Category: Rapa Nui

We visited many sites on Rapa Nui over the last few days including Motu Nui, and Hanga Roa, the main town on Rapa Nui. The guides who took us over the past few days gave us an idea of the island’s history which complemented what we saw.

The first inhabitants of Rapa Nui populated the coast regions of the island, the rains across the island flowed down the volcanic shape making access to fresh water easy on the edges of the island. European explorers (who came much later) saw island natives in the ocean drinking what they thought was salt water but was in reality the less dense fresh water layer above the salt water. The islanders apparently started carving moai as soon as the island was inhabited as monuments to the gods they worshiped. Although there are a few basalt moai, most are made from compressed volcanic ash which is easy to carve but also makes them susceptible to erosion.

After many years religious practices changed from gods to honoring ancestor spirits, those who have passed who can understand the lives of Rapa Nui inhabitants and watch over them. The moai were quarried in Rano Rarakua, a volcanic crater then “walked” to their final location. If the moai did not make it then the ancestor it was to honor must not have been worthy. The moai were placed on an ahu or shrine that contains the remains of those who passed and final details were added. The monuments always faced the settlements they were to protect and there was competition among the inhabitants to see who could create the largest moai, the larger the moai the more important the ancestor. The ahu became the center of religious and political life.

Life became a bit harder on Rapa Nui, some of it was caused by man including some deforestation and the introduction of rodents which, having no predators, thrived on the island and consumed the coconuts from the palm trees that once were present here preventing the replenishment of the trees. Another cause was climate change to a cooler climate which the then native plants could not thrive in. Leadership and the old ways came under pressure.

The clans decided that a new way had to be found, a leader selected by gods not by man was needed. They became interested in the terns that returned every year to Motu Nui, a group of small islands off the southern coast. This was a tough journey yet the birds succeeded and this caused the islander to focus on the god of fertility Makemake. A yearly competition was created, an olympics for the islanders. The village of Orongo was established at Rano Kau on the south end of the island which viewed Motu Nui and was only occupied during the competition. From each clan a champion was selected, the competitors had to climb down the cliff, swim to Motu Nui and hunt for the first eggs of the season. This was as dangerous as it sounds, people fell, drowned or were killed by sharks. When an egg was found the contestant secured it to his head, swam back to the main island and presented it enabling his clan to rule the island for the next year. This helped bring balance to the island, be good, you could lose next year and be treated poorly. This competition was called Tangata manu or “bird-man” and lasted less than 150 years, ending in the 1860s. Curious outsiders asked surviving natives enough to understand this period, natives stated that years were not referred to by numbers but by the competition winners for that year. Natives would say I was born in the year <name> won the competition not I was born in 1855. Fascinating.

Contact with the outside was not kind to the natives, they were kidnapped for slavery and diseases were introduced that decimated the population. The population dropped to less than 200 people which caused the breakdown of the clans so the outsiders could be challenged. The island became united and became known as Rapa Nui.

FYI the drink company Red Bull became fascinated with the Birdman competition and decided to recreate it. Once they arrived on Rapa Nui and realized what was involved the idea was dropped.

Sydney says to her Rapa Nui is a cross between the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago in Iceland and Peru. What have we done to this girl…