Journal de la Société des Océanistes 129 | juillet-décembre 2009 Varia Rongorongo Script: Carving Techniques and Scribal Corrections Paul Horley Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/jso/5813 DOI: 10.4000/jso.5813 ISSN: 1760-7256 Publisher Société des océanistes Printed version Date of publication: 15 December 2009 Number of pages: 249-261 ISBN: 978-2-85430-026-0 ISSN: 0300-953x Electronic reference Paul Horley, « Rongorongo Script: Carving Techniques and Scribal Corrections », Journal de la Société des Océanistes [Online], 129 | juillet-décembre 2009, Online since 30 December 2012, connection on 30 April 2019. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/jso/5813 ; DOI : 10.4000/jso.5813 © Tous droits réservés Rongorongo Script: Carving Techniques and Scribal Corrections by Paul HORLEY* ABSTRACT RÉSUMÉ Studies of three original rongorongo tablets (Tahua, L’étude menée sur trois tablettes rongorongo origina- Aruku Kurenga and Mamari) revealed clear traces of les (Tahua, Aruku Kurenga et Mamari) montre claire- two-stage carving (pre-incising with an obsidian flake ment que les signes ont été tracés au cours de deux and contour enhancement with a shark tooth). Most étapes successives : pré-incision avec un éclat d’obsi- probably, the texts were written in short fragments with dienne puis gravure des contours avec une dent de requin. shark-tooth engraving applied before passing to the next Il est probable que de courts fragments de textes étaient fragment. Additional multiple engraving sessions might écrits et gravés à l’aide d’une dent de requin avant de been performed for finished inscription, aiming to tracer le fragment de texte suivant. Des reprises de enhance glyph contours. Despite laborious and time- gravure ont pu être exécutées afin d’améliorer les consuming writing technology, the scribes display extre- contours des glyphes. Malgré une technique de tracé mely high professional level, making only a few errors minutieuse et complexe, peu d’erreurs ont été faites par and corrections in the studied inscriptions totaling to les scribes dans le texte étudié totalisant environ 4 000 about 4,000 glyphs. These errors usually consist in pre- glyphes. Ces erreurs consistent essentiellement dans term writing of a passage, re-insertion of omitted sym- l’écriture initiale d’un passage, dans la réinsertion de bols (even on the edge of the tablet) and palimpsest symboles omis (même sur le bord d’une tablette) et dans corrections. Pronounced shape variation of signs ente- les corrections par ablation partielle d’inscriptions ring inline repetitive fragments seems indicative of (palimpseste). La variation prononcée dans la forme de direct on-tablet composition of the text without any certains signes présents dans des fragments répétitifs draft inscriptions. Corrections and parallel passages semble indiquer une composition du texte directement suggest allography of glyphs 133 and 067, which by sur la tablette sans pré-incision préalable. Les correc- analogy may imply allography of signs 055b and 068 in tions et les fragments de textes similaires suggèrent une Barthel’s notation. allographie des signes 133 et 067, qui par analogie peut impliquer l’allographie des glyphes 055 et 068 dans le K: Easter Island, rongorongo, script, paleo- système de notation de Barthel. graphy, allograph M- : île de Pâques, rongorongo, écriture, paléo- graphie, allographe * Yuri Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, Chernivtsi, Ukraine, e-mail [email protected] Journal de la Société des Océanistes, 129, année 2009-2 250 SOCIÉTÉ DES OCÉANISTES Rongorongo script of Easter Island, first men- Carving of Rongorongo inscriptions tioned by Brother Eugène Eyraud in 1864 According to Brother Eugène Eyraud: (Orliac and Orliac, 2008: 62), survived on about two dozens of inscribed artifacts collected in a «one finds in all the houses [on Rapa Nui] wooden short period during the late 19th century. The tablets and staffs covered with sort of hieroglyphic first tablet, Echancreé, was presented to the Bis- characters. These are figures of animals unknown to the island, which natives trace by means of sharp hop Tepano Jaussen by Father Gaspar Zum- stones.» (Fischer, 1997: 12) bohm in 1869 (ibid, 259); three tablets deposited by J.L. Young to the Bishop Museum at Hono- Later ethnographic studies revealed that the lulu are the latest collected around 1888 (Fischer, signs were carved with obsidian flakes and shark 1997: 459). The radiocarbon dating of the wood teeth (Englert, 1948: 317). To increase the preci- of Small St. Petersburg tablet yielded the possi- sion and lower the strain, both types of tools ble dates in the ranges AD 1680-1740 and 1800- should be hafted (Fischer, 1997: 388). This detail 1871 (Orliac, 2005: 118). The first interval advo- is confirmed with a crossed-out passage in the cates for a considerable antiquity of the script notes of Tepano Jaussen (Orliac and Orliac, expanding to pre-contact (1722) time, while the 2008: 247). Before carving in wood, the pupils second range practically overlaps with a period practiced writing with a bone stylus over banana when the majority of rongorongo tablets were stems and leaves (Englert, 1948: 316), which pro- collected. The existence of inscriptions on a ved to be an excellent writing media (Barthel, European oar (tablet Tahua) and four kohau ron- 1959: 164). Moreover, the veins of banana plant gorongo made of conifer wood (Orliac and (separated in average by 10 mm and 15 mm space ff ff Orliac, 2008: 257) that could be probably sour- for stems and leaves, respectively) o ered an e i- ced from the crosses set at Poike by Gonzalez in cient natural lining that might determined glyph 1770 (Orliac, 2007: 9), suggests that Easter size for inscriptions in wood (ibid). It was sugges- Island script was still active in post-contact time ted that banana leaves were also possibly used to including late 18th century. keep a «draft text» intended for carving on woo- den tablet (Fischer, 1997: 647). Predominant glyph orientation perpendicular Rongorongo studies revealed that several arti- to the fibers of leaf or wood (Orliac and Orliac, facts have the same text (Kudryavtsev, 1949: 180; 2008: 253) most probably was an important fac- Barthel, 1958: 56-70) and share many parallel tor defining the shape of the signs; they are passages (Barthel, 1958: 156-157; Pozdniakov, practically devoid of horizontal segments that 1996: 295; Sproat, 2003; Horley, 2007: 26). The are capable to damage the integrity of a leaf or inscriptions contains repetitive sequences deli- cause slips of writing implement on wood. Even mited with a fixed glyph groups (Harrison, 1873: rectangle-looking signs usually have inclined or 379, 380-382; Butinov and Knorozov, 1956: 82; v-shaped top and bottom parts to avoid cutting Barthel, 1958: 304; Fedorova, 1982: 38, 66; lines along the fibers. The similar restrictions can Fischer, 1995: 306; Guy 2006: 59, 60; Horley, be seen in other scripts (unrelated to rongorongo) 2007: 27-29; Melka, 2008: 162). Analysis of designed for incising on palm leaves ¢ Kannada, parallel passages helped to define reading order Telugu and Oriya from India ¢ which widely use for the ligatures (Métraux, 1940: 401; Guy, curved lines to avoid tearing the leaves apart 1982: 447; Pozdniakov, 1996: 297). Results of (Masica, 1993: 143, 144). Runic script, develo- statistical analysis of rongorongo texts suggest ped for carving in wood, also lacks horizontal that the script most probably had a predominant segments that will be hard to distinguish from syllabic nature (Pozdniakov, 1996: 300; Horley, wood fibers or cracks (Greetham, 1994: 65). To 2005: 114; Pozdniakov and Pozdniakov, 2007: the contrary, scripts designed for non-incising 12). writing implements (e.g., Chinese or Maya hie- roglyphs intended for brush and ink writing on a One of the important problems that should be paper), are usually free from this restriction on solved to enable decipherment of rongorongo horizontal lines. consists in a proper identification of basic glyph Prior to carving, the surface of a tablet was elements and their allographic forms. In addi- usually carefully polished (Fischer, 1997: 388); tion to parallel sequences, much information for then, a set of shallow grooves (flutes) few tenths allographic studies can be extracted from the of a millimeter deep (Orliac and Orliac, 2008: calligraphy of the script, which is closely related 245) was formed on its surface to aid alignment to carving techniques and properties of writing of the signs and protect them from wearing media itself. (Harrison, 1873: 372). The glyphs were pre- RONGORONGO SCRIPT: CARVING TECHNIQUES AND SCRIBAL CORRECTIONS 251 incised with an obsidian flake (Orliac and Orliac, The tracings of rongorongo glyphs shown in 2008: 246) and deepened with a shark tooth the figures were made after the photos from the (Dederen and Fischer, 1993: 182). The properties SS.CC. Archives and illustrations published by of writing media also influenced the choice of a Orliac and Orliac (2008), Chauvet (1935), proper instrument ¢ old and worn shark tooth Heyerdahl (1975), Butinov and Knorozov proved to be more useful than a new one, because (1956). Barthel’s notation is used for referencing it does not tear wood fibers during carving of tablets, lines and individual glyphs; glyph codes acute angles (ibid.: 184). are zero-padded (also in figures, if the space The lines of rongorongo texts are arranged in permits) to three-digit numbers according to the reverse boustrophedon fashion (Métraux, 1940: extended Barthel system. 394), requiring rotation of a tablet upon rea- ching the end of each line. In many cases, obser- vation of fitted and overlapped signs in the nei- Minor scribal corrections ghboring lines helps to deduce their reading order even without resorting to analysis of Minor corrections of mistaken glyph elements parallel textual fragments. can be detected by unusual contours featuring pronounced angle on what should be a smooth curve, or survived pre-incised lines (Figure 1).