Rongorongo!

January 19, 2004 2:04 PM

Rongorongo!Say it twice -- don't it feel nice? Most people think of the enigmatic maoi when they think of Easter Island but an equally vexing mystery is found in twenty-six wooden objects which contain pictographic symbols comprising...what? A language? A mnemomic system for recording stories now long forgotten? A resource for modern primitives' tribal tatoos? We could ask, but the authors are long-gone -- the victims of hard times -- leaving only a few tablets and a bunch of carved stone to puzzle over.
posted by Ogre Lawless (5 comments total)

very nice, thanks!
posted by moonbird at 3:11 PM on January 19, 2004

Oh, I thought you meant THIS Rongo.

Killed a few brain cells there myself, back about 20 years ago ... roadtrip, anyone?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 4:37 PM on January 19, 2004

ahhh yes, I've enjoyed the Rongo many a night myself. (Went to skool up the road a ways at IC.)

But a neat post. Heyerdahl's Aku-Aku had me very interested in Easter Island for a spell when I was a kid.
posted by Vidiot at 5:07 PM on January 19, 2004

This is interesting - thanks.
posted by plep at 3:25 AM on January 20, 2004

Interesting to note that the Yuri Knorozov that is mentioned in some of the pages is the same guy that essentially broke the code on the Maya writing system.
posted by Xoc at 5:22 PM on January 20, 2004