Legends and Traditions of Easter Island
translated from Sebastian Englert's Leyendas
| How the Houses Were Built. | ||
Told by Juan Tepano |
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| Mo aga i te hare, he-ra'e ana hakatu'u i te toga erua, he-hakaeke kiruga ki te toga, he-here. | To build a house, first they raised two posts, they put a cross-beam on top of the posts, they tied it. | |
| Ki oti he-hao i te ma'ea paega, he-vari ki te pini. | Next, they half-buried the foundation stones, they lined them up in a curve going to the corners [of the house]. | |
| Ki oti te hao te paega he-hou i te pu aruga a te paega hai toki, ko te korapú te igoa. | Once finished laying the foundation [stones], they cut holes in the upper side of the foundations using small basalt axes, korapú was the name [of those holes]. | |
| He-hakatu'u i te oka, oka piko, | They erected small poles, bent poles, | |
| he-hakapiri te oka ki te hahaga, | they joined the poles to the top beam, | |
| he-here hai hau kaka maîka, hau mahute. | they fastened them using ropes of banana bark, or ropes of mahute. | |
| Hare haha'u etoru, haha'u ehá, haha'u erima, haha'u eono, e huru o te mahigo hare. | There were houses of three bow-knots, four bow-knots, five bow-knots, six bow-knots, [following] the custom of the households. | |
| He-kî te Ariki O'Hotu Matu'a ki toona tagata: | King Hotu Matu'a said to his men: | |
| "E-haha'u te hare a te mata'u; peíra te pito poki, te vaka, te kupega mo te îka a te mata'u. | "Fasten the houses with bow-knots on the right; like [you do] the umbilical cord of children, the canoes, the fishing nets, on the right. | |
| Ana ta'e rivariva te haha'u-haga, he-mamate te tagata, he-higa te hare i te tokerau; | When the tying of the bow-knots is not good the men die, the houses collapse in the wind; | |
| peíra te vaka ekó rava'a te îka, ana ta'e rivariva te haha'u-haga. | likewise canoes, and indeed catching fish,113m when the fastening of the bow-knots is not good. | |
| Ki oti te oka te hakatu'u, he-eke te kaukau miro. | Once finished the setting up of the oka poles, the wooden horizontal poles covered them. | |
| Ki oti te kaukau, he-pu'a i te hatuga kiruga, he-here i te kaukau miro i te hatuga hai hau kaka maîka. | Once finished [covering them with] horizontal poles, they put a totora cover113n on top, they tied the horizontal poles to the totora cover with ropes of banana bark. | |
| Ki oti te hatuga te pu'a, he-eke te rau tôa kiruga, he-here. | Once finished the totora cover, they put sugarcane leaves on top, they fastened them. | |
| Ki oti te rau tôa, he-eke te te maúku kiruga ki te rau tôa, he-here. | Once finished the sugarcane leaves, grass [was used as] cover on top of the cane leaves, they fastened it. | |
| Ina ekó o'o te ûa. | Rain could not get in at all. | |
| Peíra te aga-haga o te hare o te mata tuai. | Thus was the building of the houses of the ancient tribes. | |
