of the aster Island inscriptions. Aaving quite satisfied myself upon these

points, and wishing not to mislead myself, I !egan a fresh investigation into the

writings of those who voyaging across

the /acific !efore uropeans sailed there might have left such a mode of

writing upon aster Island* !ut all such voyagers wrote in very different

characters, and in a manner not at all lie the inscriptions under consideration.

+ut, without pursuing this part of the su!@ect further here, it is only needful to

say, that from the e'aminations made, it !ecame clear from many direct andcollateral inds of evidence that the aster Island inscriptions were engraved on

the ta!lets !y scri!es who had learned the characters, and the methods of

writing with them, from those who had learned and new how they were used

in ancient times in %merica, and especially in $.G. %merica.

"hen came the question> In which language were they to !e read or

deciphered into %t that time !elieving that in the Inca times those monarchs

had destroyed all inds of writing within their dominions, and that only notted

cords, or quipus , were used, as the $paniards had affirmed* and that no

hieroglyphics, characters, or writings were permitted, I did not thin the

inscriptions could !e in the languages of the regions over which the Incasreigned* !ut some of my correspondents soon convinced me that there were

many distinct nations that wrote, in $.G. %merica, even during the Inca times,

as they had done long !efore those monarchs. It therefore !ecame pro!a!le that

these inscriptions might !e read in some of these $.G. %merican languages, as

the characters and sym!ols were those used !y such nations* and thus all the

difficulties were gradually removed. From the time that these facts and eys



were o!tained, all dou!ts and uncertainties disappeared* and, !y using the

nowledge thus o!tained, it was comparatively easy and simple enough !y

comparing with nown sym!ols and characters, and their equivalents and

values to decipher, and to put into sylla!les or words, and to read into the

dialects or languages into which they com!ined. "he only difficulty was that

more than one language was employed !y the scri!es in the differentinscriptions* and these had to !e studied !efore they could !e rendered into

nglish correctly. Aaving thus given, as !riefly as possi!le reserving the steps

and proofs for the wor hereafter to !e pu!lished the circumstances and the

mode !y which the discovery was reached and arrived at, it now remains to

descri!e what these hieroglyphics are* the nature and method of the

inscriptions* the plan upon which the figures are read into sylla!les, words,

parts of speech, and sentences. f course it would !e much easier, and please

me much more, to have a means of printing the characters and the parts of

these, so as to !ring them !efore the eyes of the reader, instead of having to

trust to descriptions only* !ut this would necessitate the casting of type for the

purpose, and !y the long delay in course of posting, after correction of proofs

or errors, would prevent the pu!lication of the information as to how these

inscriptions

are read. Ghen I am printing the grammars and voca!ularies, I will have each

of the characters, and the separate parts of these characters, clearly shown, with

the equivalent or value of each in the language in which it was intended to !e

written and read, and also with its equivalent or interpretation in nglish. "his

will require the casting of special characters and their components, as type, to

print or engrave from, which, with the care required, will, for so much wor aswill !e necessary, require considera!le time and e'pense* we must therefore

now attempt !y description to mae it comprehensi!le.

It will !e seen, upon e'amination, that the characters of the inscriptions either

represent natural o!@ects or sym!olic figures, adopted from forms and parts of

!irds, reptiles, tools, weapons, implements, parts of human !odies, and other

things. "he attempt, as in most other %merican hieroglyphics, is not to copy

anything e'actly, !ut to give a conventional representation that was well nown

and understood, as of an eagle or other !ird, a turtle, a tortoise, a serpent, a

toad, a frog* or of a sword, a sling, an a'e* or an arm, a hand, a leg, a foot, a

feather, a wing, a tail of a !ird or animal, a sun, a moon, a star, the sy, thecoast, a rain!ow, with !ows, arrows, cords, Hc.* each done in several distinct

ways, each of which had its own significance. "hus a serpent might either !e a

friend or an enemy, a priest or a wise7teacher* !ut not to !e misunderstood

!ecause of the attitude or the additions thereto, a feathered7serpent such as so

often appears in these inscriptions, and in all %merican writings can never !e

mistaen for an enemy, or anything !ut a priest or a wise7teacher, !y anyone



conversant with %merican writings. It will also !e apparent upon careful

inspection of the inscriptions that num!ers of the hieroglyphics are compound,

and are constructed of distinct portions, these parts !eing variously com!ined in

the different characters. ach of these parts so com!ined is either a sylla!le or a

complete word, !ut sometimes a letter either a vowel or a consonant of a proper

name, or a grammatical form )pre7 or post7position-, or other part of speech.Ghen com!ined either in one complete character either a sentence is formed, or

a su!sequent or a con@oined character maes the sentence complete, or adds to

its force or significance.

"he sym!ol, or part of each character, gives it value in sound to the sylla!le

or word it is used for, or intended to denote. "hus, an open hand reads ma , an

a!!reviation for maqui , 6the hand*6 !ut in this case it means 6free.6 In a

pointing position it means ma , 6let us see*6 in other positions it has several

other meanings. "he head of the eagle, when drawn fully and properly, reads

either cuntur or condor , according to which dialect the inscription is in. If it is

an eagles head on a mans !ody it reads cuntur7runa , 6an eagle7man.6 If the

head has three feathers, and if an arm is drawn without a hand,

it reads cuntur7cura7ne7i7runa , 6the eagle chief of the men.6 If a foot is also

added, this reads cha7ntin , in addition to the a!ove, or 6the eagle chief of these

tri!es men.6 ach figure, or part of figure, its position and relation to the other

figures with which it it related, gives its meaning, !ut the phonetic value

remains the same, unless the contrary is shown !y some alteration of the figure.

%s an illustration of this, if the inscriptions are carefully inspected, several

serpent sym!ols are displayed* some are separate, others are attached to

persons, to !irds, to !irds !odies, to reptiles !odies, or to other com!inationsof these snaes* some are feathered, this !eing a common sym!olic figure in

many different parts of %merica, where it implies a teacher, a wise man, a

priest, Hc. In %tecan it read quetal7coatl , in Itan it was cuculcan . In one

dialect of uichua it read amaute , in another one amaru , Hc., !ut all meaning

the same i.e. , 6wise teachers.6 In another form and com!ination in the

inscriptions it is to !e read curi , 6the golden or shining serpent.6 In other

com!inations it is read as amatu , 6the warlie snae* or as machaca , a 6hated

enemy,6 a 6venomous snae*6 or as machacui , 6the spirit enemies,6 or 6snaes

of the dead* or as palu , 6the deceitful snaes,6 or 6treacherous enemies,6 or

6opponents who are deceitful.6 $everal other forms and com!inations will !eseen, !ut these show the ideas in the inscriptions !orrowed from %merican

models, and used !y these scri!es in similar ways for the same meanings. n

the heads of many of the figures in the inscriptions will !e seen an arrow or an

o!tuse !lunt spear7shaped figure> this stands for the word chuqui , meaning 6an

old ancestor,6 and it often has one or two rings at the sides* these stand for yn ,

meaning 6of the $un,6 or yn7ti , 6!elonging to the $un,6 and the right or left



side indicates which tri!e they !elong to, as %merican sym!olic figures in

many parts of the $.G. indicates the tri!e of the individual displayed, or which

$un7tri!e he !elonged to. "hese tri!es of the $un, also !eing $un7worshippers,

or rather adorers of ancestral spirits in the $un, e'tended over the (ordillera for

2,J00 miles north and south, and among them were many su!divisions, and

each had an em!lem to indicate it. In the inscriptions of aster Island, under thearm of many of the figures will !e seen a peculiar7shaped weapon> it is to !e

read cchingana , and this sym!ol means there 6a la!yrinth, a cave.6 In such

places their dead were often deposited, and in it, when they felt pressed upon

!y enemies, they often too a final stand, and fought desperately.

"he plan upon which the scri!es made the inscriptions of aster Island was to

engrave the conventional figure of the person or his tri!al totemic sign , as

generally drawn in their sym!olic manner, and thus widely understood !y

chiefs, priests, and scri!es. "his was an eagle7headed figure for those of the

agle tri!es i.e. , those called cuntur7ao . "he (ham!oraos were drawn with

an a'e the old copper7a'e !eing cham!o in one dialect, and chimpo in another.

"hen, if they added to this a certain form of an open hand it was to !e read as

ma , meaning in this case 6free,6 and so continuing to add other sym!ols these

having each a phonetic value, and a fully understood meaning until the

sentence was completed. "hey also used certain simple and other more

comple' figures, which had a value or sound for reading, and which e'pressed,

and was equivalent to the ver!, noun, ad@ective or other part of speech, and

were used according to recognied laws of com!inations in compositions, or, as

in these inscriptions, the sentence constructions, or on the statues, Hc., the titles

and names. "hus proceeding, the scri!es added figure to figure until the passage, thought, or com!ined ideas were wored out completely. "o fully

e'plain all their methods would occupy a considera!le amount of printing, and

cannot therefore !e here entered upon further, !ut it will all !e clear enough for

even those who now nothing of %merican writings of the ancient scri!es when

my grammar, Hc., is pu!lished* !ut from these e'planations any one will

perceive how and in what manner these characters were written, and are to !e

read and interpreted. "he indication as to which dialect or language the ta!let

inscription is to !e deciphered into is shown !y the inscription itself. Ghen the

language is one of those used in cuador or uito it clearly shows it !y the

characters and sym!ols* or if it is the language of the (unturaos, it is shown ina similar way* or if it is the language of the (ham!oraos, or of the #antas, or

of the "schimu, or if it is one of the uichua dialects, or that of the (ari!s, or of

the %ymara, or of the (anarios, or the (ollas, or any of the many distinct

families of the languages of those in the $.G. %merican regions, the same

indication !y the change in the characters show which language they were

written in.



"he shields that are so often drawn in the inscriptions, show the clan a!out

which the scri!e was writing. "hey will !e seen to have K, 4, or L lines attached

to them* these represent feathers, and indicate the clan whose crest or totem

ena!led them to wear this num!er of feathers. )$ome of these clans have thus

distinguished themselves in their onward migrations from %sia or #anchuria,

to %lasa, from thence to #ich7cho7a7can 6the land of a!undant fish6 )now6#itchigan6- onward to (entral %merica, and thence to the $outhern

(ordilleras, during 2,K00 years, under 104 different and successive chiefs, all

this time retaining their totems, their shields, and the num!er of their feathers to

distinguish their clans and su!divisions* their scri!es engraving and painting

their records, and their priests and chiefs learning and reciting their traditions

and histories in their assem!lies.- "he shields are thus important in these

inscriptions, as are the attached feathers* and the chevrons or !ands mared

upon these shields indicate the tri!es and the families or nations, according to

other indicating sym!ols, all widely nown. "hese shields, feathers, chevrons,

!ands, and other sym!ols, have e'isted and !een used !y the successive

generations of the same peoples from very remote times, and were generally

prevalent until the $panish (onquest, and are still retained !y many clans and

peoples.

It will thus !e perceived, that using the nowledge I have acquired of the

%merican mode of forming and using their hieroglyphics or characters, and

finding that the aster Island inscriptions were derived from those of %merica,

I employ this mode of deciphering the sylla!les or words, and adding these

together in the indicated manner* then let them, when so con@oined, tell their

own story in the language they are found to !e written in* and then simplytranslate this into nglish. "his e'planation will mae comprehensi!le, to even

those persons least acquainted with such matters, how I decipher and read the

aster Island inscriptions. "hose who have studied such hieroglyphic writings,

will recognise, that the ey to the decipherment !eing secured, every additional

ta!let read confirms the trust to !e placed in the method employed, when it

ena!les the reader to see that every sentence deciphered falls properly into its

place in the story the inscription is relating. In the translations I have made, I

find that the persons, places, and events introduced into some of the

inscriptions are confirmed !y the $paniards, or other independent writers

accounts* although in the mass of the narratives they give clan, tri!al, andfamily histories, that in no other written documents have !een preserved, going

!ac centuries !efore the $panish(onquest.

Ghen my wor giving the value and meaning of every part of a character is

pu!lished, every one who wishes to read these important historical and

mythological inscriptions, will !e a!le to do so without difficulty* !ut !y my

writing this, and its pu!lication in this ournal in which my translations of



inscription of aster Island invocations, Hc., appeared, it will serve to show

how I learned to mae those translations, and to interpret what for so many

generations had remained unnown, and will e'plain to anyone who is

interested therein how such decipherment was performed.

I"R?C("R= R#%RE$ R<%"I; " "A %$"R I$<%?I$(RI/"I$, %? GA%" "A= ("%I.

"he inscriptions in hieroglyphic characters that have !een found in the

ground, or under the floors of the old stone houses upon aster Island, have

always !een considered of such importance that all the scholars and

antiquarians engaged in studying the past histories, mythologies, modes of

thought or ideas, or the doings of ancient peoples, have desired to find out the

meanings of these writings. It has therefore !een the reason for many persons in

each of the countries of urope, and in many parts of %merica, maing various

guessings as to what they were a!out. %ll e'peditions and persons who have

visited aster Island since (aptain (oo, or the !eginning of this century, have

ascertained that the natives they found there were related to the /olynesians,

scattered over the region of the /acific. $ome of the least informed, and

therefore less qualified to @udge or form a correct opinion, have leaped to the

conclusion that the inscriptions were written !y these /olynesians, or their

ancestors of the same races as themselves, either not nowing, or forgetting,

that the /olynesians never made such characters or writings, and that the

antiquities on aster Island were different from those in the islands of the

/olynesians proved to !e their own wor. "he most positive proof that theinscriptions were not /olynesian wor is furnished !y the records of the several

e'peditions and visits of persons, in which it was found not possi!le to get

rational translations from the natives found there of what these inscriptions

were a!out* !ut, on the contrary, it is shown that each native gave a different

interpretation of what he thought, !ut did not now, these inscriptions and

writings contained, or even had relation to. In the accounts furnished to the

%merican, French, $panish, ;erman, %ustrian, etherlands, +ritish, and other

learned $ocieties, in the pu!lications pertaining to the aster Island natives or

these inscriptions, no translation, even purporting to !e correctly given !y the

natives, or any other person, is furnished of these inscriptions up to the presenttime, though numerous guessings, all different, are given !y various persons.

"he discovery of the ey to these hieroglyphics, the methods upon which they

were written, and their decipherment into the language in which they were

written, or rather in which they were engraved !y the scri!es upon the ta!lets,

and the translation from the original language into the nglish, will mae

availa!le the information they contain* and these old inscriptions will hereafter



possess, for the antiquarian, the historiographer, the ethnologist, and others, a

very considera!le interest, and they will !e of the greatest value, as they

contain the histories, the thoughts, the nowledge and much else, not only of

the ancestors of the peoples who came to this island of the /acific cean, !ut

more important than these, the histories of nations, races, clans, tri!es, and

mi'ed peoples who lived in $outh7Gestern %merica, and which have !een inno other manner recorded in histories !y their own scri!es, which have come

down to our times* so that we thus regain through these inscriptions, not only

the ideas, !ut the very words of their prayers, and their modes of addressing

their household and national deities, the methods of worshipping and regarding

their ancestral spirits )who !ecame their deities-, the ind of adoration of the

priests, chiefs, and people in their worship, !oth

pu!lic and private, and much else relating thereto, and showing the real instead

of the fanciful ideas, as imagined !y recent writers, of what these old peoples

!elieved and really held with regard to their 6sun7worship.6 Ge find that their

6sun7myths6 in reality regarded the sun as the home of their ancestors spirits,

and in their mode of addressing the sun it was actually only an a!!reviated

form of addressing these spirits of the ancestors in their home in the sun, which

was their heaven or celestial region, the paradise of their forefathers souls.

Cpon e'amining the histories found to !e engraved on these inscriptions, much

light is thrown upon the migrations, the intermarryings, the fightings, the

conquests and drivings out, or the enslavings and the regaining of their freedom

again* also their clan and tri!al origins and race relationships. Ghile some of

these narratives may have !een from oral traditions, others must have !een

from older documents or writings, as in some of these inscriptions several linesof quotations of precisely the same compound hieroglyphics are copied without

any variation of any ind, although in part of the line !efore, and the one after,

it is altogether different.

In some instances these inscriptions confirm the writings of the early $panish

authors, !ut in other instances they do not* !ut they give a clearer and evidently

a !etter account of the circumstances they relate.

%s these inscriptions were not written with the same o!@ect in view as

historians now write, !ut were composed to !riefly narrate to their own people

what had happened to their forefathers, or their neigh!ours in the past, with the

o!@ect of defining clan, tri!al, or the chieftainss relationships> they do not gointo long e'planations or details, as they might have done if they had intended

them for the perusal of foreigners. "his maes them more relia!le, so that we

may pic out the information or the truths they contain a!out the old tri!es,

clans, or races from which these people had sprung, and thus we can learn

much, that without these inscriptions would have !een lost for ever, concerning

the races or the nations in cuador, (olum!ia or in uito, and in the (olla or



%ymara countries, or around the lae regions of "iticaca, in which such great

stone ruins as those near "ia7huanuco are still to !e found. "he Inca monarchs

of /eru tried to destroy all histories e'cept their own, and also tried to enforce

their own rule, and the !elief in their own miraculous origin, so that little of the

history of the earlier or the neigh!ouring natives has !een transmitted to the

present times, although several of these nations wrote in hieroglyphics as wellas in phonetic characters, !ut little of these, e'cept these aster Island

inscriptions, have !een preserved a!out the people who dwelt in the countries

!etween the %ndes or the other mountains and the coast of the /acific, and still

less is nown of where any of these people came from, or which they

themselves regard as their primal or su!sequent homes or stopping7places* !ut

in these aster Island inscriptions such primary and secondary homes of the

various clans and tri!es are noticed, and referred to frequently. "he totemic7

system, or crest7name of families or clans, as it is found in orth %merica, in

%sia, or in urope among the /lantagenets D the =ellow7!rooms, the (olonas D

the (olumns or /illars, the (olum!s D the /igeons, and many others, is also

found among the $outh7Gestern %mericans, and is generally used and written

in these aster Island inscriptions, where we find the (him!oraos D a clan

from the snowy mountains, the %tahuallpas D the "urey7cocs, the "ula or

"olla or "ulapin D the "urtles, the Rapa,the (ha7Rapa and others. "hey spoe

and wrote of their enemies as the !ad serpents or snaes, and of their wise men

or their teachers as the wise or the good or the feathered snaes* while !irds

and feathers !ecame or rather remained and retained in these inscriptions the

signification of em!lems, or came to signify chiefs, princes, or rulers, or the

spirits of the dead, or similar no!le o!@ects. "he $un, #oon, stars, rain!ow, andother things in the sy sym!olied the spirits of their dead ancestors and the

deities. "hese totemic crests and sym!olic names found in these inscriptions are

tracea!le !ac step !y step through all the stations or stopping7places of the

clans and tri!es from the southwestern parts into the central, and then to orth

%merica, and through that continent again !ac further to %sia> through all

these distant and long wanderings we can trace the same names of the

families.$ometimes they translate them from one dialect or language to

another* thus Aindi !ecomes Indi, $indi, Aindu, =inti, Inti, Inta, Ina, Inca,

=ndi, Hc., as we follow these "uranian and other families from high %sia to its

eastern coasts, and then across the islands to orth %merica, thence to (entraland thence to $outh7Gestern %merica. In all these regions these names !ore

relation to the sun and the sy7families. Ghile over the similar routes and lands

another family and its descendants called themselves Ra, <a, Rama, <ama, Rai,

<ai, Eai, Ehai, "ai, "hai, "i, <i, <ine, Ray, Raymi, Hc. "his was also a sun and

sy7family, as e'pressed in ancient and other languages, from high %sia across

to orth, to (entral, and to $outh %merica, and also is found through the



astern %rchipelago and the /acific cean islands. Ghen we carefully e'amine

the ancient histories as they were written in the most early times, or the

traditions as told from fathers to sons, we shall find that these names are not

accidental coincidences, !ut are the same names, retained with these

modifications in the different changes of dialect and modes of speech as these

people, after leaving their old homes, moved from station to station in theirmarch onwards during their migrations MM their intercrossings with the other

peoples they encountered leading to these changed forms of words or proper

names. %nother name for a country and the people thereform that we find in

these inscriptions , and that can !e followed and traced out from the highlands

and other parts of %sia, is "u, or "o, or "uran, or "olan, or "ula, meaning the

land of "u, and "u, "o, "oa meaning a warrior, "ula and "ura, Hc., names for a

"urtle, or 6the armoured one,6 as it means in !oth %sian and %merican

languages. "u !ecame the warrior god in several com!inations and languages

as "u7ni!al in $outh7Gestern %merica. $ome have confused this root, stem,

Hc., with the somewhat similar "ur* !ut this means a son or inheritor, as used

in several languages. Ge find these names and roots in the oldest nown

languages, and in the %ad, the $umir, the "atar, and others of high %sia* and

from there we trace them through astern %sia, thence across the islands to

orthern %merica, and in many parts of it, until we follow it to the #e'ican

highlands, where "u7la, "o7la, "ul7lan, "ul7te7can, Hc., in the inscriptions in

diverse dialects, it is frequently found* thence it passes through various places

in (entral %merica, and onward until it reaches uito, /eru, and other parts of

$.G. %merica* and it is found in the inscriptions of aster Island. In some tri!es

and clans of %merica, they spea in their traditions of "u7la, as their warrior*and in others of "u7la7pi, and "u7la7pin D 6the "urtle <and,6 and 6the "urtle

people.6 % closely allied and related people were the Rapa MM 6the "ortoises*6

and the (ha7Rapa MM 6the $mall "ortoises MM also nearly connected with them*

and these are all frequently mentioned in these aster Island inscriptions, the

Rapa people giving their name to that island. It would appear to !e evident that

the present /olynesians ancestors, when they reached aster Island, must have

o!tained this name from the %merican migrants there, as they still continued to

call it Rapa, and added the ad@ective ui D 6great,6 to the name of Rapa,

translating it into Rapa7nui, or ;reat Rapa, and styling paro Isle, from which

they had come, Rapa7iti D 6<ittle Rapa,6 thus maing it correspond with (ha7Rapa, as it was called in the language of the %mericans and the inscriptions,

these migrants having also reached that isle of paro in the low archipelago,

and !uilt one of their hill7forts there.

"here is another name that is very prominent all over the a!ovenamed widely

spread region from %sia to %merica, which, as we follow it from station to



station in the migrations, we find changed from one language into another, !ut

always with the same two meanings, that is to say> sometimes it is used for

foes, enemies, or oppressors* and at other times for wise7men, or teachers, or

distinguished persons, or spirits, or deities* this name is serpent or snae. It is

thus found in the oldest writings, in the %adian, the $umirese, the (haldean,

the gyptian, the thiopian, the %ra!ian, the Indian, the (hinese, the "atar, theIndo7(hinese, the orth %merican, the (entral %merican, and $.G. %merican,

and in the

aster Island inscriptions. "his name of snaes is thus used, we find, in

hundreds of the dialects and languages of the a!ove7named regions* and in the

inscriptions of aster Island it is often used in !oth of these meanings.

Gherever we find the word snae with these two significances, we shall !y full

research !e a!le to trace it !ac to its %sian home* and a careful analysis of this

term will show us why the snae has !een connected with two such opposite

ideas, as enemies and oppressors, or teachers, rulers, and protectors. "he reason

is, that one was connected with the sy and the deities* the other with the

demons, or under7the7earth enemies and opponents. In old (haldea and

%adia, %nu MM the sy god, or deity of the a!yss MM as his name shows, was

the sy snae, vi. D 6the lightning6* as % is D 6star,6 or D 6deity*6 is D 6sy,6

D6a!yss*6 and C is D 6snae*6 in after times he !ecame the chief of the spirits,

deities and protector* whereas "i7an, and "iam, and "iamat MM Dthe demons or

snaes of the earth MM were the enemies with whom the conflicts with the sy7

spirits were carried on* and these dragons and snaes of the earth, or !elow the

earth, were the oppressors of men, the evil spirits. From these olden times the

term snaes has !een used, !y all people who derived their ideas from the"uranians, in these two opposite and diverse senses* and in the minds of these

people there was no vagueness or contradiction in using the term snaes to

imply such different things as enemies and teachers* and they had no difficulty

in distinguishing the snaes they thus were speaing of, though sometimes they

added some other word as good, or feathered, to the term snaes.

Githout a clear comprehension of the totemic names, and the epithets applied

to the teachers, the chiefs, the friends, or the enemies, these inscriptions we are

considering would !e less easily understood, !ut with this they are quite clear

to anyone acquainted with the languages of the writers, or those for whom they

were written. $uch phrases as yntin D the suns, or yntirunantin D the suns menand their !elongings, or yntichuri D the suns children, and many such phrases

which so frequently are found in these inscriptions all mean that they were

considered to !e of the families of the peoples whose ancestral spirits were in

the sun, and who would thus reverently regard the sun as the home of the spirits

of their dead relations, and to which their spirits after death would return, and

from which their spirits had !een derived* as well as their protecting spirits or



very valua!le, if for nothing more than this, of telling us who the people were

who erected them.

IN SUMMARY

%$"R I$<%?, when visited !y (aptain (oo, and navigatorssu!sequently, was found to !e inha!ited !y /olynesians in language and

appearance, much lie those in the /au7motu, the $ociety, and other

neigh!ouring groups. "he traditions of these aster Islanders said 6that they

had come from Rapa7iti, now called paro, to Rapa7nui,6 called !y the nglish

aster Island. "here were large statues, platforms or terraces of carefully

constructed masonry, over vaults, houses of stone, and other structures in ruins,

which indicated to those conversant with the antiquities of the /olynesians, and

with the archaeology of other races, that some other people had lived upon this

island as well as the /olynesians, !ut who or what they were, where they came

from, or how long ago, remained a mystery, after all the various guessings !ythe travellers from many lands who had seen and e'amined the antiquities of

this island. I found in the museums of ngland, %merica, Francs, ;ermany, and

elsewhere, wooden ta!lets and other things, with inscri!ed characters upon

them, that had !een dug up or procured in aster Island !y the islanders, or !y

e'plorers who had !een there. Ghile trying to procure information from the

curators, or others who had these inscriptions under their charge, as to what

they meant, or what they related to, I was informed that, although attempts had

!een made to interpret them, none had succeeded in doing so, although many

guesses had !een made as to the purport of these inscriptions. $ome said they

were 6picture writings,6 others that they were 6hieroglyphic records,6 others

that they were 6phonetic characters of the /olynesians*6 others said they were

6sym!olic genealogies, or lists of ancestors conventionalised.6 ne gentleman,

in giving his version of what they meant, at a meeting of the %nthropological

$ociety, descri!ed them as 6heronias.6 "hen it was said that the natives recently

upon the island could read and interpret them, !ut this proved upon strict

e'amination to !e erroneous, as they could not, and only gave their own

fanciful names to, and views of, these

antiquities when the officers of e'peditions there endeavoured to get the truth

thereof from them. Aaving for many years endeavoured to procure as many copies of these

inscriptions as possi!le, and all the information in urope or %merica that was

availa!le upon them, I have succeeded in securing some of these inscriptions,

and all that had any !earing thereon that was in e'istence. Ghile engaged in

studying the languages, histories, antiquities, and inscriptions of ancient

%merican peoples, I came upon similarities to the aster Island characters, Hc.*

with these, as eys, discovered what certain groups e'pressed, and from these,



proceeding upon the recognised methods of decipherment, succeeded in

reading, into the original languages, and from these, translating into nglish,

these aster Island inscriptions. In ancient %merica, from the northern 6<enipe6

to the nations in 6%nahuac,6 from these through (entral %merica, and thence

onward to what is now /eru, to +olivia, and to (hili, many of these peoples

used hieroglyphic, phonetic, and other writings !efore the Inca monarchsinterdicted their use, and endeavoured to !lot them out of e'istence, so as to

secure their conquests, and mae the conquered forget their earlier histories and

mythologies, and the writings in which they were inscri!ed. #any of these old

peoples of Gestern %merica sailed and traded over wide regions of the /acific

cean, long !efore uropeans went there. ne of such places to which they

sailed was aster Island, then much larger than it is at present. +ut as this will

!e more fully set out on another occasion, we refrain from further pursuing this

su!@ect here. Aaving !een requested to contri!ute one or two of the

interpretations of the aster Island inscriptions to the periodical of the

/olynesian $ociety, I have much pleasure in doing so. "hose I offer are from a

copy of the inscriptions indly forwarded to me !y $. /ercy $mith, sq., one of

the chief officers and promoters of the /olynesian $ociety, whose earnest

la!ours for /olynesian linguistics, ethnology, Hc., have so distinguished him,

and have caused him to assist the researches of others engaged in similar

studies. )$ee accompanying /late.- "he copy I o!tained from this gentleman is

so clear that it is much more easy to read than others, in which some of the

characters are o!scure, or o!literated !y faulty preservation or constant use* !ut

the inscriptions I send, !eing merely invocations to their ancestral spirits or

deities, are less historically valua!le than others hereafter to !e pu!lished, !utwhich will require somewhat lengthened commentaries to mae them

understood !y those not well up in the national lore to which they pertain. "he

te'ts of the languages, with a le'icon and grammar of these, will also !e

presented, as there are in these inscriptions words and phrases from the

"oltecan, uechN, %tecan, "schimu, (ara:, uito, +acatan, uichua,

#uiscan, (ollan, and others. $ome of these are only !orrowed words, !ut

others !y their altered case7endings, suffi'ed genders,

and different grammatical structure, give evidence that a mi'ture of peoples, as

voyagers and residents, too place among those who came to aster Island in

the olden times, more than five hundred years ago. +ut these and other suchdetails must wait for future opportunities, and I now proceed to give the

interpretations of some of these inscriptions from aster Island, eeping as near

to the original te'ts as possi!le, thus accounting for the peculiar phraseology.

A PRAYER



"he underwritten is a translation close to the original te't of a prayer for

general health and increase of crops, !y the priests and a priestess, or wife of

the chief, @oining in this petition to the ancestral spirits >

6"o those who are our ;uardians, oh give ear to us in your temple. =ou are

our protectors. =ou are the good spirits of our ancestors. I, and we, now you as

the (hiefs who are the powerful protectors to these sons of the $un7chiefs. =egods of strength increase their strength, they implore ye as the #asters, wearers

of the royal ornament, as the ;uardian deities. =ours it is to give ear, and hear.

"he $un7chiefs !ird that calls every hour, the $un7chief and the $un7chiefs

wife, to whom the royal !and was !estowed. "his good !ird of the $un7chiefs

is our messenger to the ancestors. Aear all messages to the end, oh e'cellent

#asters, from these, the sons of the ancestors. h& our protectors, the $ons of

the field, the good %ncestors who are worshipped, your !ones are in the house

of stone. =ou protectors of the house, of the clan, and of the families of us. %t

this terrace is the wife at this terrace of the "urtle, where the good $un is

enthroned, and the %ncestors are gathered, and their sons with them, and where

the <ightning comes. ;ive us increase. From the cave vaults let it !e fficers

of us all you are. "he representative images of the good Bira of the sea, of the

good $un, of the sacred and good "urtle, let them all give ear to these requests.

"he #asters in their houses, in the $un, and of the springs. =ou are the

Inspectors, the udges. ;ood $pirits of the groves, the strong son !y Biro of the

(ave* the Gise one, the Gatcher, the !ird of the $un* oh& happy $tar of the

year* ye guardian deities, near your sacred stone7pillars, in the sepulchral

la!yrinths* strong (ontroller of the day* the chief son of his mother* the $un7

year it is. #aster of the termination of the cycle* in the sacred $un7temple thereis a good descendant of our dead ancestors, and they who are their sons, and the

wives of the $un7chiefs. "he $upreme power* the sacred Fire, so good*

thela!yrinthine caves of the dead ancestors, and the twin children of the $un,

give ear to us through the fleet messengers. Gife of the #aster ?efender, at this

"urtle terrace grant us this to !e a good year, for thy sons we are. "hou art

(hief, and the $upreme.6

"he ne't that we give is the prayer of a woman, a chiefs wife, offered

through the priests, who are interceding for her to the ancestral spirits that she

may have a son.

6+y the $un7controller, the circle on the good roc near the centre, and itsthrone of the gnomon* !y the mothers of the sacred ancestors* !y the sacred

women who were of these ancestors* !y the family and the clan in their sacred

temple* !y the protectors thereof and the #asters* !y the oracle, the sepulchres

of the good temple* !y the love for the ancestors we have, and for sacred

things, we, the sons of these ancestors, wearing the ornament of royal and

sacred feathers. ;ive increase to this woman* permit her to have a son of her



own !lood, thus to increase in her a love towards you. +y this good towards her

you will !e good to us all, and do good to all of us. +y this $epulchre of the

"urtle, which so good is* !y this "urtle terrace to its e'treme end, where is

deposited the royal and sacred ornament* !y the $epulchre of the /rotecting

$pirits, for good are they, at the centre. For this son prayed for shall !e

dedicated and placed on this terrace a sacred stone among the guardian spiritsfor this son, who shall represent the

strong god, who was a son of these ancestors, who are now good spirits, from

the Birgins who are $acred. Ae is represented upon this terrace, the chief of the

happy spirits of the ancestors, and his wife, good are they, and they are good as

the protectors of cultivations. "heir !odies were dead, and preserved in this

terrace of the "urtle* their spirits are in the $un. % son !y this their daughter I,

and we, entreat of these sons of the ancestors who, in the golden fields, are

@oyful and happy. +y their sepulchres we implore for this son, and hope for him

from the #asters, the deities of the households, and of the food, and of Bira of

the sea, and of Bira worshipped among the ancestors, and of those good ones of

earth, and of the rocs, and the #aster of ;old, and the chief of them, and !y

him of the good gnomon, the $un of the terraces, the #aster to them and theirs,

this woman now !y this terrace, appeals and prays.6

"he ne't underwritten is a prayer !y the priests and a priestess upon the day

fi'ed !y them for the $uns rest, or solstice, for the success and harvesting

during the planting season, and for fall crops, to the deities.

6/repare we, and offer of the good maie drin, !y the good priests of the

$un, at the $uns throne, through the #inisters, to the ruler, and also to the

Rain!ow, as children of the $un, at the $uns circle and temple. "he daughtersand sons of Bira of the $ea offer to the sacred spirits this offering from them,

and of the good mothers of "ulan. "o the $un, the oca food* and to their

%ncestors, !ones, on this day when the $un is !ound, when the $un seies and

consumes, the sacrifice. Ais sons to him present, through the deities of the

household, and the sons of the Gise ones, gods of the $uns seat )the gnomon-

and the gods of the household, the ;ood and Gise ones. +y his sons, hear the

womans prayer, all ye good "eachers assist the loving woman at the sepulchre

of the people of "ulan, in which is their dead* in this e'tremity of love therein,

this woman places her trust. %t the good $uns seat are our teachers, and this

(hief #other of the Bestals, give ear to us, oh sacred /rotectors. +y this terraceof the protecting spirits, the sons of the strong ;od are here, he is the chief of

the sons of the sacred $un. Ge seie upon this good one, from his litter of

clouds, to his temple !ring the oca root food, and the remains of the children of

the $un, of the e'tremest good are they, the /rotecting spirits, with good <lam7

pallec, and the $un, and his sons, they and the ;uardians, this prayer to them

all, their sons we are, oh good $un, and the ;uardians and /rotectors of this



clan. "heir $un, and the $tar of "ulan, in the temple of their forefathers, who

are overlooing them, with the sacred crystals, these $un7 fathers and their

good wives, at our and their sepulchre, the chief hope is !y their son and !y the

Birgins. +y the fficers, the $un was fi'ed, he increased over the clouds

happily. ;ive ear then and hear, oh ye $un7spirits, ye ;uardians, and ye good

daughters, and their #other of the temple, the greatest of our hopes, a supply of oca root. "his @oyous day the good priests have !rought the $unto his rest. <et

these sons of thine, the fleet messengers, the agle of the %ndes, and the grand

Bulture, from whose wings the feathers are taen that adorn the heads of the

$un7chiefs, and are in the head7!ands of the chiefs of "ulan, and the dead

children of the $un are adorned with them. "hen let them, our prayers, and this

womans, hear.

Gith the foregoing three translations we close the present communication,

thining these will occupy as much of the space in this issue of the periodical

as will !e availa!le. n a future occasion, if it is desired, we may furnish others

of these most interesting inscriptions that em!race most valua!le information

not otherwise preserved. "he $ocietys periodical will thus !e the first to

pu!lish the recovered nowledge of what these inscriptions were a!out, or

contained, and mae nown that another ancient writing is deciphered.

the rongo rongo script

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