Peut-on se fonder sur le témoignage de Métoro pour déchiffrer les rongo-rongo ?

par Jacques GUY.

résumé

     L'examen des notes de Jaussen montre que Métoro, vraisemblablement enhardi par son succès à capter l'intérêt de l'évêque, a tenté de sonder ce qu'il prenait pour de la crédulité en lisant dans un désordre grandissant le verso des deux dernières tablettes qui lui ont été présentées. Jaussen semble s'en être aperçu et ne pas avoir été dupe. Barthel rapporte les faits sans pour autant tirer la conclusion qui s'impose : que Métoro ne savait rien et qu'il se moquait sans doute de Jaussen. C'est au contraire sur le témoignage fantaisiste de Métoro qu'il s'appuiera pour tenter de déchiffrer les rongo-rongo, ce qui le mènera à proposer des interprétations sans fondement. Les chants de Métoro, loin de constituer une clef possible, ne peuvent que retarder le déchiffrement des tablettes en égayant les chercheurs sur de fausses pistes.

summary

Can Metoro's Readings be Relied Upon for the Decipherment of the Rongorongo? Mgr Jaussen had four of the five tablets in his possession read by his informant, Metoro (tablets Aruku-Kurenga, Tahua, Mamari, and Keiti). Those readings are reproduced in Barthel 1958 :173-199 as they must have appeared in Jaussen's unpublished manuscript, and faithful tracings of the hieroglyphic texts are given in appendix. The direction of the reading is one of the very few things known beyond the shadow of a doubt. Comparing Metoro's readings against the hieroglyphic texts shows that he read the obverse of the last two tablets in an order incompatible with any understanding of their contents. Metoro read the lunar calendar of tablet Mamari last line first, and failed to recognize the very obvious pictographic sign for the full moon. Not only did he read every single line of the obverse of tablet Keiti backwards, from end to beginning, but he skipped the first six signs, and reinserted them after finishing reading the second line. Barthel was aware of those facts, but he clung to the belief that Metoro mastered the writing perfectly. This led him to ignore internal contrary evidence in his attempts at decipherment, thus when he proposed the reading ure (penis) for glyph 76 of his nomenclature, an interpretation unsupported by Metoro's other readings of that sign. Metoro knew nothing. Or, if he knew anything, he was careful not to reveal it. His chants, far from providing a key to the decipherment, are fantastic, misguiding interpretations which can only hinder attempts at analyzing and understanding the rongorongo.