A new manuscript of Pua Ara Hoa ‘a Rapu from the archives of William Mulloy, Part 1: Description of the manuscript

Abstract

A set of photographs and negatives of a previously unknown manuscript attributed to Pua Ara Hoa ‘a Rapu was found among Mulloy’s papers at the Biblioteca William Mulloy at the Museo Antropológico P. Sebastián Englert on Easter Island. The manuscript shows the same handwriting as that observed in other manuscripts attributed to Pua Ara Hoa. The text contains three sections – the list of rongorongo signs copied from the tracings of the Santiago staff published by Philippi, the list of place names composed by Mako‘i ‘a Hua Tava (one of the seven explorers to Rapa Nui), and the list of the kings from Hiva and Easter Island. The discovered manuscript ends with two pages filled with manutara drawings – a unique large-scale graphic design not observed in other manuscripts.