Rapanui Question about the word "Manu"

[ptolemy18]

Hello everyone,

If a Rapanui speaker is checking these boards and has some spare time, I have a question about the Rapanui word "manu."

Almost all of the online sources tell me that "manu" means "bird," however, I have also seen a site (unfortunately, I can't find the site anymore....) which said that "manu" meant "birdman mask" or "mask" as well.

Is this accurate? Or is this a mistranslation of the word "manu"? Is that word "manu" ever simply used to mean "mask", maybe in association with the Birdman?

If anyone can help me with this, I would be really grateful. Thank you for your time!

Sincerely,

Jason

[ptolemy18]

A followup to my original question... I found the site which used the word "manu" to mean something like "mask." It's actually the Easter Island Heritage Foundation...

http://www.islandheritage.org/vg/vg22.html

They say that "manu ori" means ""ancestral mask"; kite; masked people". I don't know how this linguistically relates to "manu" meaning "bird." If anyone could tell me anything about this connection, I'd be extremely grateful!