| The Making of the Stone Statues | ||
| Te moai i-aga-ai e te hanau momoko. Te moai ra'e Ko Tai Ahare Atua. Ina kai rivariva. | The statues were made by the hanau momoko. The first statue was Tai Ahare Atua. It was not good. | |
| O te maori O'Miru i-aga te moai, ina kai rava'a. | The master [carver] Miru made the statue, it did not come out well. | |
| He-kî ki te tagata hokoono: | He [Miru] said to [his team of] six men: | |
| "Ka-oho korua aono ki Te Veravera, ki te hare o Kave Heke o Marama, Marama o Tu'u. | "Go, the six of you, to Te Veravera, to the house of Kave Heke of [the tribe] Marama, a Marama of the northern side. | |
| Ka-kî ki a Kave Heke, koia te maori: "Pehé te agaga o te moai?". | Ask Kave Heke (he is the expert) how the statues are made. | |
| He-oho-mai aono gáîo, he-tu'u ki te hare o Kave Heke. | The six boys are coming, they arrive at the house of Kave Heke. | |
| He-û'i-mai Kave Heke ko te repa riva hokoono: "I-á te repa riva!". | Kave Heke watches them, they are six fine youths: "Here are fine youths!" | |
| He-aroha te repa riva: "E-korohua, hé koe?". | The fine youths saluted him: "Old man, how are you?" | |
| He-kî-mai Kave Heke: | Kave Heke answered: | |
| "I au, kohomai korua ko ga kope!". | "Here I am, welcome, lads!"106a | |
| He-ea Kave Heke, he-ká i te umu. | Kave Heke came out [of his house], lit the oven. | |
| He-ahiahi, he-maoa, he-hakaúru; ai ka-to'o, ka-kai mo hatu o mahaki. | In the evening he opened up [the oven], brought [the food] in: "Here, take, eat to the success of the team"106b | |
| He-kî tou gáîo era eono: "Ku-agiagi-á". | Those six youths said: "So you knew [why we came here]". | |
| He-momoe i te pó, he-û'i Kave Heke: | They lay down at night, Kave Heke asked: | |
| " Ai, ai, ai, pehé korua ko ga kope i-oho-mai-ena?". | "Well, well, well, and why did you lads come here?" | |
| "He-uga-mai matou e te ho'ou, e Miru A'Hotu ki a koe." | "We were sent to you by our colleague Miru A'Hotu." | |
| He-û'i A'Kave Heke: "Ki te aha?" | Kave Heke asked: "What about?" | |
| "Ki te agaga o te moai. Pehé te agahaga o te moai?" | "About statue making. How is the making of statues?" | |
| Ina he reo kai rere o Kave Heke. | Kave Heke did not say even one word. | |
| He-moe i te pó, ka-potahi raá, ka-porua raá; | The slept in the night, one day [passed], a second day [passed]; | |
| ko te potoru raá i-aroha-ai. | [now is] the third day when they took their leave.106c | |
| He-kî Kave Heke: "Ka-noho anirá". | Kave Heke said: "Stay a bit longer." | |
| He-ká i te umu, he-maoa i te popohaga, he-hâgai, he-aroha. | He lit the oven, opened it in the morning, fed [them], saluted [them] (i.e. bade them farewell). | |
| He-ea-mai tou gagata eono mai roto mai te hare kihaho, he-oho a te ara, he-tu'u ki te aro o te ma'ea Kihikihi. | Those six men came out of the house, walked along the path, arrived in front of the stone Kihikihi. | |
| He-ea A'Kave Heke ki te tara o te hare, he-ragi-mai: | Kave Heke came out to the corner of his house and shouted: | |
| "E kau-á repa ê! Ka-noho, ka-hakarogo-mai ki te vânaga, ka-ragi-atu-ena au, e-hakarogo-rivariva-mai!". | "Lads! Stay, listen to [my] words, I will shout [them] out, listen carefully!" | |
| He-kîkî aono: "Ka-noho tâtou ki ragi-mai te ho'ou A'Kave Heke!". | The six said to themselves: "Let us wait [to listen] to the shouting [of] colleague Kave Heke." | |
| He-nonoho, he-ragi-mai Kave Heke: | They waited, Kave Heke shouted: | |
| "Ka-oho, e-kî ki te ho'ou ki a Miru A'Hotu ki a Tagi Teako A'Hotu, iraro ia korua-ana te moai!". | "Go, tell colleagues Miru A'Hotu and Tangi Teako A'Hotu, below you is the statue!" | |
| He-oho, he-hipa etahi kope, he-mimi. | They went, one lad stepped aside the path, and urinated. | |
| He-ragi: "Ná iraro i a korua-ana ka-û'i, ka-û'i, | He exclaimed: "It's below you, look, look, | |
| ahara ka-ta'e haaki-mai te ho'ou A'Kave Heke; | no wonder colleague Kave Heke did not explain us; | |
| me'e rakerake, he-kinoga, oíra i-ta'e-haaki-mai-ai". | a bad thing, it is the penis, that is why he did not explain us." | |
| He-oho, he-tu'u ki te Rano Raraku. | They went, they arrived at Rano Raraku. | |
| He-û'i-mai te matato'a: "Pehé korua ga kope?". | The master [Miru] asked them: "How was it, lads?" | |
| He-kî ki a Miru: | They said to Miru: | |
| "Ka-tata-oho-mai matou. I-ragi-mai-ai te ho'ou A'Kave Heke: | "We have come here, for colleague Kave Heke shouted to us: | |
| "Ka-oho, ka kî iraro i a korua-ana te moai!". | "Go and say that below you is the statue!" | |
| He-kî te tagata aga moai: "Ka-pa'o te moai, ka-aga!". | The statue maker said: "Cut the statue, make it!"106e | |
| He-aga etahi moai tamaaroa, etahi moai tamahahine. | They made one male statue and one female statue. | |
| He-rivariva te moai. He-koa. | The statues were beautiful. They rejoiced. | |
| He-oti te moai tamaaroa, te moai tamahahine. He-ma'u, he-hoa kihaho ki te tai. | The male statue and the female statue were finished. They carried [them] and threw [them] out to the sea.107 | |
| He-hoki-mai, he-aga hakaou i te moai Ko Te Tokaga, he-aga i te moai Ko Toga Riki, he-aga i te moai Ko Piro Piro, he-aga ananake, ananake te moai. | They came back, they made a statue again, [called] Te Tokanga, they made the statue Tongariki, they made the statue Piropiro, they made them all, all the statues. | |
| He-ma'u kiruga ki te ahu pâpaku mo tiaki o te avaga o te ahu pâpaku, | They carried them on top of the funerary platforms to guard the niches of the funerary platforms, | |
| mo ira i-aga-ai. | for that purpose they were made. | |
| He-kî: "Ana i-mate A'Kave Heke, ina ekó agiagi-mai te agaga o te moai ma'ea". | They said: "If Kave Heke had died, [we] would not have learnt the making of the stone statues." | |
| Etahi nuahine ká umu mo te tagata aga moai; | There was an old woman [whose job it was to] light the ovens for the statue makers; | |
| ka-rau, ka-rau, ka-piere, ka-piere te tagata aga moai. | there were many, many statue makers. | |
| Ananake te raá e-tahu-era te nuahine ká umu mo te tagata aga moai. | Every day the old woman who lit the ovens would cook for the statue makers. | |
| I-tu'u-era ki te tahi raá, kai tu'u-hia-mai te nuahine ká umu. | Came one day when the old woman who lit the ovens did not arrive with her people.107a | |
| I-maoa ki rere!". He-rere atotoru, he-tu'u ki te kona pú era. He-ruku atotoru. ró-ai i te umu e te tagata, umu ura, he-kai. | The men opened the oven, [it was] an oven [full] of lobsters, they ate.107b | |
| He-tu'u-mai te nuahine, he-û'i ku-maoa-á te umu, kai toe te ura; | [When] the old woman arrived, she saw that the oven had been opened, and there was no lobster left; | |
| i-kai-tahi nó e te tagata, he-paé. | the men had eaten it all, it was finished. | |
| Ina kai vaai i te kai mo te nuahine ká umu. | They did not give any food to the old cook. | |
| He-tagi te nuahine, he-ragi ki te moai: "Ka-papagaha'a korua ko ga kope, ka-hihiga kiraro! ". | The old woman wept, she shouted at the statues: "Lads, fall down with all your weight!"107c | |
| He-hihiga te moai. | The statues fell. | |
Note 106b mo hatu o mahaki: fossilized expression which Englert translates here as para que tengáis éxito en el trabajo but, in his dictionary, as para que tenga éxito o felicidad el compañero.
Note 106c aroha means to salute either when arriving or when departing.
Note 106e Ka-pa'o te moai, ka-aga: pa'o is not found in the dictionary, but can be inferred from Englert's translation: Cortad la piedra y trabajad un moai.
Note 107 It seems barely believable that the first two good statues should have been thrown out into the sea. Perhaps this is an erroneous interpretation of the tradition and the statues may have been carried towards the sea, but onto a funerary platform (ahu)
Note 107a kai tu'u-hia-mai: hia is not found in the dictionary. It is perhaps a verbal particle expressing "with the others", hence Englert's tranlation con su gente (with her people).
Note 107b The Rapa-Nui text is corrupt because of an editing mistake. The section extending from ki rere! to He-ruku atotoru belongs to the next legend, told by Juan Araki, entitled Caída de las estatuas de piedra. Omitting it yields I-maoa-ró-ai i te umu e te tagata, umu ura, he-kai which corresponds exactly to Englert's translation.
Note 107c This is Englert's translation (Muchachos, con todo vuestro peso caed al suelo). Literally, the Rapa-Nui seems to mean: "Doze off, lads, fall down!" Papagaha'a is feeling sleepy, dozing off, whereas pagaha'a is "heavy", speaking of food. This seems to be a curse by sympathetic magic: the statues must be feeling sleepy, as must the carvers who have gorged themselves.