The sample text under examination as a case study is:
HAWAIIAN HISTORICAL LEGENDS
By William D. Westervelt
There is an ample body of literature pertaining to pre-contact Polynesian legends, myths, traditions and other aspects of culture like language and material artifacts beginning in the early 19th century during a period of extensive missionary work and pagan conversions to Christianity. Rev. John Williams, Rev. John Stair, Dr. Stuebel, Justice Abraham Fornander and even noteworthy author of “Treasure Island” Robert Louis Stevenson as well as many others contributed to this body of literature. Such texts are presently criticized for their origination with missionaries as attempts to “whitewash” and Chistianize Polynesian culture. While there can be little doubt of such a possibility, many writers of that period and later authors looking back on these writings are careful to point out that a close examination of traditions from neighboring nations like Tonga, Tahiti, Raro-tonga, Fiji, Niue, and others, as recorded by the western hand—American, British, German, and French— reveal that the so-called “Christianized” stories often self-corroborate when taken as a whole and regarded broadly as a pan-Pacific Island body of testaments.
As such, I argue that the language and traditions were already predisposed to Judeo-Christianity to the extent that these religions are deeply influenced by Mesopotamian religions that predated Judaism, Christianity and Islam by a millennia or more via several successive waves of migration from the Levant and Mediterranean. To this end, I venture beyond the Malayo-Polynesian and Austronesian hypotheses of an Indo-European origin to an older era that is Proto-Indo-European, Proto-Semitic, and a language family of its own, if not wholly other. Specifically, I refer to the language of Šumer, of Babel, of Nimrod, of Bilgamesh (Gilgamesh) the mighty king of the patriarch Abraham’s time.
A comparative examination of characters populating the dimly remembered epoch of Hawaiian and Sāmoan pre-history as viewed through a Sumerian filter includes:
the Hawaiian Adam and Eve: KUMU-HONUA and LALO-HONUA
LAKA (RATA) - a famed explorer
PILI - the king of Hawai’i
PA’AO - high priest of Pili’s kingdom
NAMAU’U-O-MALAEA - wife of PA’AO and high priestess; a mo’o (or dragon) priestess/goddess
KUMU-HONUA
In Hawaiian:
KUMU-HONUA - the first created man
This is literally: “beginning” + “land” / “heart”
In Sāmoan:
TUMU(A)-FANUA - “foremost” + “land” / “ heart”
Accounting for Linguistic drift via Samoa then on to Sumerian the following Transliteration rules apply:
/K/ = /T/ = /D/
/H/ = /F/ = /Š/ = /SH/
/O/ = /A/ = /A/
/O/ = /U/ = /U/
Such that KUMU becomes DU-MU
HONUA becomes ŠA-NU-A (if a contracted form, then ŠA-A-AN-NU-U-Á (or AK)
𒌉 = DUMU = boy, child, descendant, son
𒊮 = SHA = heart, center, interior, origin
𒀀 = A = heir
𒀭 = AN = heaven, god, Anu
𒉡 = NU = not𒈿 𒉏 NU
𒉿 = U = wisdom
𒀉 = Á = IDUM = side, wing, arm, limb, carry, strength
𒀝 = AK = to do, to act, to make, to perform, to proceed
Possibly:
𒌉 𒊮𒀀𒀭𒉡𒉿 𒀉
child (who is) original heir of God(s)/heaven, unwise laborer
𒌉 𒊮𒀀𒀭𒉡𒉿 𒀝
child (who is) original heir of God(s)/heaven, unwise servant
TUMU SĀ AA A ANU U UA:
TUMU-A: the foremost; the first
SĀ: sacred; forbidden; a house (noble); a clan; a family
AA: of; (metaphorically) fibers/strands (of a root); a multiplicity of bloodlines with a common origin
A: of
ANU: to spit (Sumerian name of PTAH-RĀ, transcendent Egyptian Creator deity and All-Father)
U: brother; arrow; (metaphorically) ray (child of sun, as with Apollo/Helios/Rā/Rāma all of whom are archer gods)
UA: rain; environmental word related to VA (VASA / “water”; VA’A / “upon water”) /U/ = /W/ = /V/ as with Hawai’i and Savai’i.
‘AA: fibers around the coconut; (metaphorically) worldwide family connection
Translation:
“The foremost, most sacred firstborn spat from Anu (Ptah), the forebear of the many brothers who radiate like rays and fall as rain drops in a family wrapped around the world.”
LALO-HONUA
Hawaiian:
LALO = “below”, “under”, “subordinate to”
HONUA = “earth”
Segmentation for Sumerian (there is no /O/, so diphthongs /AU/ and/or /UU/ must serve as a substitute):
LA-A-LA-A-U-U
LA = 𒆷 = to bend over
LA = 𒇲 = little; insignificant; below; under
A = (as above in KUMU-HONUA)
LU = 𒇻 = sheep; abundant; heap up; cover completely
LU = 𒈖 = to disturb; to mix; cover completely
U = 𒌋 = hole; ten (10); curse, bewitch; breach; low-lying area
U = 𒌑 = plant; food
U-U-U = moon; thirty (30); month
HONUA (as above)
Possible translation:
𒆷 𒇻 𒌋 𒌑
LA-LU-U-U
“to bend over, cover completely the hole with food in it”
𒆷 𒇻 𒌋 𒌋 𒌋
LA-LU-U-U-U
”beneath the eclipsed moon”
“under the new moon”
“the darkest night”
The first translation hints at the cultural significance of cooking and alludes to the fetishized act of cooking and sexual innuendo implied by traditional Polynesian cooking methods using the UMU or pit oven, which is covered over with heaping layers of insulating leaves and river rocks. For example: “a baby in the oven”. Traditional Sāmoan cooking places men in the role of cook—men actively dig the pits, start the fires, place the raw materials in the oven, under the earth (LALO), and extract the finished goods. Women passively incubate. The UMU therefore represents the womb. Interestingly, UMU and WOMB (/wUMa/) phonetically sound alike enough as to suggest a common etymological ancestor given the shared cooking metaphor.
Confirming this first translation is the transliteration of UMU (Sāmoan) to U-UM-MU-U (Sumerian):
U = 𒌋 = hole; ten (10); breach; penetrate; perforate
UM = 𒌝 = reed, stylus (phallic symbol)
MÛ = 𒈬 = to cook; son; line of text; name; penis
U = 𒌑 = food
Possible Translation:
Fairly straightforward sexual innuendo with multiple recognizable metaphors for sexual reproduction—writing words where the stylus is the phallus penetrating clay tablets to make lines of cuneiform text (CUN- is the root of Cunny or Cunt an ancient word for “wedge” and an aspect of “moon”, affiliated with the vagina because of monthly cycles (“30” days!); cooking as incubation of babies in wombs.
Because of the lunar reference, the second possible translation is equally validated further reinforcing the feminine association of LALO as LA-LU-U-U and LA-LU-U-U-U.
LAKA
"From Kumu-honua (k) to Laka (k) was one kau-apaapa and from Kumu-Honua (k) to Moolewa (k) were two kauapaapa. Moolewa (k) is the third name in chronological sequence." (Bruce Cartwright, PH.B., The Legend of Hawaii-Loa, p. 106)
One kauapaapa is the equivalent of 12 generations.
Aniani-ku (k) is fourth named, thus three kauapaapa from Kumu-honua.
Aniani-ku (k) and Ke-kai-pahola (w) had a son Aniani-ka-lani (k).
Aniani-ka-lani (k) and Ka-mee-nui-hikina (w) had Hawaii-Loa (k) also known as Ke-kowa-i-Hawaii.
(Cartwright, p. 107)
Both Tahiti and Hawai'i claim Aniani-ka-lani as their progenitor kupuna.
LAKA = LA-KA = LA-A-AK-KA-A
LA = 𒆷 = to bend over
LA = 𒇲 = little; insignificant; below; under
A = 𒀀 = heir; child; progeny; son; wet; damp, fresh; semen
A = 𒀉 = IDUM = side, wing, arm, limb, carry, strength
𒀝 = AK = to do, to act, to make, to perform, to proceed
KA = 𒅗 = mouth, speak, to speak, talk, say; to order; to do, perform; to negotiate; WORD, matter (of affairs); thing; teeth; chew; nose;
KA x A = 𒅘 = to drink
A = 𒀀 = heir; child; progeny; son; wet; damp, fresh; semen
A = 𒀉 = IDUM = side, wing, arm, limb, carry, strength
PILI
SAMOAN, etc.:
“Relative”, “near”, “to stick”, “lizard”
PI = 𒉿 = wisdom, understanding
PI/BI = 𒉈 = refresh, renew; firewood; burn; burnt; black
LI = 𒇷 = to bathe, to wash; branch; twig; PURE
LI = 𒉌 = break down; dissolve; to ask
Possible translation:
𒉿𒉌 = PI-LI = “to break down knowledge into basics (for others)”
𒉈 𒇷 = PI-LI = “to wash and renew”
𒉈 𒇷 = PI-LI = “to burn the kindling”, “the firestarter”
Clearly, the Sumerians/Sāmoans intended for multiple levels of metaphor in their language to preserve knowledge and meaning. Pili is remembered as a chief of pure (divine) blood who was invited to Hawai’i to refresh the Hawaiian chiefly bloodlines. That is, his paternity was intended to wash out corrupted blood of lesser men from the blood of the Ali’i. Another metaphor is that of reigniting the divine fire in the blood of the chiefs, which had burned down to embers in the time of Pava, also known as Ka Pawa of Hawai’i.
Fire and water metaphors in one morpheme? What an elegant language for ensuring oral traditions do not lose meaning through mnemonics that are built into the language itself! These are essentially self-correcting units of meaning in speech. Brilliant!
PA’AO
Samoan:
PA = “Explode”, “Burst“, “pierce”
KA (TĀ) = "strike", "discipline", "play", "teach"
AO = “cloud”, “day”, “daylight”, “a chief’s head”, ”kingship”, “TEN” (10), “it is right”, “it is proper”, it is fitting”, “to collect”, “to gather together“ (as STONES), “to be perfect”, “as a house”, “as a boat”, “to search”, “to look for” (especially in the Bush), “to teach”
AU / ‘AU = “to send”, “to carry”, “a handle“, “a troop”, “a class”, “a gang”, “a bunch” (as of bananas)
Segmentation for Sumerian: (There is no /O/ or glottal stop, which stands in for /K/)
PA-A-KA-A-U-U
PA = 𒉺 = foreman, overseer; wing, branch, frond; scepter; to beat, hit, whip; office
A = (as above)
KA = 𒅗 = mouth; talk; say; speak; nose; negotiate; to perform; tooth; chew; word; matter (of affairs); thing
KA = 𒆍 = gate; door; house
KA = 𒈜 = (LUL) = false; criminal; (NAR) = song; musician
A = 𒀀 = water; semen; progeny; heir; a cry of woe; bemoan; groan
A = 𒀉 = side; wing; strength; arm; labor; horn; wage; power; time
A = 𒉿 = (PI) = ear; hear; reason; intelligence; understanding
A = 𒀀𒀭 = A [AM3] = to be; is; was; deity; to fall (as dew)
A = 𒀝 = A [AG/AK] = to do; to make; to perform; to proceed; proceeding (math.)
A = 𒌋 = [U] = ten (“10”); curse, bewitch; totality, world; breach, hole, depression; to perforate, penetrate, (be) deep; anus; to cover; to envelop; to overwhelm; covering; to sink down; surface; to rise
A = 𒄩 = [ḪA] = fish
A = 𒌨 = [UR] = dog
A = 𒆹 = [LAGAB] = swamp; marsh; encircled water
U = 𒌋 = ten (“10”); curse, bewitch; totality, world; breach, hole, depression; to perforate, penetrate, (be) deep; anus; to cover; to envelop; to overwhelm; covering; to sink down; surface; to rise
U = 𒌑 = [U2] = plants; food; bread; loaf; grass; herb; pasture
U = 𒅇 = and; but; also; sleep; dream
U = 𒌓 = [UD/UTU] = day; sun; summer; heat; fever;
U = 𒋛 = [SI] fill up; to load up; to draw water; to brew beer; horn; finger; fret
U = 𒇇 = [U8] = sheep, ewe; priestess; high status woman; goddess; Inanna
Translation:
𒉺𒀀𒀭𒀝𒅗𒆹𒇇𒅇
PA-A-AK-KA-A-U-U
PĀKĀŪ = PA’AO
”A Foreman sent by the gods to beat some sense into the sleeping sheep”
This is quintessentially Pa’ao’s career in Hawai’i in a nutshell as described by multiple authoritative sources on Hawai’i‘s legends and lore. Pa’ao is remembered as fierce, sagacious and cruel, but dedicated to the cause of his religion. He possessed a strict integrity, which relied on human sacrifice as a means of appeasing the gods, as well as a clearly stark protectivist stance with regards to the purity of noble (divine) blood of chiefs and their authority on earth.
I suspect these two together, Pili And Pa’ao are the very same Pili-a-mo’o and Noho-a-mo’o of Wailuku near Hilo, Hawai’i. Pili-a-mo’o means “the Pili line of succession”. Noho-a-mo’o means ”the line of succession of the throne.”
NAMAU‘U-O-MALAEA
Hawaiian:
NA-MAU’U = “the grasses”
O = “of”
MALAE = “The sacred meeting field”
A = “belongs to”, “comes from”
Possibly:
”the one from the tall grasses of the sacred fields of meeting”
Segmentation for Sumerian:
NA-MA-U-(DU/KU/TU)-U-U-MA-A-LA-A-E-A-A
NA = 𒈾 = incense burner; man; stone; pestle; pounder
NA = 𒈿 = to lie down (of people); lay down; to be ill; bed
NA = 𒉌𒌓 [NI + UD] = stone; weight; determinative
NA = 𒊭 = [ŠĀ/SHA] = sacred; heart; core; interior
A = 𒆹 = inheritance;
MA = 𒈠 = to land; approach; go; flow; fig tree; house
MA = 𒈣 = ship, boat
MA = 𒅡 = [KA x GAL] = “great big mouth”
U8 = 𒇇 = [LAGAB x GUD + GUD] = sheep; ewe; Oh! Goddess; Inanna
U = 𒋛 = [SI] = to fill up; load up; to draw water; to brew beer
U = 𒌑 = [U2] = plants; food; bread; loaf; grass; herb; pasture
DU = 𒁺 = to go / come; to go; to flow, behind, to bring / carry; stand
KU = 𒆪 = arse, to seize, take, hold; to bind; to envelop, overwhelm; to choose (by extispicy); to accept; to take charge of, sit, seated, (to be) pure; metal, silver; (to be) bright, shiny, clear, pure, suckling, carry, man, pestle, pounder, to enter
TU = 𒌅 = priest, sheep, small, little
Such that:
NA-MA-A-U-U =
𒊭 𒈠 𒀀𒆹 𒌑𒌑
"sacred family (house) of the (8) goddesses (of sheep, plants, beer brewing, healing, etc. this is NIN-HUR-SAG, NIN-KUR-RA, NIN-KASI, NIN-TI, etc. all mother-sister-wives of ENKI)"
REFERENCES
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