Easter Island has a unique landscape with volcanic craters, lava formations, glowing blue water, beaches, low hills, livestock farms and many archaeological sites, most of which are devoted to the study of moai figures. They reach a height of 10 m. One of the figures, on the Anakena beach, was installed almost in its original position, and a memorial plaque was placed next to it in memory of the arrival of Thor Heyerdahl in 1955.
The rest of the figures are scattered around the island. Each of them has its own name. Poike is a statue with an open mouth, which is very loved by the locals. Ahu Tahai is another notable statue, with beautifully shaped eyes and a hairdo on top of her head. From here you can reach two of the many caves on the island - one of them seems to have been the center of religious ceremonies.
History of Easter Island
Sailors, when they first saw the island, were amazed by these colossal stone statues that lined the coast of the island. What kind of people were they capable of installing multi-ton stone giants? Why did they settle in such a secluded place? Where did the stone from which the sculptures are made come from?
The first settlers on the island were Polynesians in the 5th century BC. Their culture has survived to this day in the form of giant stone figures. (moai). The bearers of this culture were also called "long-eared", because it was customary for them to stretch their earlobes to the shoulders. In the XIV century. under the leadership of Hotu-Matu "and" short-eared ", adherents of the culture of" bird-men "landed on the island." By the end of the 17th century, they managed to destroy the "long-eared" natives, and their culture was lost. Only fragmentary information has been preserved about the ancient culture of Easter Island.
It is generally accepted that the leader of the tribe, on the eve of death, ordered to carve a moai in the tuff rock of the Rana-Raraku volcano - his own portrait in the form of a bird-man. After the death of the leader, moai were placed on ahu, i.e. in the sanctuary, and his gaze was fixed on the dwellings of the tribe. It was believed that in this way he was able to transfer strength and wisdom to the heirs, and at the same time protect them in a moment of trouble. Today, many moai (height 12 m, weighing several tons) restored and can be viewed. These are Tahai, Tongariki, Akivi, Hekii and Anakena - the place where Hotu-Matu landed.
In Orongo (Orongo), a place at the foot of the Ranu-Kau volcano, the first settlers built a sanctuary for the supreme deity Makemake and annually sacrificed to the bird-man. To do this, from the island of Motu Nui, located at a distance of 1 km, the first tern egg was delivered here, which was considered the incarnation of a deity. All local tribes participated in competitions for swimming speed, and the leader of the victorious tribe took the place of the bird-man.
At the foot of Rano Raraku volcano
His head and eyebrows were shaved, and his face was covered with black and red paint and settled in a special ritual dwelling. Thus, for a year he became the spiritual leader of all the tribes inhabiting the island. The warrior who won the competition, who brought victory to his leader, was not forgotten either - he was awarded with all kinds of gifts.
The inhabitants of Easter Island owned a script that is not fully deciphered. Small wooden tablets are covered with carved inscriptions. (gopdo gopdo) that have survived to this day. These tablets are in every house on the island, but none of the residents could really explain their meaning and purpose. Rongo-rongo no larger than 30-50 cm in size, the drawings on them depict animals, birds, plants and astronomical signs. Conventionally, the images can be divided into three themes: the first depict local gods, the second depict the actions of the islanders, including the crimes they committed, and the third are dedicated to the history of internecine wars. The islanders were also excellent portrait carvers, as the small church at Hanga Roa testifies. Here, ancient pagan beliefs merge with Christianity: a bird is certainly depicted above the heads of the saints.
According to legend, in 1400, a small handful of Polynesians, led by the leader Hotu Matua, reached an uninhabited island in the vast Pacific Ocean in their canoes. They named it Te-Pito-te-Khenua, "the navel of the earth." And Hotu Matua established several holy places along the coast. On the islands where he came from - perhaps the Marquesas, there was a custom to install moai, monuments to the leaders of the tribe in the form of monumental stone statues.
The idols - numbering 900 in their completed form - are over 10 m high and 4.5 m in circumference, and unfinished statues lie in the quarry, whose height should have been 22 m! Perhaps they were moved from place to place with the help of thick wooden rollers made from tree trunks that grew in the jungle.
The grandiose figures first plunged onto tree trunks, which served either as rollers or sledges. They were then slowly pushed through miles of dense jungle. To cope with such work, the efforts of more than one hundred people would be required.
In 1722, the first European landed on the island - the Dutch admiral Jacob Roggeveen. On this day, the Christian world celebrated Easter, hence the European name Rapa Nui.
Captain James Cook visited Easter Island in 1774 and found that most of the idols were down, and some were completely broken or showed signs of abuse. The island was practically uninhabited, and the miserable remnants of the once numerous tribe huddled in fear in some terrible caves. What happened? The islanders' explanations were jerky and contradictory. Archeology gave scientists more coherent information: soon after the departure of the Dutch expedition, a demographic catastrophe occurred on the island - overpopulation and famine. The cult of stone idols led to the fact that the forest on the island was reduced, respectively, reducing the sources of food. Several lean years in a row made the situation catastrophic. Bloody civil strife and cannibalism began. When Captain Cook arrived on the island, he counted only 4,000 inhabitants instead of the 20,000 reported by Roggeveen in 1722. But the worst was yet to come. In 1862, Peruvian soldiers landed on the island and took away 900 people as slaves. Later, part of the population was sent to Peru as slaves, and the rest also did not stay long on the island. By 1877, only 111 people remained on Easter Island. Later, part of the population was sent to Peru as slaves, and the rest also did not stay long on the island. In 1888, Chile annexed it to its territory. There was no self-government until 1966, when the islanders first elected their own president.
The eastern part of Easter Island, called Poike, was formed 2.5 million years ago as a result of a powerful volcanic eruption. After 1 million years, the southern part of the island, Ranu Kau, appeared, and 240 thousand years ago, Maunga Terevaka in the northeast, the highest island mountain (509 m).
On Easter Island there is a settlement of Hanga Roa, where most of the population lives. Their existence is provided mainly by tourism. There are various hotels and restaurants here, and the extremely friendly locals will make sure that your stay here is comfortable and unforgettable.
Since 1964, an airport has been operating on Easter Island, which has strengthened ties with the outside world. Every year, this mysterious piece of land is visited by at least 20,000 tourists. For the 3,800 people now living on the island, sheep farming, modeled after the end of the 19th century. is an important part of the economy.
When to come
The most suitable period for visiting Easter Island is from October to April, during this period the air temperature warms up to 22-30 ° C, and the water in the ocean - up to 20-23 ° C. It often rains from May to September, the weather is windy and cloudy, but it is still warm and the temperature fluctuates between 17 and 20 °C.
Easter Island beaches
The beaches of Easter Island are some of the best in Chile; in the summer, the water warms up well, so families with children often come here. Anakena Beach deserves special recommendation: a quiet bay, tall palm trees, sand that, when wet, takes on a pink tint, silent statues of formidable moai - all this conquers at first sight and makes you forget about time.
Tapati Rapa Nui Festival
If you find yourself on Easter Island at the end of January, be sure to visit the Tapati Rapa Nui folklore festival, which is a competition of dance and music ensembles. Both island teams and teams from Tahiti participate in the competition.
In addition, a Queen will be elected during the festival. Moreover, not only the contenders themselves, but also their relatives will fight for the title. The girl who will be the most pretty and whose relatives will be able to catch the most fish and weave the longest cloth will win.
Visiting attractions
Since 2011, Easter Island has introduced a new payment system for visiting attractions. Arriving on the island, each tourist will purchase a bracelet on his hand, which will give him the right to multiple visits to all the sights of the island. The exceptions are the Orongo ceremonial center and the Rano Raraku volcano, which can be viewed once. The authorities were forced to take such a non-standard step, since so far a large number of tourists have tried to evade paying for a visit. Now the situation with the "hares" must be resolved radically.
Wristbands can be purchased at Mataveri Airport, they are valid for five days and cost $21 for Chilean residents and $50 for foreign tourists. The bracelet can be transferred to another person.
Mysterious moai
With the phrase "Easter Island", the first thing that appears before your eyes is the rows of huge moai statues, their stern gazes turned into the distance. The creation and history of these frozen statues remained a mystery to scientists for a long time, even today many aspects continue to remain not fully clarified or controversial.
It is believed that the inhabitants of Easter Island made moai statues in honor of deceased relatives. (in another version - dead leaders) and installed on a special platform, which was called ahu and was nothing more than a burial place. Each clan had its own ahu. The islanders worshiped moai, and they gave them strength and protected their descendants from various disasters. The rite of worship of the moai looked like this: opposite the ahu, a fire was made, next to which the worshipers were placed on their haunches, with their faces down, they rhythmically raised and lowered their palms folded together.
To date, it is known that the statues were made in the quarry of the extinct volcano Ranu Raraku, unfinished moai were also found there, including the largest 21-meter El Gigante. On average, the height of the statues ranges from 3 to 5 m, statues of 10-12 m are less common. On the heads of some statues, you can see "caps" made of red rocks of the Puno Pao volcano - pukao. They were supposed to symbolize the typical hairstyle of the islanders.
Most of the scientific debate revolves around how the locals managed to transport these huge statues from the quarry to the ahu platforms. There are currently two main versions. According to one, the statues were brought to their destination by portage using various wooden rails, stops and other devices. As an argument in favor of this version, its defenders cite the fact that there are virtually no forest areas left on the island, all of which were used to roll statues. In the mid 50s. 20th century Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl, together with the descendants of the native tribe of the "long-eared", carried out an experiment on carving, transporting and installing a moai statue. The last "long-eared" showed scientists how their ancestors carved statues with stone hammers, then dragged the statue with a drag in a prone position, and, finally, using a simple mechanism consisting of stones and three lever logs, installed it on a platform. When scientists asked why they had not told about this before, the natives replied that no one had asked them about it before. According to another version (it was put forward by the Czech researcher Pavel Pavel) the statues were moved in a vertical position with the help of cables. With this method of transportation, the impression was created that the statues were “walking”. In 2012, a group of anthropologists during the experiment successfully proved the legitimacy of this version.
Heads and Tails: Easter Island
Data
- Name and Dimensions: Easter Island is also known as Rapa Nui. Its area is about 162.5 sq. km.
- Location: The island lies at 27°S, 109°W. Politically, it is considered a territory of Chile. The nearest inhabited land is Pitcairn Island, more than 2,000 km to the west. To Chile 3700 km, to Tahiti - 4000 km.
- Uniqueness: Fame for Easter Island brought its stone idols made from local volcanic tuff. More than 10 m high, they weigh more than 150 tons.
- UNESCO World Heritage List: The island was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995.
The natives who greeted the Dutch sailors on Easter Sunday 1722 seemed to have nothing in common with the gigantic statues of their island. A detailed geological analysis and new archaeological finds made it possible to unravel the mystery of these statues and learn about the tragic fate of the masons.
The island fell into disrepair, its stone sentries fell, and many of them drowned in the ocean. Only the miserable remnants of the mysterious army managed to rise with outside help.
Briefly about Easter Island
Easter Island, or Rapanui in the local dialect, is a tiny (165.5 sq km) piece of land lost in the Pacific Ocean halfway between Tahiti and Chile. It is the most isolated inhabited (about 2000 people) place in the world - the nearest town (about 50 people) 1900 km away, on Pitcairn Island, where in 1790 the rebellious Bounty team found shelter.
The coastline of Rapanui is adorned with hundreds of frowning idols - the natives call them "moai". Each is hewn from a single piece of volcanic rock; the height of some is almost 10 m. All the statues are made according to the same pattern: a long nose, drawn earlobes, a darkly compressed mouth and a protruding chin over a stocky torso with arms pressed to the sides and palms lying on the stomach.
Many "moai" are installed with astronomical accuracy. For example, in one group, all seven statues look at the point (photo on the left) where the sun sets on the evening of the equinox. More than a hundred idols lie in the quarry, not completely hewn or almost ready, and, apparently, waiting to be sent to their destination.
For more than 250 years, historians and archaeologists could not understand how and why, with a shortage of local resources, primitive islanders, completely cut off from the rest of the world, managed to process giant monoliths, drag them kilometers over rough terrain and put them vertically. Many more or less scientific theories have been proposed, and many experts believed that Rapanui was once inhabited by a highly developed people, possibly the bearer of American pre-Columbian culture, who died as a result of some kind of catastrophe.
To reveal the secret of the island allowed a detailed analysis of samples of its soil. The truth about what happened here can serve as a sobering lesson for the inhabitants of any corner of the planet.
Born sailors. Once upon a time, the Rapanui hunted dolphins from canoes hollowed out of palm trunks. However, the Dutch who discovered the island saw boats made of many fastened boards - there were no large trees left.
The history of the discovery of the island
April 5, on the first day of Easter 1722, three Dutch ships under the command of Captain Jacob Roggeveen stumbled in the Pacific Ocean on an island that was not marked on any map. When they anchored off its eastern shore, a few natives swam up to them in their boats. Roggeven was disappointed, Islanders' boats, he wrote: "bad and fragile ... with a light frame, sheathed with many small planks". The boats were flowing so hard, the rowers had to bail out water every now and then. The landscape of the island also did not warm the soul of the captain: "His desolate appearance suggests extreme poverty and barrenness".
The conflict of civilizations. The idols from Easter Island now adorn museums in Paris and London, but it was not easy to get these exhibits. The islanders knew each "moai" by name and did not want to part with any of them. When the French removed one of these statues in 1875, the crowd of natives had to be held back with rifle shots.
Despite the friendly behavior of the brightly painted natives, the Dutch went ashore, prepared for the worst, and lined up in a battle square under the astonished eyes of the owners, who had never seen other people, not to mention firearms.
Soon the visit was overshadowed by tragedy. One of the sailors fired. Then he claimed that he allegedly saw how the islanders raise stones and make threatening gestures. "Guests" on the orders of Roggeven opened fire, killing 10-12 hosts on the spot and injuring the same number. The islanders fled in horror, but then returned to the shore with fruits, vegetables and poultry - to propitiate the ferocious newcomers. Roggeven noted in his diary an almost bare landscape with rare bushes no higher than 3 m. On the island he named after Easter, only unusual statues (heads) standing along the coast on massive stone platforms ("ahu") were of interest.
At first, these idols shocked us. We could not understand how the islanders, who did not have strong ropes and a crowd of construction wood for the manufacture of mechanisms, nevertheless managed to erect statues (idols) at least 9 m high, moreover, quite voluminous.
Scientific approach. The French traveler Jean Francois La Perouse landed on Easter Island in 1786, accompanied by a chronicler, three naturalists, an astronomer and a physicist. As a result of 10 hours of research, he suggested that in the past the area was wooded.
Who were the Rapanui?
Humans settled Easter Island only around 400 AD. It is generally accepted that they sailed in huge boats from East Polynesia. Their language is close to the dialects of the inhabitants of the Hawaiian and Marquesas Islands. The ancient fishhooks and stone adzes of the Rapanui found during excavations are similar to the tools used by the Marquesas.
At first, European navigators met naked islanders, but by the 19th century they were weaving clothes themselves. However, family heirlooms were more valued than ancient crafts. Men sometimes wore headdresses made from the feathers of birds long extinct on the island. The women wove straw hats. Both of them pierced their ears and wore bone and wooden jewelry in them. As a result, the earlobes were pulled back and hung down almost to the shoulders.
Lost generations - found answers
In March 1774, the English captain James Cook discovered about 700 malnourished natives on Easter Island. He suggested that the local economy was badly damaged by the recent volcanic eruption: this was evidenced by many stone idols that collapsed from their platforms. Cook was convinced that they were carved out and placed along the coast by the distant ancestors of the current Rapanui.
“This time-consuming work clearly demonstrates the ingenuity and perseverance of those who lived here during the statue-making era. The current islanders are almost certainly not up to it, for they do not even repair the foundations of those that are about to collapse.
Scientists have only recently found answers to some of the mysteries of the moai. Analysis of pollen from sediments accumulated in the swamps of the island shows that it was once covered with dense forests, thickets of ferns and shrubs. All this was teeming with a variety of game.
Exploring the stratigraphic (and chronological) distribution of the finds, scientists found in the lower, most ancient layers the pollen of an endemic tree close to the wine palm, up to 26 m high and up to 1.8 m in diameter. Its long, straight, unbranched trunks could serve as excellent rollers for transportation of blocks weighing tens of tons. Also found was the pollen of the hauhau plant (triumfetta semi-three-lobed), from the bast of which ropes are made in Polynesia (and not only).
The fact that the ancient Rapanui people had enough food follows from DNA analysis of food remains on excavated dishes. The islanders grew bananas, sweet potatoes, sugar cane, taro, and yams.
The same botanical data demonstrate the slow but sure destruction of this idyll. Judging by the content of swamp sediments, by the year 800, the area of forests was declining. Wood pollen and fern spores are displaced from later layers by charcoal - evidence of forest fires. At the same time, lumberjacks were working more and more actively.
The scarcity of wood began to seriously affect the way of life of the islanders, especially their menu. The study of fossil garbage heaps shows that at one time the Rapanui people regularly ate dolphin meat. Obviously, they caught these animals floating in the open sea from large boats, hollowed out from thick palm trunks.
When there was no ship timber left, the Rapanui people lost their "ocean fleet", and with it dolphin meat and ocean fish. In 1786, the chronicler of the French expedition, La Perouse, recorded that in the sea the islanders mined only shellfish and crabs living in shallow water.
The end of the "moai"
Stone statues began to appear around the 10th century. They probably represent Polynesian gods or deified local leaders. According to the Rapanui legends, the supernatural power of "mana" raised the hewn idols, led them to the allotted place and allowed them to roam at night, guarding the peace of the makers. Perhaps the clans competed with each other, trying to carve out the "moai" larger and more beautiful, and also put it on a more massive platform than the competitors.
After 1500, statues were practically not made. Apparently, there were no trees left on the devastated island, which were necessary for their transportation and lifting. Since about the same time, palm pollen has not been found in swamp sediments, and dolphin bones are no longer thrown into garbage dumps. The local fauna is also changing. All local land birds and half of the sea birds are disappearing.
Food is getting worse, and the population, which once numbered about 7,000 people, is decreasing. Since 1805, the island has been suffering from raids by South American slave traders: they take away some of the natives, many of the remaining ones are ill with smallpox picked up from strangers. Only a few hundred Rapanui survive.
The inhabitants of Easter Island erected "moai", hoping to protect the spirits embodied in stone. Ironically, it was this monumental program that brought their land to an ecological disaster. And the idols rise as eerie monuments to thoughtless management and human recklessness.
Geographically, Easter Island is located in the eastern Pacific Ocean and is the furthest from the coast of Chile. There is not a single tree on the island, it is covered only with rare grass. There are also no rivers or lakes; rainwater accumulates in the craters of volcanoes. But once it was covered with a jungle in which life was in full swing. Where did the trees go, and with them the little "people of the jungle", flora and fauna? Everything was laid by the locals on the altar of their pride and rivalry. And it is directly connected with the main mystery of the island - huge stone idols.
The name of the island itself is already unusual. The island was first discovered in 1722 by Dutch sailors on the first day of Easter week. By the way, the inhabitants themselves call their island much more majestic: Te Pito-o-Te-Khenua, which means "The Navel of the Universe." There are also more modest names: Big Paddle and Staring at the Sky. The first thing that amazed the Dutch sailors who set foot on the island was a meeting with a completely white man, clearly of a European type. In addition, tattoos were widespread among the natives. They painted their bodies with great skill with various images of animals and birds. And this despite the fact that no living creatures could be found on the island, except for rats and lizards.
In addition to rock inscriptions, “kohau” have come down to us - special plates of shiny wood, covered with hieroglyphic writing. Engraving was done with a piece of obsidian or a sharp shark tooth. Using them, you can restore the course of events and find out what really happened on Easter Island.
The island was settled around 1200 by American Indians who got there by canoe. According to legend, there were only two canoes, but each could accommodate a large family. This type is known as "short-eared". Then followed the second wave of settlement of the island - no one knows how (most likely as a result of a shipwreck), there was a group of people with European features: fair skin, red or blond hair, narrow noses. Because of the habit of wearing massive earrings that pull off the lobes of the ears, the local tribe called them "long-eared". They brought with them their own culture, religion, as well as a lot of useful knowledge on construction, gardening, and agriculture. Realizing their privileged position, the whites seized power on the island, effectively enslaving the local population.
At first, both tribes coexisted peacefully. Food was plentiful, the jungle provided wood and palm leaves for building huts, tropical fruits for food. The ocean provided fish, shellfish and shells. But in such fertile conditions, the population of the island began to grow, and soon a war broke out for resources and territory. The island was too small, it could accommodate and feed only a few thousand people, and at that time the population already numbered about 15 thousand.
The "long-eared" tribe mastered the art of carving stone idols and jealously guarded their secret from the main population of the island. Because of this, the statues were surrounded by mystical horror and superstition. The statues were hewn out with stone hammers, and then dragged to the place of installation in a prone position with the help of a large number of people. In order to raise the statue to the pedestal, an ingenious device of stones and logs was used, which acted as levers.
In the language of the natives, the statues are called moai. All of them are monolithic, that is, they are carved from a single stone, more precisely, from compressed volcanic ash. The largest of them reaches a weight of 270 tons and a height of 20 meters. However, it is unfinished and is located in abandoned quarries. In total, there are a little less than 1000 statues on the island. All of them look inland, and only seven of them are installed on the coast and look at the sea. It is believed that they symbolize the first arrived white settlers who became the ancestors of the tribe. There are also about 400 moai left unfinished at the foot of the Rano Raraku volcano.
Almost all legends tell that the statues themselves came to the installation site. This led the researchers to the idea that the statues were still transported in an upright position. In 1986, a corresponding experiment was carried out by Czech scientists, which showed that a group of 17 people with the help of ropes could freely move a statue weighing 20 tons and in a standing position.
Deforestation is considered to be the main cause of ecosystem disruption on Easter Island. The wood was used to make canoes and simply burned for fuel. But mainly logs were used as sleds for transporting stone moai to their installation site. As a result, by 1600 the forests were completely destroyed. When there was nothing to build houses from, people moved to live in caves or tried to build unreliable thatched huts. Fishing has almost disappeared: there are no canoes, no nets that used to be woven from vines. The uncovered soil was severely eroded - washed away by rain and weathered - resulting in severely reduced crops. All animals and birds disappeared. The only source of meat remained chickens, which began to be valued very highly and guarded around the clock from thieves.
When food supplies began to run out and there was a threat of starvation, the "long-ears" decided to clear the island of stones in order to make more space for sowing grain. The "children of the gods" did not want to carry the stones on their own, and, as usual, they tried to make the "short-eared" ones work. However, exhausted by hunger and despair, the people refused, and an uprising broke out.
After a quick and bloody massacre, the only "white" was left alive, and the rest were killed and burned. Naturally, after this skirmish, the natives were eager to destroy the gods of the hated whites. They knocked down all the moai they could. The eyes made of coral were knocked out to the statues, stones were specially placed on the alleged place where the neck fell, so that the head would separate from the body. The most massive moai still remained standing in their places.
However, it was no longer possible to save the island. The population was seized with despair, and it began to gradually degrade. Brutal internecine wars began - in the end, what else to have fun for people who have lost culture and are limited in food? Slavery appeared on the island and cannibalism began to flourish.
The entire population of the island was divided into a dozen tribes that were in a state of continuous war. When the leader announced the beginning of the war, the natives painted their bodies black and at night, secretly prepared weapons, and attacked their enemy in the morning. In case of victory, a big feast was held, at which the main treat was the meat of the vanquished. Cannibalism existed there for a long time and was gradually eradicated with the arrival of Christian missionaries.
However, "guests from the mainland" brought with them not only good. Since the slave trade flourished in those days, the inhabitants of the island were stolen and taken away for sale. Information has been preserved that in 1808 the Americans forcibly brought natives to their ship and put them in chains. It was planned to use them for seal hunting. A few days later, the captured men were taken on deck and released from their chains. Many of them immediately jumped overboard, not realizing that they were far from their native land. Since they were excellent swimmers and divers from childhood, after a while the Americans gave up trying to catch them and set sail, leaving the natives to certain death on the high seas.
European governments managed to ban the slave trade and oblige the return of the inhabitants of Easter Island to their homeland. However, at the same time they caught the smallpox virus, and soon the epidemic claimed the lives of most people, especially the priests. With them died the hopes of restoring the culture and religion of the island. All together, this led to the fact that by 1877 only 111 people remained on the island. What drastic changes in the course of one century - from extreme overpopulation to the threat of complete extinction!
Today, the population of Easter Island is about 2000 people, but only a handful of them really belong to the indigenous tribe. Researchers have restored about 50 moai and returned them to their original ceremonial sites. Attempts are being made to restore green spaces, but so far no significant results have been achieved. In general, the history of Easter Island can be called the history of thoughtless consumption of resources, the history of human pride and greed. It makes sense to wonder if we are making the mistake of Easter Islanders right now by cutting down forests and increasing the ozone hole. The population is still growing, its needs are still increasing - will not the fate of our entire planet be the fate of a small island in the Pacific Ocean?
Easter Island- one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world, and largely due to isolation, the history of Rapa Nui is unique. There are many scientific hypotheses and conjectures regarding the time of the settlement of Rapa Nui, the racial affiliation of the locals, the causes of the death of a unique civilization, whose representatives built huge stone statues (moai) and knew writing (rongorongo), which has not yet been deciphered by linguists. With the discovery of the island in 1722 by the Dutch traveler Jacob Roggeveen and the appearance of the first Catholic missionaries, fundamental changes took place in the life of the Rapanui people: the hierarchical relations that existed in the past were forgotten, and the practice of cannibalism was stopped.
Settling time on Easter Island
Radiocarbon analysis data obtained by scientists Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo from the University of California (USA) during the study of eight samples of charcoal from Anakena indicate that the island of Rapa Nui was inhabited around 1200 AD. e., which is 400-800 years later than previously thought, and only 100 years before the trees began to disappear on the island.
According to the legends of the ancient Rapanui, collected by Sebastian Englert, Easter Island appeared thanks to the giant Walke, who with his staff destroyed a large country comparable to Khiva (the Polynesian name for the Marquesas Islands). The first settlers of Rapa Nui were Ngata Wake and Te Ohiro. They landed on an island near Te Rotomea and stopped at Vai Marama (the name of a small lake near Mataveri). Wake began to destroy the island again, and in order to stop the giant, Te Ohiro cast a spell, after which Wake's staff broke and the island was saved.
Having sailed to Easter Island, the scouts landed at Hanga-Tepa'u (Winapu Beach), and then went to the Rano Kao volcano, where Ku'uku'u landed yams. Then they began to circle the island to find a suitable place where the Ariki of Hotu-Matu'a could land. However, the Poike peninsula and Hanga Hoonu bay were not suitable for large canoes. At Hanga Hoonu Bay, they spotted a large sea turtle, which was actually a spirit that had been following them throughout their journey. The scouts decided to follow the turtle. So they reached Hiro-Moko (part of Anakena Bay), where the travelers decided to raise a turtle.
However, the travelers did not have time to sail away: after a two-month voyage of the ariki, Hotu-Matu’a had already approached three islands near Easter Island near the Rano Kao volcano in two canoes. At the island of Motu Nui, Ira and Raparenga explained to the leader that the island was unsuitable for life, but the Ariki nevertheless decided to land on it. Then the scouts told how to swim to Anakena Bay, which they found convenient for landing. Two canoes sailed in different directions to survey the entire island: Hotu-Matu'a sailed from the east, and Tuu Ko Iho and his wife Ariki sailed along the western coast of Rapa Nui. During the voyage, Ava Reipua gave birth to a son, who was named Tu'u Maheke. The king landed at Hiro-Moko, and the queen landed at Hanga-Hiro. Soon, houses were built on the shores of Anakena Bay, where the settlers lived.
The theory of American settlement of the island
In his works on Easter Island, the Norwegian traveler Thor Heyerdahl put forward a hypothesis according to which the islands of Polynesia were inhabited by American Indians. In his opinion, the migration of the population took place in two stages. The islands of Polynesia were originally settled in the middle of the 1st millennium AD. e. natives of Peru, who had fair skin, aquiline noses, thick beards. They contributed to the spread of the megalithic type of civilization in the Pacific Ocean, the most striking example of which was the Rapanui civilization.
After exploring Easter Island, Heyerdahl supported his hypothesis with several arguments. First, he argued that the construction technique of the Rapanui ahu and moai is similar to that of similar structures in the Andes. He found the greatest similarity between ahu Winapu on Rapa Nui and several buildings in Cusco that date back to the pre-Inca period. However, there are clear differences between them: the buildings in Cusco were built from solid polished stone, while on Easter Island ahu were built by facing with small stone plates of rough masonry.
Secondly, while studying the Rapa Nui script, Heyerdahl discovered the similarity of the graphic representation of signs in Rapa Nui with the writing of the Kuna Indian tribe, but at the same time he doubted a direct connection between these two languages. In his opinion, writing on Easter Island appeared in the 5th century, along with the Peruvian leader Hotu-Matu'a, with whom the first settlers of Rapa Nui arrived.
Thirdly, the Rapanui people built single and double canoes similar to Peruvian ones, wore feather headdresses, like the South American Indians, deformed the earlobe, placing large jewelry in it.
The theory of Melanesian settlement of the island
The legend of the short-eared and long-eared would not have aroused such great interest among the scientists of the 20th century if there had not been a widespread point of view among them about the racial difference between the Rapanui and the Polynesians and the similarity of the inhabitants of Easter Island with the Melanesians. This hypothesis, widely discussed in scientific circles in the middle of the 20th century, was put forward by the scientist José Imbelloni. However, there were many opponents of it, for example, this hypothesis was not supported by the anthropologist Harry Shapiro, who devoted a lot of time to studying the structure of the skulls of the ancient Rapanui and defended the point of view of the Polynesian origin of the inhabitants of Easter Island. The British anthropologist Henry Balfour identified several similarities between the Rapanui and Melanesian cultures. First, similar obsidian tips used by the ancient Rapanui have been found on the island of New Guinea. Secondly, the Rapanui figurines have the same aquiline nose as the Papuan ones. Thirdly, among the Melanesian peoples, deformity of the ears was also widespread. Fourthly, the cult of "birdmen" was widespread not only on Easter Island, but also on the Solomon Islands.
This is a volcanic island, its dimensions are relatively small, only 166 sq. km, and a height of 539 meters, located in the eastern Pacific Ocean. There are 70 extinct volcanoes on the island, which have never erupted in 1300 years since colonization. The island belongs to Chile (to the west to the Chilean city of Valparaiso 3600 km). Its population is only about 2,000 people, so they say that this is the most secluded corner of the world.
Ancient sculptors tried to economically use natural material and not to do extra work; for this, when marking future statues, they used the slightest cracks in the stone monolith and cut down the sculptures in whole series, and not one at a time.
Easter Island and its entire history is shrouded in mystery. Where did its first settlers come from? How did they even manage to find this island? Why did they make and install 600 multi-ton stone statues? In 1772, the island was discovered by the Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen, this happened on Easter Sunday, hence the name - Easter Island (in the language of the Polynesians, the island was called Rapanui).
What was the surprise of J. Roggeven when he discovered that three different races coexist peacefully here, blacks, redskins and completely white people. They were all welcoming and friendly to guests.
The natives worshiped a god they called Mac Mac. The researchers found carved letters made on wooden tablets. Most of them were burned by Europeans and it can be called a miracle that something survived. Researchers think that these may be statues of leaders deified by local residents after their death.
These tablets, they are called rongo-rongo, were written first from left to right, and then from right to left. For a long time, it was not possible to decipher the symbols printed on them, and only in 1996 in Russia it was possible to decipher all 4 surviving tablets.
But the most mysterious and fascinating discovery on Easter Island is the giant monolithic statues, called moai by the natives. Most of them reach a height of 10 meters (there are less than 4 meters) weighing 20 tons. Some reach even larger sizes, and their weight is simply fantastic, about 100 tons.
The idols have a very massive head, long ears, a heavy protruding chin and no legs at all. Few have caps of red stone on their heads (perhaps these are leaders deified after death in the form of statues).
To create moai, the builders used solidified lava. Moai were carved directly from the rock and held only on a thin bridge, from which, after processing was completed, the statue was chipped off and brought to the desired shape. The crater of the Rano Raraku volcano, as a visual aid, still keeps all the stages of processing stone giants. First, the general view of the statue was carved, then the craftsmen moved on to the contours of the face and hewed the front part of the torso.
Then the sides, ears, and finally, hands folded on the stomach with disproportionately long fingers were processed. After that, the excess rock was removed, and only the lower part of the back was still connected with the Rano Raraku volcano in a narrow strip. Then the statue from the crater, across the entire island, was moved to the place of installation (ahu).
How difficult it was to move the moai, says the fact that many of the statues were never installed on their ahu and a large number of them remained halfway to the goal. Sometimes this distance reached 25 kilometers. And now it remains a mystery how these statues, weighing more than a dozen tons, were actually moved. Givings say that the idols themselves went to the ocean shore.
Scientists conducted an experiment, a vertically installed statue was swung (tied with ropes to the top) and alternately pushed forward either the left or the right shoulder. For those who watched the work, it gave the impression that the statue was moving on its own. Nevertheless, simple calculations prove that a small population could not process, transfer and install even half of the finished statues.
Who are the inhabitants of Polynesia, from whom did they originate, how and when did they inhabit these islands? The mystery about the origin of the locals gave rise to many different hypotheses. And since there were no records of the history of Easter Island, but only oral stories, it is clear that with the change of generations, the culture and traditions of the islanders became more and more obscure.
It is believed that the local population of Polynesia came from the Caucasus, India, Scandinavia, Egypt and of course from Atlantis. The islanders themselves claim that 22 generations have passed since then, when the leader Hotu Matua brought the first settlers to this paradise, but no one on the island knows where.
Thor Heyerdahl put forward his hypothesis. He drew attention to the physical coincidences between the elongated shapes of the Easter statues with certain peoples. South America. Heyerdahl wrote that sweet potatoes, which grew in abundance on the island, could only have been brought from the Amazon. Having studied local legends and myths, he concluded that all the poetic epics of the Polynesians are somehow connected with the god Tiki (the son of the Sun), who once sailed here from the eastern mountainous country.
Then Heyerdahl began to study the South American culture of ancient times. In Peru, legends have survived that people of white gods came from the north, who installed giant statues of solid stone in the mountains. After a clash with the Incas at Lake Titicaca and a complete defeat, these people, led by the leader Kon-Tiki, which translates as the Sun-Tiki, disappeared forever.
In the legends, Kon-Tiki led the remnants of his people across the Pacific Ocean to the west. Thor Heyerdahl argued in his book that the Polynesians have an American past, but the scientific world did not pay due attention to his work. Is it possible to speak seriously about the resettlement of American Indians to Easter Island if they had no ships, but only primitive rafts!
Then Heyerdahl decided to actually prove that he was right, only the methods by which he wanted to achieve this were not at all scientific. He studied the records of Europeans who first came here and found many drawings describing Indian rafts, which were made of balsa wood, which was very strong, and weighed half as much as cork. According to ancient patterns, he decided to build a raft. The crew was picked up immediately: Jorik Hesselberg the artist, Herman Watzinger the engineer, the Swede Bengt Danielsson the ethnographer, Thorstein Raaby and Knut Haugland..
The raft was built and in 1947, on April 28, they sailed from the port of Callao, many people gathered to see off the brave sailors. It should be noted that few people believed in the successful end of this expedition, it was predicted an undoubted death. Kon-Tiki himself was depicted on a square sail - the great navigator, who (as Heyerdahl was sure) in 500 AD. discovered Polynesia.
An unusual vessel was named after him. For 101 days, the expedition members covered 8,000 km in the Pacific Ocean. On August 7, the raft reached the uninhabited island of Raroia, almost breaking on a coral reef at the very edge of the coast. After some time, the Polynesians sailed there on pirogues, they gave a worthy welcome to the brave sailors.
And a few days later, the travelers were picked up by the French schooner Tamara, which specially sailed after them from Tahiti. The great success of the expedition. Thor Heyerdahl proved that American Peruvians could reach the islands of Polynesia.
Obviously, the Polynesians first settled the island, or maybe they were Peruvians or even tribes from Southeast Asia. Professor A.Metro, who led the Franco-Belgian expedition to Easter Island in 1934-1935, came to the conclusion that the first settlers, led by the leader Hotu Matua, sailed here in the XII-XIII centuries.
S. Englert is sure that the settlement of the island began even at a later time, and the installation of giant idols began in the 17th century, almost on the eve of the discovery of this island by Europeans. There are many more different versions. For example, supporters of mystical sects are sure that the cradle of mankind is Lemuria, the mainland that died four million years ago and Easter can be part of it.
In scientific circles, even now they are arguing about the purpose of stone statues, why they threw ready-made moai in a quarry, who and why knocked down statues that were already standing, for which some were put on red hats? James Cook wrote that the moai were erected by the inhabitants in honor of the deceased rulers and leaders of the island, other researchers think that the giants of Easter marked the boundaries between sea and land in this way. This is a ritual "guard" that warns of any invasion from the sea. There were also those who thought that the statues served as boundary pillars marking the possessions of tribes, clans and clans.
Jacob Roggeveen thought statues were idols. In the ship's log, he wrote: “About their worship ... we only noticed that they make fire near the tall statues and squat next to them, bowing their heads. Then they fold their arms and swing them up and down. A basket of cobblestones was placed on the head of each statue, having been painted white beforehand.
There are statues on Easter Island that reach a height of 22 meters (the height of a 7-story building!) The head and neck of such statues are 7 meters high with a diameter of 3 meters, the body is 13 meters, the nose is a little more than 3 meters, and the weight is 50 tons! In the whole world, even in our time, there are not so many cranes that can handle such a mass!
