Rongorongo Text Catalogue

Chapter 5

Rongorongo Text Catalogue

 

KEIR MACHALLACH
Gringotts Ancient Artifacts Division

Anthropological-based Journal of Ancient Discoveries, Volume XLV, October 2007, Pages 69–92

In the following article, the whereabouts, status, and useful details of each Rongorongo text of the officially accepted 26 will be compiled. Each entry will follow the layout below. As a general note, the majority of information on each of these pieces has been compiled by Gringotts artifact testers either in Gringotts’ own facilities or in the museums where the pieces currently reside, though some supplemental history has been provided by other owners when necessary.

 

Name(s) of Text

Boustrophedon:

Fluting:

Damage:

Material:

Magical Designation:

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading:

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History:

Magical Uses (if applicable):

 

 

Name(s) of Text: This will include Barthel’s designation as well as any other applicable nicknames.

Boustrophedon: This section will be a simple yes/no classification, depending on whether or not the item is written in boustrophedon. Artifacts that do not have enough text on them to determine if they are boustrophedon or not (for example, illegible text or artifacts with only one line of text) will be classified as “No.”

Fluting: This section will be a simple yes/no classification, depending on whether or not the item is fluted.

Damage: This section will briefly describe the type and extent of damage done to the piece. This does not necessarily indicate a “damaged” reading, however, as nearly all pieces are damaged slightly. Because of the unpredictability of runic magic -- particularly Rongorongo -- this is not necessarily a sure predictor of a red reading, but is highly correlated.

Material: This section will detail the kind of wood the artifact is made of, though it will occasionally also specify the form, as with texts that are inscribed on oars or reimiro.

Magical Designation: The options for this section include: confirmed magical, presumed magical, and battle magic as well as interfered magical, damaged magical, and never magical. For some, no official designation can be given due to a lack of study or the inability to be certain. In this case, the entry will be listed as “unknown.”

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: This section is rather straightforward, and will either read amber, blue, red, or none. However, occasionally, there will be instances in which the piece was not tested with this spell either due to danger of magical backfire or issues with access, in which case “N/A” will be listed.

 

 

 

 

Text A // Tahua

Boustrophedon: Yes

Fluting: Yes

Damage: Small notches

Material: European ash on the flat of an oar

Magical Designation: Never magical

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: N/A

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: Based on its European base material, this piece was created after the blackbirding raids of 1862, though an exact date cannot be provided due to lack of testing. No Gringotts tester or similarly knowledgeable experts officially examined the piece, as it did not show any traces of magic and would have been written after the genocide of literate and magical persons on Rapa Nui. It is currently located in Rome, in the hands of Padri dei Sacri Cuori, a Muggle religious organization, after it was removed from public display at the Missionary Museum due to suspicion caused by other Gringotts investigations.

 

During said Gringotts investigation, despite magical intervention, Muggles remained suspicious and removed many pieces from the Missionary Museum to private storage of the aforementioned religious group, Padri dei Sacri Cuori. All four pieces were not able to be recovered, and therefore the team had to decide, in a very short time, which pieces to leave behind. Ultimately, this was one of the two which were abandoned.

 

 

Text B // Aruku Kurenga

Boustrophedon: Yes

Fluting: Yes

Damage: None

Material: Pacific rosewood tablet

Magical Designation: Confirmed magical
Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: Amber

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: Originally, this piece was housed along with texts A, C, and D in the Missionary Museum of Rome. However, personnel from Gringotts who were sent to test the objects under cover of museum staff were nearly discovered just after preliminary tests were being performed. This piece was one of the two able to be reclaimed and currently resides in the British Museum of Magic, though an excellent replica was left behind to replace the magical one.

 

Magical Uses: While not all of these uses have been confirmed, it is suspected that it is a compilation of three different variations of an enchantment of fertility. While it is proven to have this effect, there may also be others that have not yet been uncovered. Hopefully more will come to light as this piece is still commonly studied with the permission of the museum.

 

 

Text C // Mamari

Boustrophedon: Yes

Fluting: Yes

Damage: Minor dings and bumps

Material: Pacific rosewood tablet

Magical Designation: Presumed magical

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: N/A

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: Another of the four that were originally in the hands of the Missionary Museum, this tablet was one that had to be left behind. It tested positive for the initial magical traces and was intended to be replicated and replaced before being taken back to magical facilities for further testing. However, Muggle suspicions were roused and difficult choices were made as to which texts would be left behind. Sadly this artifact remains in Muggle hands, though we do have the exact replica that Gringotts personnel had meant to leave as a replacement. Because no further tests have been performed on the text due to being closeted away in the personal (and well-guarded) archives of Padri dei Sacri Cuori, we can only presume it has magical uses. 

 

Magical Uses: Based on the replica (also on display at the British Museum of Magic), the text is believed to serve a calendrical function, and cause certain events to happen at different times of the year, likely related to crop growth or ritual ceremonies. Interestingly, there is also the possibility that it contains enchantments meant to enslave prisoners of war taken from other tribes or regions of the island. 

 

 

Text D // Échancrée

Boustrophedon: Yes

Fluting: Yes

Damage: Severely notched in multiple places

Material: Pacific rosewood

Magical Designation: Damaged magical

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: Red

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: In addition to the notches, this text spent much time underwater as a fishing tool, which subjected it to more undignified treatment. It, like texts A, B, and C, was originally housed in the Missionary Museum. As soon as it was discovered to bear such large amounts of damage, testers abandoned assessing the tablet with magic, as backfires were possible. Because it was largely ignored by Gringotts personnel at the time, it was not housed in the private archives of Padri dei Sacri Cuori, and was instead moved to Tahiti. During the time of transfer, a team of magiarchaeologists posing as buyers intercepted the trade and replaced it with a replica due to growing concerns about the dangers that this text was likely to pose to unaware Muggles. The replica remains in Tahiti (where Muggles have made further reproductions), while the original resides at the British Museum of Magic.

 

Magical Uses: It is still uncertain what intent the piece had originally. Hypotheses range from spells to harness the power of lightning, to enabling some form of teleportation like rudimentary Portkeys. Regardless of what the original purpose of the artifact was, however, there is no doubt that it has certain less-than-ideal effects, which were even noticed by Muggle caretakers to some degree until their memories were modified. Unless carefully contained, prolonged exposure can bring about strange hallucinations as well as occasional reports of floor surfaces behaving like quicksand.

 

Text E // Keiti

Boustrophedon: Yes

Fluting: Yes

Damage: Small wormholes, did not affect integrity

Material: Toromiro

Magical Designation: Confirmed magical

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: Amber

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: Originally housed in a Catholic university in Leuven, Belgium, this piece attracted quite a lot of attention from magical scholars as it was prominently on display with less intensive protection than a museum. During the first Muggle World War -- specifically in the year 1914 -- the town of Leuven was shelled, looted, and ransacked, causing severe loss to the library’s stores. Amidst the chaos, an eccentric opportunist named Lennart Malmady took the chance to liberate text E from its display and destroy part of the library in order to cover his tracks, unbeknownst to the magical government of the time and place. As it was presumed destroyed in the chaos like hundreds of thousands of other texts, there were no consequences until he unceremoniously deposited it onto Gringotts’ own marble counters, declaring that he was “done with it” and that researchers could now have his prize. Understandably, he was promptly questioned, put to trial, and punished severely for various infractions including the potential to break the International Statute of Secrecy.

 

Magical Uses: As Malmady discovered over the course of many fishing trips, this tablet still has potent magical charms to affect fishing expeditions. Malmady documented (and testified) that fish were more abundant, larger, and much easier to catch whenever he brought the tablet along with him. This effect has since been confirmed in more controlled studies. 

 

In addition, it is hypothesized that the tablet includes an enchantment to increase impulsiveness, though this is much more difficult to quantify and study.

 

 

Text F // Chauvet Tablet

Boustrophedon: Yes

Fluting: No

Damage: Only a fragment of original, heavily rotted

Material: European oak

Magical Designation: Never magical

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: None

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: This incredibly damaged piece has traded hands many times. After what is presumed to be a long period of time lying on a damp, dirty cave floor, this piece was passed around before ending up in a small cultural exhibit in New York, USA. While details are not recorded on the specifics of the transfer, Madame Kahina Zabini obtained the piece either by purchase or via a gift sometime around 1925. With compensation, Madame Zabini allowed the piece to be examined by Gringotts testers only for them to find that it was never magical. The fragment is inscribed on European wood and the glyphs are blocky and crude, incongruous with the fine details of a normal Rongorongo inscription. It is not certain whether this was an intentional forgery or an attempt at resurgence, but since the piece was abandoned, the latter theory is favored. 

Text G // Small Santiago

Boustrophedon: Yes

Fluting: Yes

Damage: None

Material: Pacific rosewood

Magical Designation: Presumed magical

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: Blue

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: As will be mentioned in the history portion of text I, this text was one of the three presented to Chilean naval officers aboard the flagship O’Higgins in 1870. The sole wizard among the crew, one of the officers mentioned, was not aware of this piece’s magical ability as he was too engrossed in discovering more about text I. Additionally, while he did note the possibility that this text was magical as well, he was unable to bring all three of the artifacts with him when he departed, as that would undoubtedly arouse suspicion. Therefore, the magical officer made the choice to leave this, as well as text H, behind.

 

After the extensive study of text I by the Chilean magical government, they were eager to examine text G and H more thoroughly, as they were believed to also be magical. However, at the time, these two pieces were under the care of the Chilean navy, guarded well, and not displayed publicly. Therefore, when the two pieces -- text G and H -- were slated to be transferred from the navy in Valparaiso to the newly added archaeological wing of the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, a magianthropologist was sent to intercept the transfer. Both pieces were tested and as this showed magical ability, it was confiscated and replaced with a mundane copy. It is currently housed in the Museo de Utensilios Mágicos in Chile. 

 

Magical Uses: The blue reading that this piece gives off unfortunately obscures our ability to be certain that the tablet possesses activated script-based magic. However, the enchantment placed on the tablet has been confirmed to affect preservation, which is why it is in such good condition. Magiarchaeologists and curse-breakers are wary to dispel the charm, even if they knew how, as it could affect the integrity of the artifact. Still, the tablet is presumed to have runic magic as well. 

 

It is believed that the mundane level of the text functions as a genealogy, and that runic spells on the text include spells of longevity, luck, and prestige.

 

 

Text H // Great Santiago // Large Santiago

Boustrophedon: Yes

Fluting: Yes

Damage: Severely burnt and gouged in many places on one side

Material: Pacific rosewood

Magical Designation: Damaged magical

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: Red

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: Similar to the tale of text G, this tablet was presented to the officers aboard the O’Higgins in 1870 by French colonist Dutrou-Bornier. It was left behind originally, as text I was seen as more valuable. When this text and text G were intended to be moved from the care of the Chilean navy to the new wing of the country’s national history museum, the magianthropologist tested this text as well. Upon receiving a red reading and not immediately seeing any signs of dangerous magical effects, the woman opted to leave it in Muggle custody, as she was not able to create replicas for both texts, and the Chilean magical population was not entirely in favor of “robbing” their fellow citizens of all of their shared history. It was decided that the Muggles should be allowed to keep the original artifact. To this day, the artifact resides in the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural.

 

Magical Uses: While a bit unusual in terms of common Rapanui magic (script-based or otherwise), there is a part of this tablet that is largely held to have been able to detect favorable trees. Theorists think that this was how the islanders decided between using a tree for a spell tablet or for other uses like boat-building.

 

 

Text I // Santiago Staff 

Boustrophedon: No

Fluting: No

Damage: Some splitting at end and wear around top, but did not damage magical integrity

Material: Toromiro

Magical Designation: Battle magic

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: Amber

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: Like with texts G and H, French colonist Dutrou-Bornier brought this text to Chilean naval officers in 1870. While most of the officers there were non-magical, one Lieutenant Commander Machi was not, and was immediately intrigued by the French colonists’ claims that the staff had belonged to a tribal king (an ‘ariki). He examined the piece and was convinced of magical ability. The next time the ship went ashore, Machi left hurriedly with the piece in custody, heading straight for the local Ministerio de Magia.

 

For a period of a few years, the staff was studied extensively, revealing that there once were likely as many staffs as there were spell tablets, as well as attempting to uncover the piece’s magical secrets. Finally, six years later, the Chilean Ministerio de Magia decided that the knowledge of the piece was not inherently detrimental to non-magical folk nor magical society. An exact replica was made -- minus magical ability -- and was covertly given to the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural via the museum’s director at the time, Rudolf Philippi.

 

Magical Uses: From the inscriptions on the staff and the descriptions of the French colonists, most magianthropologists and historians assume that each ‘ariki of each tribe or clan had a similar staff with battle magic attuned specifically to them. A new staff was created for each ruler, not passed down from generation to generation. It is unknown what happened to the rest of these staffs, nor why this one was salvaged, but it has been put to much scrutiny, as it is the only surviving example of Rapa Nui battle magic. Many magihistorians feel that this staff is the key to discovering how, why, and when the Rapa Nui experienced the ecological and societal decline.

 

This particular staff appears to have numerous runic enchantments, with very few similarities to the other existing texts. Indeed, there is very little overlap at all, even on a runic level, as the staff bears many completely unique runes that are not present on other texts. Some scholars hypothesize that battle magic had a completely different group of signs, while others propose that some of these glyphs may have been unique to this staff and this staff only, implying that new signs were created for each ‘ariki. Neither of these theories has much concrete evidence, but the uses of the staff are much better supported. There is one line of glyphs suspected to enhance reaction time and speed and another to summon what are fondly referred to as “sea monsters” (a yet unidentified species of creature, likely magical, that would have fought with the king and reduced their opponent’s fleet of boats to splinters). Finally, there is one section repeated that is suspected to improve one’s sight and strength.

 

 

Text J // Large Reimiro

Boustrophedon: No

Fluting: No

Damage: Small wormholes that did not damage the magical integrity

Material: Toromiro

Magical Designation: Confirmed magical

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: Amber

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: What appears to be a very simple piece has a rather complicated history. How and when it was obtained from Easter Island can only be speculated. What we do know, however, is that it came into the hands of Preston Irwin, the captain of a small trading vessel in 1870. The vessel carried one passenger: a Muggle historian, Ewan Comrie, traveling to visit family. Comrie attempted to persuade the ship’s captain to part with the strange artifact hung above the ship’s navigation. Irwin turned him down frequently -- citing that it had brought him good fortune and safe travels on the seas -- but the voyage was quite long, and Comrie was persistent to the point of harassment. Finally, the man whittled a suitable replica from extra planks he had on board, hid the real thing, and sold the fake to Comrie just for a reprieve from the nagging. 

 

Deciding the wooden piece must be bad luck after all, when Irwin returned home next, he sold it to a good friend whom he knew dealt in strange artifacts. The man, in fact a wizard, purchased it from him and passed it on immediately to the British Museum of Magic, after confirming that the strange wooden piece had runic magic imbued on it. 

 

Magical Uses: Text J is a bit of an odd example, as it is the shortest authentic inscription ever recorded and presumably not the norm. Interestingly, Irwin was correct in his assumption, it appears that the two glyphs inscribed grant safety to travelers, though it is unsure if sea travel was part of the inscription’s original intent.

 

 

Text K // Small London Tablet

Boustrophedon: Yes

Fluting: No

Damage: One end is chipped

Material: Pacific rosewood

Magical Designation: Unknown

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: N/A 

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: This piece somehow made its way to a British curiosity shop and was purchased there before trading hands a few times. Some speculate that the piece changed owners frequently because of its obvious tampering, which would naturally make it seem less desirable. Whatever the case, in 1903 it was presented to the British Museum in London where it resides today. Since then, it has been examined by a Gringotts tester, but only in an informal sense through what can be observed via the naked eye. 

 

Reports have confirmed that the tablet was completely rewritten at one point, though it is possible that it once was original. However, if it was ever magical, that magic would either have been heavily corrupted or would have dissipated, due to the erasure of the original text and the fact that a new carving with a steel blade was done on top. Because of this heavy damage, Gringotts does not consider it worth the effort or risk to retrieve. 

 

Text L // Small Reimiro

Boustrophedon: No

Fluting: No

Damage: No

Material: Pacific rosewood

Magical Designation: Presumed magical

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: Blue

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: Originally, this piece belonged to a Catholic priest, William Sparrow Simpson. While it is unknown how the piece came to be in his hands, we do know how it left them. While William Sparrow was a godly man, his brother John was not. For a time, John came to stay with his brother in London, and during this time, lost text L to Helen Aswynn after betting it on an unlucky game of dice. 

 

Aswynn kept it in her own private collection until 1906, when she handed it over to British Museum of Magic where it currently resides today. 

 

Magical Uses: This reimiro is much smaller than the other in the corpus of 26, and would have been used by a woman. It has been imbued with some sort of spell, but many believe it also has runic magic applied as well. However, theorists are stumped as to what magical uses this piece might have, other than a charm for fertility.

 

 

Text M // Large Vienna Tablet // Great Vienna Tablet

Boustrophedon: Yes

Fluting: No

Damage: Only a fragment of original, heavily rotted

Material: Pacific rosewood

Magical Designation: Unknown

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: N/A

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: This sad fragment is one of three of exceedingly poor quality that were unearthed in an archaeological expedition and eventually ended up in the collection of the Museum für Völkerkunde in Vienna. Because of its poor quality due to rotting and burns, the text is nearly illegible, and if there was ever runic magic inscribed on it, it is certainly no longer viable. No Gringotts testers have been dispatched to inspect or retrieve it, as reports from witches and wizards who visited the exhibit were enough. What does remain of the glyphs appears to be congruent with authentic glyphs, but this is not a guarantee of magic, and therefore it is unknown whether this fits into the category of damaged magical or never magical (either for reasons of forgery or failed resurgence). 

 

Text N // Small Vienna Tablet

Boustrophedon: Yes

Fluting: No

Damage: Chipped and splintered at one end, some burn damage

Material: Yellowwood

Magical Designation: Unknown

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: N/A

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: This small tablet is one of three of exceedingly poor quality that were unearthed in an archaeological expedition and eventually ended up in the collection of the Museum für Völkerkunde in Vienna. It is heavily damaged, though certainly not as much as text M. However, the poor quality comes into play when discussing its method of inscription. Unlike all other Rongorongo texts, this tablet was inscribed with bone, though eventually also gone over with obsidian. Because of this irregularity and its irregular wood not typical in magical inscriptions, no attempts at further investigation or retrieval have been staged.

Text O // Berlin Tablet // The Boomerang

Boustrophedon: No

Fluting: Originally, yes

Damage: Weathered, burnt in multiple places, heavy rotting

Material: Driftwood

Magical Designation: Damaged magical

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: Red

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: The last of the three unearthed from the non-magical archaeological dig in 1882, this piece got separated from texts M and N early on. It was sent to the Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin, not Vienna, and has been much more thoroughly examined due to the fact that there was already a witch working there amongst the Muggles. Nyzette Adelmar, a magianthropologist of the day, took extensive notes on text O, though never alerted magical scholars of the find. It was only upon her death, in 1927, that her notes were bequeathed to the Brussels Museum of Ancient Magical History. From these notes it was determined that text O, otherwise known as “The Boomerang,” was a badly damaged piece that was once magical. Her notes indicated that it might have at one point been a staff, belonging to a great chief. She also noted that despite its red reading, it seemed to pose no tangible threat to her safety or that of the Muggles with whom she worked. 

 

Upon the discovery of her notes, many scholars clamored to have the piece relocated to a magical museum for further study, but because of its heavy damage and the unpopularity of that view by the general population, it remains in non-magical hands in Berlin, Germany.

 

Magical Uses: In her notes, Adelmar hypothesizes that the staff might have had some sort of Chilling Curse which would freeze the flesh off of bone, and potentially the less drastic power to bring rain.

 

 

Text P // Great St. Petersburg Tablet // Large St. Petersburg Tablet

Boustrophedon: Yes

Fluting: No

Damage: None

Material: Yellowwood

Magical Designation: Never magical

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: None

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: Housed in the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography in St. Petersburg, Russia, this piece is often the subject of scorn in some corners of magical academic society. In 1899, due to Muggle claims of this piece’s excellent quality, a Russian branch of Gringotts dispatched a team to attempt to collect, or at least extensively study, text P. The inspectors were placed among the museum staff with great effort and began the time-consuming process of studying the piece without alerting suspicions. Early on, no traces of magic were detected, but the investigators were urged on regardless. It wasn’t until the piece was tested with the Enchantment Revealing Charm and showed no result at all did the truth become obvious; the text is not magical at all. 

 

While the team of testers were recalled within the week, as Gringotts was embarrassed by the costly venture and loss of face, one of the testers notes that this was likely a potential attempt at recapturing magic by post-literate Rapa Nui. Both the wood choice and the fact that the entire tablet is copied from other works suggests this and it is readily accepted by the magiarchaeological community.

Text Q // Small St. Petersburg Tablet

Boustrophedon: Yes

Fluting: Yes

Damage: Some gouged areas and burn marks

Material: Pacific rosewood

Magical Designation: Damaged magical

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: Red

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: While studying text P, Gringotts testers dispatched to the Peter the Great museum in St. Petersburg were given another more minor goal: to identify the status of text Q. Fortunately, testers discovered this tablet’s damaged magical ability early on, and slated the piece for removal before they were taken off of the project. While this piece is no more damaged than many other Rongorongo texts, something went disastrously wrong after this inscription was gouged and burned, and was removed for the safety of the Muggles working in and visiting the museum. It was immediately transferred to an undisclosed magical facility for further study by Russian curse-breakers.

 

Magical Uses: While it is unknown what magical effects this piece was intended to have, we do know the effects it had because of its accidental damage. Testers reported an alarming amount of accidents involving the handling of this piece, both via anecdotes from prior staff members and from personal experience. Also, worryingly, the text seemed to magnify anger and negative feelings to great intensity. It is unknown if these two effects were related, but the combination was seen as very dangerous.

 

 

Text R // Small Washington Tablet // Atua Mata Riri

Boustrophedon: Yes

Fluting: No

Damage: Heavily burned and many holes for lashing

Material: Toromiro

Magical Designation: Damaged magical

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: Red

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: Both text R and text S are of the very small minority of texts that were actually inspected in recent history. Both this and text S were housed rather securely in the National Museum of Natural History in the Smithsonian Institution of the United States for decades before any qualified curse-breakers, magiarchaeologists, or other related professionals were able to examine the pieces in-depth.

 

In 1943, the then Secretary of the Smithsonian -- Charles Abbott -- not only allowed a team of researchers to examine texts R and S, but even switched their displays out so they could study them in person for as long as need be without raising any suspicion. Abbott, a Squib, had many friends in magihistorical circles and after much prompting, agreed to arrange for the pieces to be examined. As secrecy was unnecessary, preliminary testing passed quite quickly, and it became obvious that both pieces were irreparably damaged, though they were in fact, once magical. 

 

The pieces were found not to pose any danger, and therefore were left behind in the Smithsonian Institute, partially as a favor to Abbott for the help he had provided, though not before making excellent replicas so the glyphs themselves could be studied in more detail. The two original pieces still reside in Washington, D.C. today.

 

Magical Uses: The team of researchers who originally inspected this tablet hypothesized that it might have been able to heal minor injuries. Since the original inspection, others have hypothesized (based on the replicas made) that there may have been enchantments to relax or relieve anxiety placed on this tablet.

 

Text S // Large Washington Tablet // Great Washington Tablet

Boustrophedon: Yes

Fluting: No

Damage: Many holes for lashing, extensive burn damage

Material: Driftwood

Magical Designation: Damaged magical

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: N/A

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: Both text R and text S are of the very small minority of texts that were actually inspected in recent history. Both this and text S were housed rather securely in the National Museum of Natural History in the Smithsonian Institution of the United States for decades before any qualified curse-breakers, magiarchaeologists, or similar were able to examine the pieces in-depth.

 

In 1943, the then Secretary of the Smithsonian -- Charles Abbott -- not only allowed a team of researchers to examine texts R and S, but even switched their displays out so they could study them in person for as long as need be without raising any suspicion. Abbott, a Squib, had many friends in magihistorical circles and after much prompting, agreed to arrange for the pieces to be examined. As secrecy was unnecessary, preliminary testing passed quite quickly, and it became obvious that both pieces were irreparably damaged, though they were in fact, once magical. 

 

The pieces were found not to pose any danger, and therefore were left behind in the Smithsonian Institute, partially as a favor to Abbott for the help he had provided, though not before making excellent replicas so the glyphs themselves could be studied in more detail. The two original pieces still reside in Washington, D.C. today.

 

Magical Uses: Interestingly, it is believed that this large tablet acted as a kind of magical divinatory aid, and may have been used in rituals that harnessed the Inner Eye (that is, of course, until it was used later on as a part of a small fishing boat by natives). 

 

 

Text T // Honolulu 3629

Boustrophedon:Yes

Fluting: Unsure

Damage: Extensive rotting, burn marks, and wormholes; largely illegible; fragment of original piece

Material: Unknown

Magical Designation: Damaged magical

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: None

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: Text T is one of four pieces held in the Bernice P. Bishop Museum in Honolulu. In 1951, following the successful inspection of the pieces in the Smithsonian and a rise in the public popularity of these ventures, Gringotts dispatched a small team to investigate, particularly as this collection was one of the largest group of texts in one museum. 

 

In the limited amount of time they had to work, testers found that text T was damaged beyond salvaging and any traces of runic magic (if there were any) were completely obliterated. Because of its incredibly poor quality, a copy was not even made before they left the facility.

 

Text U // Honolulu 3628

Boustrophedon: No

Fluting: No

Damage: Extensive rotting, burn marks, and wormholes; largely illegible 

Material: Unknown

Magical Designation: Interfered magic

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: Red

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: While still another example of poor quality, text U is partially legible and still registered a red reading from the Enchantment Revealing Charm. Interestingly, the heavy rotting and burns on the artifact are not the only reason for the red reading. According to researchers, one of the sides of the text appears to have been “redone” in a larger, plain style, whereas the other side is in smaller, finer glyphs more indicative of the typical Rongorongo inscriptions. Partially so as not to return empty handed, and partially because there was not enough evidence to rule out the possibility of text U having dangerous or unpredictable effects, it was taken from the Bernice P. Bishop Museum in Honolulu, though its replica still remains. The original now resides in in the underground, though welcoming, exhibits of the twentieth (and magically exclusive) Smithsonian museum.

 

Magical Uses: With regards to the side that was not tampered with, there is some evidence to suggest that it could aid in transfigurations, particularly those of humans into their Animagi forms.

 

 

Text V // Honolulu Oar // Honolulu 3622

Boustrophedon: No

Fluting: No

Damage: One end is split; has wormholes and extensive fire damage

Material: European Ash

Magical Designation: Never magical

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: None

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: This text was another in a string of disappointments to the team dispatched to the Bernice P. Bishop Museum. Preliminary testing revealed this oar to be made of European ash, immediately discrediting it as an authentic Rongorongo magical artifact. A quick Enchantment Revealing Charm confirmed this piece to show no reading at all and it was left behind like texts T and W.

 

 

Text W // Honolulu 445

Boustrophedon: No

Fluting: No

Damage: Heavily rotted

Material: European Oak

Magical Designation: Unknown 

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: N/A

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: You will notice there is not even an image here, as this piece has not been displayed at its current location. When the Gringotts team was sent to inspect the piece they briefly glimpsed it and found it to be in much the same condition as texts F and T, and they noted it was made of non-native wood. Because of the large number of texts to examine and little time available, no further testing was done on this piece. It still resides in the Bernice P. Bishop Museum in Honolulu.

Text X // Birdman

Boustrophedon: No

Fluting: No

Damage: No

Material: Toromiro

Magical Designation: Unknown

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: N/A

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: A most unique piece, this text is actually a sort of anthropomorphic statue in the shape of a bird. There are several clusters of glyphs on this statue, though because they were not finished with a shark tooth, the symbols are quite faint. Because of its material, many witches and wizards in academic communities are eager to get their hands on the piece in order to study it further, but to no avail. The piece currently resides in the American Museum of Natural History of New York in the United States, and is likely to remain there.

 

Magical Uses: Though there is little proof other than conjecture and the faint glimpses of glyphs one can get through museum glass, a few magiarchaeologists have posed theories that the bird might be some sort of totem to aid in Animagi transformations, or general enhance mental acuity.

 

 

 

Text Y // Paris Snuff Box // La Tabatière

Boustrophedon: Yes

Fluting: No

Damage: Cut up into pieces

Material: Pacific rosewood

Magical Designation: Unknown

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: N/A

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: Perhaps one of the magiarchaeological world’s greatest tragedies -- apart from Wallis Budge’s dismemberment of the Papyrus of Ani -- the Paris Snuff Box is, in fact, made of a ruined Rongorongo tablet. The argument over whether the piece was ever magical to begin with is hotly debated, as the glyphs seem to have been carved with a steel blade, and are not terribly delicate. However, the shapes are correct and the material is right. 

 

Regardless, the two groups agree that the piece certainly can no longer be magical due to the fact that it was hacked to pieces and rearranged to create a small box. Because of this, there have been no attempts to study or secure it from Muggles and it resides in the Musée de l'Homme in Paris, France.

Text Z // Poike

Boustrophedon: No

Fluting: No

Damage: Badly cracked

Material: Toromiro

Magical Designation: Interfered magical

Enchantment Revealing Charm Reading: N/A

 

Whereabouts, Provenance, and History: Just a year after its discovery in 1937, this piece was donated to the Chilean Museo Nacional de Historia Natural in Santiago, the same place where text H and replicas of text G and I are housed. However, because of the pre-existing history with that museum and the fact that multiple pieces had already been intercepted or taken from it, there was an initial hesitance to send any testers to examine text Z. Without any formal examinations, some scholars took it upon themselves to visit the exhibit and report back with their findings, which only served to deter further investigation.

 

Text Z appears, for all intents and purposes, to be a forgery, as the glyphs are not arranged in boustrophedon, a necessary characteristic of true Rongorongo. It was completely discounted until the late 1980s, when another visitor noticed that at certain angles (and with magically enhanced photos), it was possible to detect another layer of faint, nearly erased text. The magical community is currently of the opinion that the text was originally magical, particularly due to the fact that it was made on toromiro wood, but since the true inscription is too faint to read, there would be no magical traces left.