On the Observations of the Sun in Polynesia

Abstract

The role of the Polynesian sun god Tagaloa has been studied. The Polynesian characters Maui-tikitiki, Tane and Tiki were related to the sun as well. The solar data of Easter Island are essential indeed. The rongorongo text on the Santiago staff about the solar eclipse of December 20, 1805 A.D. has been decoded. The Mataveri calendar was probably incised on a rock in 1775 A.D. So, a central event during the bird-man festval was the day of vernal equinox. The priests-astronomers watched not only the sun and the moon, but also some stars of the zodiacal constellations and other bright stars.

Archaeoastronomy; 8 pages, 6 figures, 1 photo. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 20th annual conference of the New Zealand Studies Association together with the Norwegian Maritime Museum and the Kon-Tiki Museum, Oslo in association with the University of South Australia, in Oslo, Norway, on June 26, 2014

Cited by in corpus (3)

• The Ancient Astronomy of Easter Island: Aldebaran and the Pleiades
• The Ancient Astronomy of Easter Island: The Mamari Tablet Tells (Part 1)
• The Ancient Astronomy of Easter Island: Canopus and the Legendary King Hotu-Matua