Articles

GÁLIK, Marián: Mao Dun and Nietzche: from the Beginning to the End (1917-1979), p. 117
BIERBACH, Annette – Cain, Horst: Language Command, Linguistics and Philology, p. 148
DIETRICH, Michael H.: ”Kleine Augen” auf großer Fahrt. Zur Saternnavigation in Rongorongo (Teil III.), p.164
KRUPA, Viktor: Verbal Markers of Tense in Marquesan, p. 191
MAGDOLEN, Dušan: Thoth or Re-Harakhti?, p.202
DROZDÍKOVÁ, Jarmila: In Search of a Jewish Identity: the Case of the Falashas, p.206

B o o k R e v i e w s

LYNCH, John: Pacific Languages. An Introduction. By Viktor Krupa, p.223
ALIEVA, N.F.: Tipologicheskie aspekty indoneziiskoi grammatiki. Analitizm i sintetizm. Possessivnost. By Viktor Krupa, p.226
DABRINGHAUS, S. – PTAK, R. (Eds:): China and Her Heighbours. Borders, Vision fo the Other, Foreign Policy 10th to 19th Century. By Martin Slobodník, p.227
SHU-HUI WU: Die Eroberung von Qinghai unter Berücksichtigung von Tibet und Khams
1717-1727. Anhand der Throneingaben des Großfeldherrn Nian Gengyao. By Martin Slobodník, p.230
SCHMIDT-GLINTZER, H.: China – Vielvölkerreich und Einheitsstaat. Von den Anfängen bis heute. By Martin Slobodník, p. 231

ABSTRACTS

MAO DUN AND NIETZSCHE: FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END (1917-1979)

Marián GÁLIK
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia

The aim of this study is to point out the history of Mao Dun’s relation to Nietzsche on the basis of his essays, translations and other foreign and Chinese intellectuals, from the beginning of his critical career as a young Chinese man of letters during World War I up to the end of 1970s, two years sbefore his death.

LANGUAGE COMMAND, LINGUISTICS AND PHILOLOGY

Anette BIERBACH and Horst CAIN,
Museum für Völkerkunde, Abteilung Südsee,
Arnimallee 27, 14195 Berlin, Germany

Stimulated by recent publications this short article proposes to strengthen the awareness and criticize disregard of the fact that language command, however perfect and although an important cognitive factor in studying ideological systems, is a useful, but not a sufficient prerequisite for adequate analyses of ideological concepts. Moreover, its scholarly usefulness is only given, if the speaker of a patticular language speaks it consciously and if command of a language is combined wwith linguistic and philological competence. Attempts by an author whose mother tongue is Tahitian, to analyse a numbver of key Tahitian religious terms, are dealt with in a critical and ironic way. Tit is shown that the attempts blatantly fail to fulfil the required linguistic and philological competence. They are only caricatures of scholarly analyses. This kind of would-be scholarship only results in would-be results which never enlighten anyone but dim the light might have dawned on one or another here and there. Hoc erat demonstrandum.

„KLEINE AUGEN ” AUF GROßER FAHRT
Zur Sternnavigation in Rongorongo
(Teil III.)

Michael H.DIETRICH
Stitzenburgstraße 17, D-70182 Stuttgert, Germany

“Little Eyes“ – on a Big Trip
Star Navigation as Rongorongo Inscriptions

An attempt is made here to prove that rongorongo does not reproduce coherent texts, creation chants, rituals, etc., as has bseen conjectured so far. All sings are symbols of stars and planets, quaters, winds, the moon, the guiding stars, etc.
The new endeavour to analyse the rongorongo signs is based on the accessible astronomical knowledge of Micronesia and Polynesia. The body of rongorongo signs consists of tropical descriptions of single stars, palnets, zodiacal signs and other constellations. What has been registrered are particular nights and, on the smaller tablets, general data on astronomical itineraries. The all in all about 12,000 rongorongo signs convey exclusively instructions for sidereal navigation within the Pacific.
This article deals with the signs which are supposed to represent the Pleiades (matariki) in rongorongo. More than hald of all signs can only be understood through the astronomical knowledge of the New Zealand Maori. The present approach, then, provides the possibility to explain nearly all existing rongorongo signs, which hitherto was held to be an illusion. This is the last part of the study.

VERBAL MARKERS OF TENSE IN MARQUESAN

Viktor KRUPA
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia

This paper is an attempt at a preliminary survey of Marquesan verbal particles that mark tense and aspect. They are discussed upon the background of analogous particles in closely related Polynesian languages.

THOTH OR RE-HARAKHTI ?

Dušan MAGDOLEN
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia

The article discusses the question of identity of the ancient Egyptian deity carved into relief on the sundial found at Gezer.

IN SEARCH OF A JEWISH IDENTITY: THE CASE OF THE FALASHAS

Jarmila DROZDÍKOVÁ
Záhrebská 6, 811 05 Bratislava, Slovakia

Considerable scholarly as well as popular attention has been concentrated on a tiny segment of the population of Ethiopia, the Judaistic Falashas. Much of this interesst is due to sentiments resulting from the Western religious and cultural environment. In the second hald of the 19th century the Falashas became the objects of missionary activities, both Protestant and Jewish, the latter trying to introduce them to rabbinical Judaism. Finally recognized as genuine Jews, and having fled their homes in the turmoils of the post-revolutionary Ethiopia, they were transported to Israel where they had to grapple with the complexities of modern Western society.