Easter Island 
| Easter Island |
|
|
The Easter Island or Rapa Nui is probably the most isolated place of the world. It is situated in the Pacific Ocean at 3700 km far from Santiago of Chile, which it depends elle dépend and at 4300 km far from Tahiti. The nearest land is Pitcairn situated at 2000 km. It covers 162,5 km² of the surface of the globe and counted 2000 inhabitants in 2004. |
|
The island is constituted of a dry land, stripped, dried up by the wind which prevents the vegetation from growing on a rich soil.
It taked its name at the time of its discovery by the Dutch explorer : the Admiral Jacob Roggeveen who saw it the evening of the Easter Sunday, the 5th April 1722, and counted then almost 4000 inhabitants. He names it Paasch Eylandt, literally : "Easter Island". It was annexed by the Spain in 1770 and became Chilean possession in 1888.
One supposes that the arrival of the first men on the island happened towards the year 500. These first discoverers would have come of Indonesia and the surrounding island, on board of frail crafts. Rapa Nui would have, according to the legends, been at first discovered by the seven sons of a defeated king, Hotu Matua, in search of a new land. Althought the little patch of ground was continuously beaten by the winds and the storms, the civilization developed on it, based on the fishing.
Divided into a dozen of tribes often in war, the island saw rise the first moais towards 1300, sign of the power of the tribes, which all owned an access to the sea. The tribe confrontations destroyed many statutes and killed lots of inhabitants, having for only advantage of avoiding the overpopulation. One found then on the island two peoples, mixed up among the tribes : the "long ears" and the "little ears". These latter, the slaves, cut statutes of wood.
Towards 1500 after Jesus Christ, the population reached the 10000 inhabitants, the island was overpopulated. With reference to a big revolt towards 1680, the "little ears" killed all the men assimilated to the "long ears". According to the legend, they left in life only one of these masters. It's here that most of moais was turned upside down. As often, the people long oppressed try to efface all trace of the presence of the oldest power. It would seem that the cannibalism was very spread on the island and that during a large part of the history. But contrary to the other palces of the globe where this practice took place, here it wasn't on account of religious rites or of whatever beliefs. The principal function here was to get food because the animals weren't very many. The population later on start to lower gradually on account of the different ecological changes of the island, particularly on account of the overpopulation.
|
|
There are about 300 moais (statutes) on the Easter Island, but this number can considerably vary in step with differents studies between those in land, those which aren't finished, the broken and those which are burried. Indeed, a good many of them have been put in land at the time of multiple tribal wars which have staked out the eventful history of this little island swept out by the winds and the streams. The raw material of these gigantic statutes which cover the island is above all the basalt which come from the volcano Rano Raraku which the crater is today overrun by the rushes. |
|
The moais althought being in basalt for the essential, we can note that their eyes were made of bone of sharks or sometimes of another vertebrates, and the pupils were made by an inlaid of coral or of obsidian. They were cut by means of axe "Toki", axes coarsely cut and burnish in basalt or in splinters of obsidian. Their height is generally situated between 4 and 8 meters, some going still a ten particularly one situated on the North coast of the Ahu Te Pito Kura. They all wore at the time of their construction a Pu Kao, the head-dress which they wear at the top of their head, we can translate this by the term "coil of hear". It generally weighs 1,5 tonnes. This head-dress wasn't cut in the same volcano, it's a red stone coming from of the West face of the island. It has the form of a cylindrical hat terminated by a button. They were cut on the spot then transported. |
|
All the springs, the biggest feast of the year took place. It was a competition where each participant must seizes an egg. It is preceded of a religious ceremony consecrated to the cult of the Bird-Man. It's the feast of "Tangata Manu". The objective of this feast is to désignate a second king on the island for a year. The competitor, an influential person is representated by a servant, the Hopu.
|
This one heads with the other competitors to the cliff of Orongo and goes to the island of the Bird-Man which is the most remote. They must bring the first egg of tern laid on the islet of Motu Nui. It is necessary for this, climb a cliff vertically of 180 meters and bring the egg on his head without obviously break it. |
|
|
|
During the competition, the population observes on the slope in front of the islet to wait the winner and watch right to the respect of the laws. The place of Orongo was situated on the part of the crest of the crater of the Rano Kao which overhangs the high black cliffs where is a village with houses dugout-shaped making in stone. |
The one who brings the egg to his master, take then the name of Bird-Man or in the local language the "Tangata Manu". He incarnates on Earth the God Maké Maké : the creator of the universe.
The master won a considerable power for a year : he became the second king of the island or got a title of military leader. When we know that the tribes regularly fought, we better can perceive the importance of this man.
|
Representation of the Bird-Man |
|
|
|
