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Easter Island,
also known as "Rapa Nui" and "Isla de Pascua" has long been the
subject of curiosity and speculation. How and why did its inhabitants
carve and transport the massive statues which surround the island?
What remains of this culture today, and what lessons can we learn
from their legacy?
Easter Island is
over 2,000 miles from the nearest population center, (Tahiti and
Chile), making it one of the most isolated places on Earth.
A triangle of
volcanic rock in the South Pacific - it is best known for the giant
stone monoliths, known as Moai, that dot the coastline. The early
settlers called the island
"Te Pito O Te Henua" (Navel of The World). Admiral Roggeveen, who
came upon the island on Easter Day in 1722, named it Easter Island.
Today, the land,
people and language are all referred to locally as Rapa Nui. There
has been much controversy and confusion concerning the origins of
the Easter Islanders. Thor Heyerdahl proposed that the people who
built the statues were of Peruvian descent, due to a similarity
between Rapa Nui and Incan stonework.
Some
have suggested that Easter Island is the remnant of a lost continent,
or the result of an extra-terrestrial influence . Archaeological
evidence, however, indicates discovery of the island by Polynesians
at about 400 AD - led, according to legend, by Hotu Matua. Upon
their arrival, an impressive and enigmatic culture began to develop.
In addition to the statues, the islanders possessed the Rongorongo
script; the only written language in Oceania. The island is also
home to many petroglyphs (rock carvings), as well as traditional
wood carvings, tapa (barkcloth) crafts, tattooing, string figures,
dance and music.
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| The population of Easter
Island reached its peak at perhaps more than 10,000, far exceeding
the capabilities of the small island's ecosystem. Resources
became scarce, and the once lush palm forests were destroyed
- cleared for agriculture and moving the massive stone Moai.
In this regard, Easter Island has become, for many, a metaphor
for ecological disaster. Thereafter, a thriving and advanced
social order began to decline into bloody civil war and, evidently,
cannibalism. |
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 Easter
Island (Rapa Nui) Lying
3700km west of the Chilean mainland, enigmatic Easter Island
is the world's most remote inhabited island. It is actually
more Polynesian than Chilean, though the presence of Pacific
Islanders in this isolated part of the world is as much
a mystery
as how their descendants managed to design and sculpt the
hundreds of colossal statues (moai) from hard volcanic basalt
- let alone transport them from the inland quarries to the
coast. This really is off the beaten track: you can sail
more than 1900km in any direction without sighting inhabited
land. Chile officially annexed the island in 1888 during
the period of expansion which followed the War of the Pacific.
Only about 2000 people live on the island, and nearly all
of them live in the town of Hanga Roa. The population is
70% Polynesian, with most of the remainder coming from the
Chilean mainland. The island is virtually an open-air national
park, and boasts 300 moais and related stonework.
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Eventually, all of the Moai
standing along the coast were torn down by the islanders themselves.
All of the statues now erected around the island are the result
of recent archaeological efforts. Contacts with western "civilization"
proved even more disastrous for the island population which, through
slavery and disease, had decreased to approximately 111 by the turn
of the century.
Following the annexation by
Chile in 1888, however, it has risen to more than 2,000, with other
Rapanui living in Chile, Tahiti and North America. Despite a growing
Chilean presence, the island's Polynesian identity is still quite
strong . Easter Island today, remains one of the most unique places
you will ever encounter; an open air museum showcasing a fascinating,
but unfortunately lost, culture. The Rapanui are among the friendliest
people you will ever meet, and the landscape is truly amazing -
with its volcanic craters, lava formations, beaches, brilliant blue
water, and archaeological sites
Click
on Tahiti to get more about the island
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