C. Possible American Connection - Astronomy

1. Our common root in the sky

From the beginning of human history, the objects that are seen in the sky have inspired humans to contemplate the mysteries of life. The celestial objects that orbit the earth influence its environment as well as the psyche of its human inhabitants - the source of their superstition, mysticism, and religion. The similarity of these heavenly views at different points across the globe poses a challenge when differentiating distant societies. Since the same objects are seen around the globe, it's possible for two distinct people living far apart to have similar practices dealing with them. The moon, for instance, could be worshipped for very similar reasons at opposite sides of the world. However, the odds of them having similar names and associated traditions to those objects would be minimal. In cases where we do find strong similarities, the probability that a transmission of ideas occurred by contacts between those societies increases tremendously.

In my search for books about Native Americans, I found one that gave me clues to the peopling of Polynesia. The book is entitled "The Secret of the Incas" by William Sullivan. I was fasinated by the Andean societies that Sullivan covered in his book. But, as I read the book I was intrigued by how familiar some of what I read to what I was familiar with growing up in Samoa. Sillivan's topic was the Andean people, but his book led me to traditions that tie them to Polynesia. It gave me another way of looking at the issue of Polynesian migration. Sullivan's book became an important piece of information in my search that unveils many Samoan words and traditions that I'm familiar with. I found several other good books about pre-Columbian Americans, which I eagerly read using the framework Sullivan introduced me to - astronomy. I unexpectedly found a way to find deeper meanings of some things in the Samoan culture that I once dismissed as too obscured to examine.

George Stuart of the National Geographics Society said this about Sullivan's book: "I found the work extraordinarily rewarding by virtue of its careful integration of material from disparate worlds of archaeological knowledge and traditional mythology of the Andean region. Most important, however - and something that I was hardly prepared for - was the innovative way Sullivan has opened up a whole new approach to our knowledge of the past...I hope that all those interested in any aspect of past human culture read this excellent work."

Sullivan (1) added this about Andean astronomy: "According to the weight of Andean scholarship at that time, the only planet for which the Incas had a name was Venus. Where were the other 'gods' (planets)? Having read what I thought were the definitive treatments of the etymologies of the names of various Andean gods, including the old, bearded god Wiraqocha, who carried a staff, I thought it pointless to search for clues in that direction. Instead, I looked up the most frequently used alternative title for Wiraqocha: 'Tunapa'. Within 90 seconds of opening a conquest-era Quechua dictionary, I learned that this word means 'he who carries the mill'. I had found the Andean Saturn. From there, I was able to work out and rigorously test the identity of all five planetary gods in the Inca pantheon. The importance of all this is that the characteristics of the Andean planetary gods are virtually identical to those of the planetary gods of Greece, Rome, Scandinavia, the Hopi, the Polynesians and so on. For the Incas, Saturn was the old, bearded god who carried a staff; Venus was a beautiful woman with dishevelled hair; Jupiter was the king; Mars the god of war; and Mercury the messenger. To me, the single, most urgent question raised by this research is not how this idiosyncratic way of looking at the sky was carried to every corner of our globe, but why it was so readily accepted everywhere."

2. Ancient Americans were great astronomers.

The daily lives of pre-European Americans were guided by many traditions that involved the cycles of planets and stars. The priests closely observed the heavens continually for continuity, and also for unusual signs of fortunes and calamities.

"In 1989, while working at Cranfield University, I successfully calculated the duration of the long-term sunspot cycle. The university computer, one of the most powerful in the world, had predicted that the sun would reverse its magnetic field every 3,740 years (1,366,040 days). I was later astonished to learn at the Maya of Mexico worshipped a number virtually identical to this (1,366,560), more than a thousand years ago in the jungles of Mexico. It soon became clear that this ancient sun-worshiping civilization knew more about the magnetic cycles of the sun than we did in 1989." (Maurice Cotterell, "The Lost Tomb of Viracocha")

"The third glyph is the syllable na meaning "house" and refers to yet another role he (Kinich Ahau) plays as Lord of the Milky Way; symbolizing this he sometimes wears a conch shell. Our solar system of course is in the Milky Way, which is, like the conch shell, in the shape of a spiral. This has immense implications because our understanding of this did not come until the late eighteenth century, long after the development of astronomy as a science." (Martin Brennan, "The Hidden Maya", pp.22-23)

The words of the Solo suggest that the people who imagined it also used the heavenly bodies, such as the moon and the sun, in their society. The fascinating details shown in the Solo also suggest that who ever authored it understood some specific facts about them. For example, they knew that the moon does not produce light, but that it receives light from the Sun. The verse hinted that the Sun is posed like a statue, changeless and gives out beams of light. This vague knowledge is probably something that was faintly remembered through vocal recitation performed down through the generations.

"On it the Moon's desired light looks down; The Sun, like statue, changeless found, (Darts his refulgent beams around)." (Solo ole Va)

It's inconceivable to think that a primitive people could have a greater knowledge of the moon and sun before the age of "science." The Solo conveys something that we wouldn't normally attribute to Polynesians who were a yard away from the Stone Age when the Europeans met them. The conventional view that was taught in Europe before Nicolaus Copernicus was that the Sun moves around the Earth. This statement from the Solo may point to the stationary Sun Copernicus expounded in 14th century Europe. It says that the Sun's beam lights up the Moon and other planets. Could this be? Or, are we looking at pre-historical obsession and veneration of the Moon and Sun as seen in other societies?

"But fly now and then to thy group in the west; To measure and compare the space Which lies between, from place to place." (Solo ole Va)

Calendars uncovered from Mesoamerican ruins are said to be precision timepieces. The priests and the whole society depended on the correct placement of dates to tell them when to harvest, when to make war, and when to do other things. The above statement from the Solo isn't referring to the measurement of distance, but it's more likely a measurement of time: the sundial. The Sun flies west and its orbit measured out time.

"'O Tagaloa, who sittest at the helm (of affairs), Tagaloa's (bird, the Tuli) desires to rest; Tuli from the ocean must rest in the heavens;" (Solo ole Va)

Along the same latitudinal region, the ancient Andean people and Samoans had the same view of the Southern night sky. They saw similar objects associated with the grand Milky Way moving across the sky. These objects were important in the Andes for ceremonial purposes. In the central Pacific, the nightly objects took on new meanings and new purposes - especially to aid in sea voyages across the vast Pacific Ocean. As the people that left pre-Columbian America moved westward, some of their words and ideas took on new meaning as they adapted to their new environment. However, some concepts are hard to get rid, because of their importance and also the lack of substitutes. The following are some things that, I think, survived into the new society.

3. Celestial Fox

Ancient Andean astronomy refer to a "black-cloud constellation, the celestial Fox. The Fox extends eastward into Sagittarius from the hindquarters of the Llama. As a contemporary Aymara-speaker from Bolivia said in commenting on a folktale about Fox 'The fox is in the sky, in the river, he always follows the llama'..." (Sullivan, p.41)

The Polynesians probably used the same knowledge of the sky as their ancestors, in this case the dark constellation visible in the southern sky. There's a similarity in the way the word dog is spelled in Samoan ("uli") and Mayan ("tzul") languages. Why are the Samoan words "uli'uli" (black) and "uli" (dog and guide) the same? The word "uli" also stands for something loathsome, which, in the case of the Andean myth, refers to a fox chasing after a llama. The word "tuli" (chase) also suggests this connection between the celestial fox and llama myth of the Andes and the Samoan Solo. The Solo mentioned "Tuli" as the name of Tagaloa's bird. The Samoan word "uli" also refers to a helmsman guiding a boat, which the word "ulita'avale" (drive a car) was derived. The South American words for the color purple (royal color in the Andes) is "k'ulli" in the Aymara language, and "kulli" in the Quechua language. We find in the Samoan traditions the concept behind the dark celestial object rehashed into a different manifestation. However, the basic astronomical idea remains intact. Being that the fox follows the celestial llama, we can deduce that ancient Polynesians knew of the Andean story and use it.

4. Malamalama

The adverbial particles are very numerous in Maya. No attempt has been made to exhaust the list. The most important are as follows:

"NEGATION: This is shown by the particle ma which precedes the nominal pronoun and comes immediately before the verb when the verbal pronoun is used" (Alfred M. Tozzer, A Maya Grammar, p.104)

Interestingly, this Mayan gramatical rule is found in the Samoan language, eventhough the ma, as it existed today in the Samoan language, is a different word - the conjunction "and."

The application of this grammatical rule in the Samoan language is seen in the following examples. The word "losi" means "untidy," "unorganized," and "messy." Adding the "ma" with "losi" results in the word "malosi" (strong or strength). In a battle, an army's success improves when its force is well organized. The word "mafua" (cause) is derived from the word "fua" (fruit). Another example is seen in the word masina (moon). The word "sina" is white or gray hair in Samoan, which also refers to the burning brightness of the noonday sun. Since the moon produces little light compare to the sun, it makes sense to call it masina. Another good example of this usage is the word "malala" (charcoal) that relates to the word "lala" (tree branch).

Additionally, the word "lama" in Samoan means entrapment; "lamalama" is the verb form. Lama is also fishing at night using lamps. Lama is also the name of a plant that is used in Polynesia for making the dark ink (vaiuli) for tattooing. The word lama, I think, is a root word for "malamalama" (enlighten or brightness). If the Polynesians used the same celestial objects as the ancient Andean people, the Llama and the fox were once common concepts to both people.

Holguin lists "Haullpayhuana or "ninanina." The diligent worker, ardent and animated like fire." The synonym "ninanina" comes from the Quechua word for fire, "nina." It is not easy to combine the characteristics of "fieriness," and diligence, but this has always been understood as the function of Saturn, bringer of fire, but also a god systematically sweeping through the ecliptic plane every thirty years, meting out the arts of civilization - or castigation - as the situation merits. (Sallivan, p.100)

We can find in Samoan traditions a mixture of various ideas. For example, the following Samoan words, "ninia" (intense brightness) and "sina" (whiteness) might be related to the "nina" described above from the Americas. The Samoan "afi" (fire) and "afiafi" (evening) might be an adaptation of the name of the Hindu god Angi (god of fire) from the west.

There were other lesser gods represented by animals in pagan Samoa besides Tagaloa. That's also true in pre-Columbian America. This is a worldwide practice, I admit. However, if the Samoan word "lama" was rooted in the dark celestial object, known in South America as the Celestial Llama, then a reasonable conclusion would be that they came from the same mind.

"Each chief and almost every man...had his god, or "aitu", the representations of which he would consider sacred, and treat...with the utmost respect. These aitu, which were commonly incarnate in some bird, fish, reptile, or insect, were looked upon, however, as inferior deities..." (Freeman, p.176)

5. The Twins

More shared astronomical concepts:

"...the Mayan day Chiccan corresponds to Proto-Polynesian Filo, and Chicchan means 'twisted serpent'; ...Filo, which means "twist, thread," is the name of the Polynesian god of thieves...In Samoa, Filo is a name given to Castor (one of the stars of the constellation of the Twins or Gemini)..." (Sullivan, p.184)

"Leaving aside the suggestion that the word illa could (as with the Spanish word for thread, hilo, and the English "filament") be cognate with Filo (Quechua and Aymara lacking a sound for f), the motif of "twisted threads" figures prominently in the logic of Andean notions about twins." (p.185)

6. Hanai-i-ka-malama

The Hawaiian name for the Southern Cross is "Hanai-i-ka-malama." Could this name derive from the ancient Andean celestial Fox and the Llama? On the southern sky, the path within the Milky Way of the dark celestial Fox and Llama cuts along the position of the Southern Cross. The Hawaiian dictionary has the entries "Hanai" (to feed), "i ka" (on the), and "malama" (take care of). I think that the "malama" in the "Hanai-i-ka-malama" equates to the Samoan "malama" (clear, shiny, open) or "malamalama" (brightness). Therefore, the Hawaiian name for the Southern Cross could simply mean "feed on the bright object" or "focus on the bright star" for guide. Its root idea goes back to the Andean myth - the celestial Fox and Llama.

7. Nafa

The Quechua verb "capay" refers to a means of measurement: "Kapay" - To measure by palms; Kapa. Palm. The hand extended and the measure. (Sullivan, p.120)

The Samoan term "nafa" is a unit of measurement using extended arms. The word "tapa", in Samoan, is to reach by extending arms or figuratively as in "tapa mai mata" (pay attention here). The word "nafa" also means genealogy in Samoan, and that could have some common root with the Mayan word "Na" for house.

8. Ola, ato

Jaguar Myth (Amuesha - Andes):

"...The Twins in her womb, Sun and Moon, escape and hide at the bottom of the river. Grandmother Jaguar says that she is obligated to raise the Twins, because she killed their mother. Soon, Grandmother Jaguar tires of the pair and, preparing to eat them, boils water in a large pot (olla). The Twins cause her to fall asleep, dismember her, and put her in the "olla." When the other jaguars - relatives of the Grandmother - arrive to eat, the Twins hide in the roof of the little house, and when the jaguars become suspicious, the Twins set fire to the house and escape across the river, cutting a "bridge" behind them, whereby nearly all the jaguars plunge to their death." (Sullivan, p.358)

The Samoan word "ola" is "basket" ("ato" is another Samoan word for "basket"). "Ola" is also the Samoan word for "life" and "to live." My grandmother used to tell a very similar story as the above Andean story. In the Samoa story, a couple hid their twins in a basket and hung it on the upper frame of their house. They instructed them not to answer calls from anyone while they are away. With the parents gone, a forest witch came to the house and summoned the twins by name. The twins answered her call against their parents' strict instruction. The forest witch upon discovering them took the twins to her forest home. In the forest, with the twins still in the basket, she prepared a "umu" (fire) to cook the twins. Luckily, the parents arrived in time to rescue them and killed the forest witch using her own fire.

	Polynesia	Americas	Other
sack	-	-	pa-tor (Egyptian)
basket	ola, ato (Samoan)	xak (Quechua)
to live (life)	ola (Samoan)	gvhnoda (Cherokee)
happiness	-	oolal (Quechua)
heart	fatu (Samoan)	ool (Quechua)	abu (Egyptian)

9. Ula

The word "ula" has several meanings in the Samoan language: a necklace of red beads or flowers; a lobster; and the color red. Could the root of this word found in the heaven?

"The Quechua word used in the text for "star" is "coyllur," the same word used in the name of Venus, "chasca coyllur." It is therefore of some interest to note that the "star" mentioned in the Huarochiri text are said to "move" as they circle a redundant description - unless "they" are planets, wandering the ecliptic against the background of fixed stars. "They call the stars that shine, moving about as they circle [Quechua muyo muyolla] 'Pichcaconqui.'" (Sullivan, p.89)

10. Atua

Does the Samoan word "atua" (god) have a root in the ancient astronomy of South America?

"...the Quechua name for the planet Saturn is "haucha" ... Just as in Greek and Vedic myth, knowledge of the physical "behavior" of the planet Saturn led to the imagery of "god" who imparted motion and the measures of time to the cosmos." (Sullivan, p.90) [Huarochiri] "..their priesthood: "llacuas," or "sacrificers of llamas." (p.222)

11. Va'a (Vaka in other parts of Polynesia)

" ...the notion of the lineage "wakas" promoted the principles of peaceful unity-in-diversity among the various highland tribes by virtue of each tribe's descent from a common class of objects created by Wiraqocha. Likewise the doctrine of the "pacarina," or place of 'dawning', whence emerged each tribal lineage waka, established the right of each ethnic group to its tribal land. (Sullivan, p.236) ...they were animals...I had been so long accustomed to relating the formulation 'stars are animals' to the behavior of animals in myths, that I had never thought to apply it the lineage wakas...The notion that each species of animal had a celestial prototype responsible for the welfare of that species is a well-established fact of Andean ethnography." (p.237)

Sullivan's explanation about the word "waka" is poignant to this discussion. The 'Solo ole Va' and pre-Columbian America traditions see the night sky, the Milky Way galaxy, as a great ocean. The stars were vessels (va'a in Samoan) that their particular people came from and connected to. As a side note, "aiga" (pronounced ahinga) is family in Samoan.

"The waters in their place appear; The sea, too, occupies its sphere; The heaven ascends, the sky is clear." (Solo ole Va)

Concerning the Samoan pagan religion, Freeman wrote that "...a spirit medium was said to be a 'taula aitu,' or anchor of the spirits, or alternatively a va'a aitu, or vessel of the spirits..." (Freeman, p.177)

The University of Auckland (NZ) Library discribed its name (Te Tumu Herenga) the following way.

"Te Tumu Herenga, the Library's name gifted by the University's kuia Dr Merimeri Penfold, means "the chief tethering post"; when referring to a person it means a "high ranking leader". Its poetic meaning refers to the waka, or vessels, for which it is the main binding point, the unmovable mainstay to which they are tethered. To native Maori speakers there is a very strong association between "herenga" (bond) and "waka". The word "tumu" emphasises the strength of the bond, and its chiefly status. Waka can contain very precious things, and very mundane things as well, reflecting the wide range of information Libraries contain. Waka are inherently linked to people on their different journeys. The vessel concept in essence captures many worlds, ancient, modern, in all disciplines, and the link, Te Tumu Herenga, to those worlds is the Library."

12. Aiga

"The deed of possession of tribal lands was sealed by each group's reference to its particular place of emergence - the cave, fountains, and so on - called 'pacarina,' literally "place of dawning." The very diversity of the tribes was thus portrayed as springing from an underlying principle of unity." (Sullivan, p.24)

"Sarmiento's account that 'Pacariatambo,' which had been represented in the Chronicles written before this time as something of a generic 'place of origin' (pagarina), and whose location was not precisely defined, became concretized to a specific town and its environs to the south of the valley of Cuzco." (Gary Urton, "The History Of A Myth - Pacariqtambo and the Origin of the Inkas", University of Texas Press, Austin, 1990, p.19)

I believe that the Samoan word "aiga" (family) is related to the "pacarina" of the Incas.

Inca: PACARINA (pac-A-r-INA)
Samoa: AIGA (pronounced: A-INGA)

13. Uli

The Samoan word "uli" means dog, dark (uliuli), and steering. The root of this word seems to come straight out from Andean astronomical traditions of the dark Celestial Lama and Fox.

14. Uila

The most important celestial deity in local cosmology was the masculine god of thunder and lighting - 'Illapa'" (Sullivan, p.171)

"The ancient Quechua- and Aymara-speaking highlanders distinguished among three phenomena: lighting (illapa/illapu), thunder (cunununu/kakcha), and objects hurled to earth by the god. The word for the concept of the bolt - sometimes also called "thunderstone" in English - was "illa," from which the word lightning derives. Thus the sling of the storm god was the bolt or thunderstone." (p.174)

Similar to Aymara (South America), the Samoan word "uila" (lightning) is attributed to Tagaloa's wrath. The Samoan words that refer to the sound of thunder are "tata" (pounding) and "tomumu" (grumble). "Tata fai'titili" (roaring thunder or pounding thunders) is a phrase that signifies Tagaloa's thunderous wrath. The words "pa" (to burst) and "ta" (to strike) are interchangeable in the Samoan language. It's also common to hear people saying "tomumu fai'titili" (grumbling thunder).

"The rafter-breaking god came down, (With wrath inflamed and angry trown;) Alas! my building all complete Is scattered in confusion great." (Solo ole Va)

"Again, the thunder and lighting that were once the awesome attributes of Tagaloa have been transferred to Jehovah, to whom, is one of their hymns, Samoans sing: Your voice, Jehovah, that I hear in the thunder clap fills me with fear; The lighting is also yours and conveys your tidings." (Freeman, p.187)

15. Malae

"So when the nether, quadrangular grindstone, "maray" (standing for the four-cornered "celestial earth"), was "turned over," after the flood of A.D. 650, the Toad quite "naturally" jumped to the lowest" topos available - that is, an astronomical position marking the earth's southern pole of rotation...The other "earthly" artifact destroyed in the tale is the house of the "false god," that is, the architectual analogue of the "maras", the world house, running from tropic to tropic. (Sallivan, p.111-112)

In the center of Samoan villages are fields called "malae" where special activities take place. The "marae" in other parts of Polynesia was a sacred place where pagan gods were worshipped. The word "malae" is also found in Indonesia (East Timor) and it means foreign. Did a new group, who might have told that they came from the "maray", the celestial place, named by those they encountered "malae", using their own word?

16. Luga, Mala, Uta

In Andean astronomy, "Hunan Pacha" was the heavens directly above the terrestrial plane, and "Uku Pacha" was the underworld directly below the world of mankind. The words "hunan" and "uku" possibly have a common root to the Samoan words "luga" (upper) and "uta" (backward).

"At about six thousand feet, where the verticality of the Andes gives way to the gentler 'montana', it is possible to clear land for caltivation of fruits and coca. Above fourteen thousand feet, on the treeless 'puna', a kind of dune grass called 'icchu' supports the flocks of llamas and alpacas." (Sullivan, p.22)

"The relationship of an upper "male" cross to a lower "female" cross is the same relationship as the upper "male" grindstone (tuna), to the lower "female" grindstone (maras). (p.104)

Could the roots of the Samoan words "luga" - pronounced "lunga" (upper) and "mala" (calamity; also refers to a feminine person), be found in this Andean myth? Could the Samoan word "mauga" (mountain), pronounced "maunga", a variant of the Andean "montana" or "manu?" The Samoan word "i'u" (pulling weed) could be a word derived from the Andean icchu. This word also means graduated (or elevated) from some position.

17. Toa

"To the present day, Andean peasants consider the hail-cat, "ccoa" - "seen with hail running out of his eyes" - a beast to be reckoned with." (Sullivan, p.139)

Could this menacing Andean icon be the root for the "toa" (brave) in central Polynesia? A similarity is also seen in the Mayan word "toh" (puma). "Toa" is also the Samoan word for rooster.

18. To'a

"The terrestrial opposite of the 'June Solstice Mountain,' is a body of water labeled 'mamaqocha', 'mother sea (or lake),' connected to a 'puquio', or 'spring,' found on the rainy-season...The Quechua-speakers and Aymara words for 'lake' and 'sea' are the same, qocha." (Salivan, p.63)

The Samoan "to'a" discribes something that's saddled to a lower position. It also means calm "low tides." It's common to hear Samoans say "to'a i lalo" (saddle down) instead of "nofo i lalo" (sit down).

19. Palagi

The Samoan word for the Europeans who visited their islands is "Palagi." This is a combination of two words - "pa" (break or burst, and fence) and "lagi" (sky). I think that this reference to Europeans parallels the way the Incas referred to the Spaniards on their initial contact. The Inca legend, according to William Sullivan, explains that Wiraqocha Inca predicted that he would return in 1000 years, in which time their world will end. The Spaniards showed up about 1000 years (1532) since the prophecy was supposedly made. The Incas referred to Spaniards as Wiraqocha. Is it possible that the Samoans, at the sight of white Europeans, were reminded of something similar, proclaimed - "ua pa lagi" (the heaven openth)? And like the Incas who met the Spaniards, the Samoans' initial impression was that the white Europeans were gods who came down to fulfill the prophecy. On the other hand, the word Palagi could very well mean a person returning from the spiritual world - thus establishing a connection between Egypt and Polynesia through the pre-Columbian tradition in America. The Egyptian concept of "ba" means a spirit or soul of a person after death. If "pa" in Palagi points to a meaning similar to the Egyptian "ba" (spirit), then the word Palagi would thus be a 'heavenly person'. On the other hand, if we use the Egyptian word "pa" (to fly), then Palagi would then means 'a person who flew from heaven' - the traditional meaning is still there.

Incidentally, the Maori (New Zealand indigenous people) word "Pakeha" describes non-Maori residents of New Zealand. The Maori word for pale and white is "teatea". The Samoan word for albino (light coloured) is "te'tea", and the Samoan word for sky is "va'teatea". I think that the Maori word "keha" is a derivative of "teatea", and I also think that those words clearly show a parallel between the Maori "Pakeha" and the Samoan "Palagi" described above.

"...the Quechua 'world' - 'pacha'..." (p. 28) "According to the indigenous view at the time of the Conquest, the cosmos was composed of three domains: 'hanaq pacha', literally 'the world above'; 'kau pacha', 'this world'; and 'ukhu pacha', 'the world below.' Likewise the same notions were held by Aymara-speakers of the Lake Titicaca region, who also distinguished among three worlds, also called pacha(s): 'alakh pacha', 'aca pacha', and 'mancca pacha', again literally meaning 'the world above,' this world,' and 'the world below.'" (Sullivan, p.56)

It could very well be that the word Palagi was a conceptual application of an indigenous pre-Columbian astronomical idea. Some may attribute the word palagi to the Europeans massive cannons, but I haven't read of any first encounter, between Samoans and Europeans, where cannons were shot. Sullivan explained that the event in the Inca prophecy is based on the junction of the planets Saturn and Jupiter - which coincides with the time of the Inca "doom" prophecy. This, I believe, was the basis for the insinuation when white Europeans were first seen in Samoa and Peru.

20. Maliu maia

"In the pre-Columbian Andes, the Milky Way was styled a river ('mayu') or, less frequently, a road (nan). It was the route traveled by both the gods and the spirits of the dead in order to reach the world of the living." (Sullivan, p.49)

The Samoan phrase "maliu mai" beacons someone to come your way. It's also a word for 'death' and 'to travel on a journey.' The Samoan word "nana'i" is walking with purpose.

21. Iuta, Oti

" ...the word for a world-ending cataclysm, 'pachakuti', and a synonym listed by Holquin, pachaticra. The word 'kuti' means variously "to return, or turn back, whence one come"... (Sallivan, p.305)

The root for the Samoan words 'iuta' (inland or moutain area), and 'oti' (dead), could have originated from the language of the Andean astronomers. In some North American tribes (Ute of Utah for example), the word 'uta' also refers to moutainous areas.

22. Uta (load/cargo/burden)

"The word hucha has several meanings, one of which is "sin," preferred by Duviols, another "business," as in "affairs," preferred by Zuidema. (Sullivan, p.308)

...an image of a goddess carrying a burden must represent 'cuch(u)', the Yucatec for 'burden'. The unknown sign must then be 'chu'. So he proceeded. The last syllable of 'burden', chu, he found represented the first syllable of 'chu-ka-ah', 'captured'... (David Drew, The Lost Chronicles Of The Maya Kings, p.165)

The Samoan word "uta" means a "load" or "burden" to carry.

23. Tupu, Ali'i

"Manco Capac carried with him a scepter of gold, called 'tupayauri' by Pachakuti Yamqui, the same wooden staff, now miraculously transformed, that was given to Manco's father by Wiraqocha before the child's birth" (Sullivan, p.125) The tupayauri, defined by Holquin as "the royal sceptre, staff, royal insignia of the Inca," was the symbol of Imperial authority among the historical Incas. Tupa means royal in Quechua, while yauri is the Aymara word for copper. (p.127)

The Samoan words "tupu" (king) and "auro" (gold) could have originated from the Incas word "tupayauri", as well as the Polynesian words "ali'i" and "ariki." The staff also symbolizes authority in Samoan traditions.

24. Pupuna

"First he fashioned all the villages. Just by speaking he made all the fields and finished the terraces with walls of fine masonry. As for the irrigation canals, he channeled them out from their sources just by tossing down a flower of a reed called 'pupuna'." (Sullivan, p.220)

The Samoan word "pupuna" means "to bubble as water, to boil, to spring."

25. Taula

"'Tauna'. Staff, pillar, post, architectural pier." (Sullivan, p.233)

Could this Quechua word be the source for the Samoan taula (to anchor)?

26. Tama

"But what does 'camay' means? ...it labels a llama-shaped constellation [i.e., the black-cloud celestial Llama] the 'camac' (agentive form, 'camay-er') of llamas. On descending to earth, this constellation infuses a powerful generative essense of llama vitality, which causes earthly llamas to flourish. All things have their vitalizing prototypes or 'camac', including human groups; the 'camac' of a human group is usually its 'huaca' ['waka'] of origin." (Sullivan, The Secret of the Incas, p.239)

"Tama" is boy, and "teine" is girl in Samoan. It's common in the Samoan language to refer to a son as "tamatama," and daughter as "tamateine." The Samoan "tama," therefore, is a prefix that denotes progeny.

27. Io

"Maui' was thirsty through his labour, and called to a bird, tieke (saddle-back) to bring him water; but the bird took no notice, and Maui' seized it and flung it from him. Now where he touched its back the feathers were all singed with the heat of his hand, and to this day the bird bears the mark of the displeasure of Maui'. He called a hihi (stitch-bird); but it disregarded his call, and Maui' cast it into the flames; and ever since this bird has been timid, and its breast has borne a yellow hue as of fire. The toutouwai (robin) next disregarded his wishes, so he set a white mark at the root of its bill. The tuneful kokako (Maori crow) flew by, and hearing Maui' call for water it brought it in its ears. As a reward Maui' pulled its legs, so that they were long, as they remain to this day." (Andersen, Myths and Legends of the Polynesians, p.200)

This Polynesian story is a typical classic hero myth similar to a Native American myth where its hero extended daylight. By lassoing the sun, Maui slowed the sun down so people can have more daylight to work in. The reference to the "four" birds resembles the way Native Americans use the number "four" in their myths. In the Maori version of the legend of Maui (Maui Ti'iti'i-a-Talaga in Samoa), the hero after defeating the Sun sought water from several birds. The crow was the only bird that offered him water, so Maui made its legs longer - Saturn's ring might appear that way to the author. I could see from the legend of Maui that the other birds represent the other planets. If my thought on this is correct, than it's astonishing to see the relationship between the mentioning of each bird in the story to the location of each planet from the Sun. The story started from the point when Maui defeated the Sun and moved outward, starting from the planet Venus and ending with Saturn.

The Samoan "Iao" (Wattled Honeyeater) is a very noisy and conspicuously visible bird. I think that the word Iao is the root for the Samoan word "I'o", which means plant root, to cause, beginning, perching and pinnacle of a house. It might also be the root for "I'oga" (the ending). It's very likely that Iao was the Samoan name for the planet Jupiter in times past - similar to the Hawaiians. The Samoan "Io" clearly indicates something of superior nature. The Samoan word "atua" (god), using information from Dr. Sullivan's book "The Secret of the Incas", is the name for the planet Saturn. I believe that "Atua" and "Iao" are Polynesian deities connected with the planets Saturn and Jupiter respectively.

In his article "Calendar Animals and Deities," (David) Kelly discusses the similarities between calendar lists from Eurasia, Polynesia, and Mesoamerican... Filo, which means "twist, thread," is the name of the Polynesian god of thieves, and Maori mythology make him the twin brother of Hua. In Samoa, Filo is a name given to Castor (one of the stars of the constellation of the Twins or Gemini) and among the Maoris Whiro (from Filo) was the name applied to the planet Mercury. The Greeks applied the name Apollo both to the planet Mercury and to the star Castor, while the Roman Mercurius, god of thieves, was also god of the planet Mecury. (Sullivan, The Secret of the Incas, p.184)

"...Venus, a planet closely associated with war in Maya culture." (Martin Brennan, The Hidden Maya, p.50)

"The second glyph is his nominal is Chak Ek, Great Star or Venus, implying that he is a harbinger of the Sun. His way is the moan, the horned screech owl..." (Martin Brennan, The Hidden Maya, p.176)

"Both myths project the notion of the 'destabilization' of the Milky Way through the imagery of the quail's ungainly flight. But whereas the Andean version capitalizes on the comic potential of the "lluthu", the Aztec version is relentless in its projection of the aura of doom." (Sullivan, p.276)

Twelve Alligator now holds the staff of Venus, the Morning Star, the Bringer of Dawn. The possession of such objects confers status, authority, and the right to rule. (Brennan, p. 67)

I'm willing to propose that the Samoan name for the planet Venus was "Lulu". Lulu is the word for both earthquake and owl. The owl is the symbol of Lefanoga, a war-god of Samoa. The other Samoan god associated with earthquakes is Mafui'e, who legends say a local hero wrestled the secret of fire making from. Could the word "moan" be the root for "moa", the Samoan word for chicken? In reading what's been said about the importance of Venus in Mesoamerican traditions, I was impressed with the parallels of those traditions to those of the Middle East. A comment found in William Sullivan's book provides a reasonable insight into a Polynesian name for the planet Mercury - "Filo."

Legend of Maui and Possible Planetary Reference

Birds in the Maui Legend	Bird represents (?)	Polynesian Name (?)	Native American
-	Mercury	Filo	catu illa
tieke (saddle-back)	Venus	Lulu	chasca coyllur
hihi (stitch-bird)	Mars	-	aucayoc
toutouwai (robin)	Jupiter	Iao	pirua
kokako (Maori crow)	Saturn	Atua	haucha

28. Uo

Does the Samoan "uo" (friend) has an origin in the Mayan "Hero Twins" myth?

"Uo, the frog in 1B, is the ally of the Hero Twins and humankind and represents the Uinal, the count of twenty days." (Martin Brennan, The Hidden Maya, p.116)

29. Aa

The Samoan word 'aa' means 'root,' 'to come from,' and 'kick.' It's conceivable that this word is rooted in Mesoamerican myths. According to the Samoan Creation myth, three objects prop up the world: the god Tui-te'e-lagi and the first two trees (Masoa and Teve). The three objects propping up the world and the three societal structure elements (three fono's) reveal how important the number three is to the Polynesians.

Concerning the Mayan creation myth, Brennan said - "an account of the Creation would not be complete without reference to the Oxib Xk'ub, 'the three hearth stones,' which were born or set up as the first act of Creation. It was Matt Looper, a student of Linda Schele, who first saw the stars in these stones. The Quiche Maya envision a triangle in the constellation Orion composed of the stars Alnitak, Saiph, and Rigel and representing the typical Maya kitchen fireplace. ... It is astonishing that these stars are found in the Maya constellation 'Aac,' the Turtle - what we call the belt of Orion - and that they were at zenith at dawn on the Maya day of Creation."

"In Yucatec the verb 'ah' means 'to dawn' and 'to create.' The Turtle God is a deity of rebirth who presides over and represents the 'a' sound, which, in the vast majority of the world's language, including our own, is the first or primal sound. The turtle's head denotes the 'a' sound in the 'ay-a' glyph introducing the P.S.S. on the vase, meaning, "It came into existence." (The Hidden Maya, Martin Brennan, pp.83-84)

30. Taeao, Ao'auli

It's possible that the Samoan words for morning (taeao) and afternoon (ao'auli) originated from Mesoamerican traditions. The following quote from Robert M. Carmack's book, "The Quiche Mayas of Utatlan", shows the words Teojil and ajwilitz.

"K'ij, the Sun, [was] the splendid god, husband of the Moon. Physically considered, it is the astral body that gives the idea of time. Theosophically, it is the God of the gods. In the morning it is call Teojil, Divinity. In the afternoon it is named Ajwilitz, for permitting night to come with its maleficent spirits. (De Leon, pp 45-46, quoted in "The Quiche Mayas of Utatlan", Robert M. Carmack, p.275)

31. Lulu

Is it possible that the Samoan word "lulu" (owl, or quake) has roots in Andean myths? The owl is the symbol of the Samoan war god Lefanoga, and it's also characteristic of bad omen in the Samoan culture. I previously made the suggestion that this word is a Polynesian name for the planet Venus.

"...the 'bad' brother lluthu, the Southern Coalsack, was a sociopathic character whose 'behavior' represented the subversion of customery norms...from the Age of the Warriors, to my knowledge the only Andean myth of pre-Columbian origin in which the partridge, lluthu, plays a significant role." (Sullivan, p.274)

Could this symbol unknowingly survived into modern time by the naming of Wednesday? These are the Samoan names for the week days:

Sunday	Aso Sa	Sacred day
Monday	Aso Gafua	First fruit day
Tuesday	Aso Lua	Second day
Wednesday	Aso Lulu	Lulu day?
Thursday	Aso Tofi	Tofi is a Samoanized Thurs
Friday	Aso Faraile	Faraile is a Samoanized Friday
Saturday	Aso Toana'i	Feast day

A search for the origin of the word Wednesday revealed something even more interesting. According to one source, the word Wednesday was inspired by the northern European pagan god Woden. Woden is related to the gods Wotan and Odin, associated with knowledge, war, and wisdom, and also associated with the planet Mercury.

32. Uma, Luma, and the "Hom" glyphs

"It is important to recognize that the Incas were quite well aware of the meaning of the Aymara word 'wira.' The precise spot mentioned by Molina as a pilgrimage stop of the Inca priests, and identified by Larrea as the 'divortium aquaram,' or continental divide, sloughing the two rivers at Vilcanota in opposite directions, was called 'uirauma.' In Quechua this would mean 'fathead.' In Aymara, where 'uma' means 'water,' it might be translated literally as 'tilted plane of waters' or, better, 'the roof of waters' or, best of all, 'watershed.'" (Sullivan, p109)

The Samoan words 'uma' (finish, done) and 'luma' (front, facing the sea) could be rooted in the above Andean myth. The word "uma" might also be a derivative of the Mayan word "hom", especially when we phonetically sound the characters.

Hom in Cholan and Yucatec means "to end up or finish" and its homophone means "to knock down or demolish buildings or hills." (Martin Brennan, The Hidden Maya, p.184)

33. The Moon Rises In The West

Polynesian legends refer to the "Horizon-of-the-Moon" (land lay where the moon comes up) as the West. In the Tahitian legend about Rata (Lata in Samoan), the heroic Rata went to save his mother and retrieve the head of his father from the evil Puna who lived in Hiti marama, the land where the moon rise. The west of Polynesia is where a people called the Hiti lived. It's amazing that the Polynesians knew this fact about the moon. The moon actually orbits the earth in a west to east direction. The fact that the Earth spins much faster than the eastward movement of the moon tricked us into thinking that the moon is moving towards the west.

34. Havaiki

Could Quiche be the mythical homeland of the Polynesians, Havaiki? That's just a question, folks.