Text J of the
rongorongo
Rongorongo (Rapa Nui: ) is a system of glyphs discovered in the 19th century on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) that appears to be writing or proto-writing. Numerous attempts at decipherment have been made, with none being successful. Although some c ...
corpus, also known as (London) ''reimiro'' 1, is the larger of two inscribed ''
reimiro
A ''reimiro'' is a crescent-shaped pectoral ornament once worn by the people of Easter Island. The name comes from the Rapanui ('stern' or 'prow') and ('boat'). Thus the crescent represents a Polynesian canoe.
Each side of the ''reimiro'' ende ...
'' in London and one of two dozen surviving rongorongo texts.
Other names
J is the standard designation, from
Barthel (1958). Fischer (1997) refers to it as RR20.
Location
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, London. Catalog # AOA 6847.
Description
A prototypical two-headed Rapanui ''reimiro,'' or ceremonial crescent-shaped
gorget
A gorget , from the French ' meaning throat, was a band of linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the medieval period or the lower part of a simple chaperon hood. The term later described a steel or leather collar to protect the thro ...
/
epaulet
Epaulette (; also spelled epaulet) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes (usually made from brass) are referred to as ''shoulder scales'' ...
, 73 × 13.2 cm, of unknown wood. There are a few worm trails, but it is in excellent condition. The two holes top center were used to hang it from clothing.
Two glyphs are cut into the top center of the front, between the two holes used to hang it.
Provenance
The British Museum catalog states:
:''Presented by
ugustusW. Franks Esq. Aug. 2. 1870. Obtained by Dr Comrie from the master of a vessel which brought it from Easter Island.''
A label on the back reads:
:''6847. Easter Id. Pres. by A. W. Franks Esq. 8.8.70. Comrie
ollection''
Fischer
Fischer is a German occupational surname, meaning fisherman. The name Fischer is the fourth most common German surname. The English version is Fisher.
People with the surname A
* Abraham Fischer (1850–1913) South African public official
* Ad ...
says that the phrase "the master of a vessel" suggests that it was acquired before the Chilean slaving raids of 1862-63, probably during the 1820s to 1840s, the most active
whaling period in the South Pacific.
Inscribed ''reimiro'' were evidently rare: An elder told Routledge that he had never seen a ''reimiro'' with glyphs.
Despite its poor provenance, there are no doubts as to its authenticity.
Text
One compound glyph, the shortest of Barthel's 26 texts.
::
The second glyph is "clearly" a ''rapa,'' or ceremonial dance paddle. It appears to be held by a human figure, glyph 530 , with what might be a headdress.
References
* BARTHEL, Thomas S. 1958. ''Grundlagen zur Entzifferung der Osterinselschrift'' (Bases for the Decipherment of the Easter Island Script). Hamburg : Cram, de Gruyter.
* FISCHER, Steven Roger. 1997. ''RongoRongo, the Easter Island Script: History, Traditions, Texts.'' Oxford and N.Y.: Oxford University Press.
External links
Barthel's coding of text J
{{Rongorongo
Rongorongo inscriptions