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November 12, 2009 Byline Goes HereEaster Island or Rapa Nui is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. The island is a special territory of Chile. Easter Island is famous for its monumental statues, called moai, created by the Rapanui people. It is a world heritage site with much of the island protected within the Rapa Nui National Park.
The history of Easter Island is rich and controversial. Its inhabitants have endured famines, epidemics, civil war, slave raids and colonialism, and the crash of their ecosystem; their population has declined precipitously more than once. They have left a cultural legacy that has brought them fame out of all proportion to their numbers.
Contemporary to the arrival of the first settlers of Hawaii, 300-400 CE was published as a date for initial settlement of Easter Island. Although some scholars argue for initial settlement of 700-800 CE, there is an on-going study by archaeologists Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo that states:
“Radiocarbon dates for the earliest stratigraphic layers at Anakena, Easter Island, and analysis of previous radiocarbon dates imply that the island was colonized late, about 1200 CE. Significant ecological impacts and major cultural investments in monumental architecture and statuary thus began soon after initial settlement."
According to legends recorded by the missionaries in the 1860s, the island originally had a very clear class system, with an ariki, king, wielding absolute god-like power ever since Hotu Matua had arrived on the island. The most visible element in the culture was production of massive moai that were part of the ancestral worship. With a strictly unified appearance, moai were erected along most of the coastline, indicating a homogeneous culture and centralized governance.
The most important myths are:
- Tangata manu: the Birdman cult which was practiced until the 1860s.
- Makemake: an important god.
- Aku-aku: the guardians of the sacred family caves.
- Moai-kava-kava: a ghost man of the Hanau epe (long-ears.)
- Hekai ite umu pare haonga takapu Hanau epe kai noruego sacred chant to appease the aku-aku before entering a family cave.
Rapa Nui is a volcanic island consisting of geologically recent igneous rock. The Rapa Nui people had a Stone Age civilization and made extensive use of several different types of indigenous stone:
- Basalt: a hard, dense stone used for toki and at least one of the moai.
- Obsidian: a volcanic glass with sharp edges used for sharp-edged implements such as Mataa and also for the black pupils of the eyes of the moai.
- Red Scoria from Puna Pau: a very light red stone used for the pukao and a few moai.
- Tuff from Rano Raraku: a much more easily worked rock than basalt, and was used for most of the moai.