| The Living Memory | ||
| He-mate te kenu o te vî'e; | A woman's husband dies; | |
| he-tagi te vî'e, te ga poki, te taína o te vî'e, te taína o te kenu, te matu'a ké-ké, ké-ké. | the woman mourns, [and so do] her children, the brothers and sisters of the woman, the brothers and sisters of the husband, the uncles and aunts112e, all of them. | |
| He-mana'u te mana'u o te ga poki mo aga i te moai, mo ariga ora o toraûa matu'a. | The children agree to make a statue, to [be] the living memory112f of their father. | |
| He-kî te ga poki ki a nua, ki te matu'a tamahahine: | The children say to the mother, to the female parent: | |
| "Pehé koe nua ê? Ki aga te ariga ora mo tomatou Korohua?". | "How [is it with you] mother? Making a living memory for our old man?" | |
| He-kî a nua: "Ku-mao-á". | The mother says: "Fine". | |
| He-hoa te hope ki te tagata mo aga o te moai, | They throw banquets at the men for the making of the statue 112g | |
| ki te tagata mo keukeu o te îka, o te ura, o te koreha, o te kahi. | and at the men for the fishing of fish, of lobsters, of eels, of tunas. | |
| He-oho-mai te tagata keukeu, te tagata aga moai, | The fishermen come, and the statue carvers, | |
| he-tari te kai, te ura, te îka, te koreha, te tôa, ananake te kai. | they [the children of the dead man] bring food, lobster, fish, eel, chicken, all [sorts of] food. | |
| He-aga te moai, ariga ora o te matu'a. | They make the statue, the living memory of [their] father. | |
| E-tahu-nó-á i te kai ki te tagata aga o te moai, ki te tagata keukeu îka; | They provide food to the makers of the statue, and to the men who fish; | |
| ananake te raá mo keukeu, e-to'o-mai i te îka mo te maori e-aga te moai. | every day they must fish, to bring fish for the experts to make the statue. | |
| He-tu'u ki te raá i-oti te moai. | It comes to the day when the statue is finished. | |
| He-puhi te umu nuinui; he-ootu, he-tari ki te tagata aga moai; | They light a big oven; [when] it is cooked, they take it to the statue makers; | |
| he-ragi ki te tagata, he-oho-mai, he-ketu, he-hakatu'u i te moai. | they call out to the people, they come, they lift the statue and make it stand. | |
| He-tu'u te moai, he-rotu, he-tatagi; | The statue is standing, they gather in great numbers, they lament; | |
| he-teretere te vî'e, matu'a o te ga poki ko tagi koîa mo taana kenu, e-hakakú-ana i te pâpaku. | the woman, the mother of the children, runs around, she cries for her husband, pining for the dead. | |
| Te ariga ora ko taana kenu. | The living memory, that is her husband. | |
| Ana haga mo ma'u kiruga ki te ahu, | If the want to set it on top a funerary platform, | |
| he-toto'i, he-turu ki te ahu, he-hakatu'u iruga, | they drag it, they climb down to the platform, they stand it on top | |
| mo ariga ora o te vî'e o te ga poki. | to be the woman and her children's living memory [memento]. | |
| Ana haga mo hakarere nó i Orohie, | If they want just to leave it in Orahie113 113a | |
| irá-ana ana-hakarere, irá-ana ana-noho, irá-ana ana-tagi i te ariga ora o te kenu, o te matu'a. | there is where they leave it, there is where it stays, there is where they mourn the living memory of the husband, of the father. | |
| Ana ma'u ki te ahu, he-hakapopoko te mata pahé pâpaku mata era. | If they take it to a platform they carve out the eyes like those of the defunct. | |
| Ana ta'e ma'u ki te ahu, ina ekó hakapopoko i te mata, | If they do not take it to a platform, they do not carve out the eyes; | |
| ta'e pe ahu Orohoie mo hakapopoko-haga i te mata; | Orohie113b is not a platform that requires the eyes to be carved;113c | |
| peira-á ana-hakatu'u mo ariga ora. | thus it is when they make it stand [to serve as] living memory. | |
Note 112f Ariga ora, literally: living face.
Note 112g This is an almost literal translation. Englert writes: "Ahora pagan con comida a los escultores". Hope is the meals provided to workers in lieu of payment. This is the traditional Polynesian and Melanesian way of paying for major work, such a building a house.
Note 113 Orahie is the name of a place on the slope of Rano Rarahu opposite the Tongariki funerary platform. The narrator, Juan Tepano, mentions this place for his family was of the Tupahotu tribe and buried its dead in Tongariki.
Note 113a The Rapa-Nui text has Orohie, but the Spanish translation and note 113 give it as Orahie.
Note 113b Note this new typographical mistake: the Rapa-Nui now has Orohoie instead of Orohie as earlier, but now the Spanish has Orohie instead of Orahie.
Note 113c This is a straight translation of the Spanish: "Orohie no es ahu en que deben excavarse las órbitas". This seems to contradict the previous sentence.