We are leaving Rapa Nui. That is how the indigenous people here call this small plot of land in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. In fact, that is how they refer to themselves.
I didn’t know the island’s or the people’s true name when we arrived. There is so much that was a mystery to me a week ago. And, although I feel I know more than I did, there is still much that is a mystery to me.
My three travel companions and I flew out of Santiago, Chile, headed for Easter Island. I was looking forward to the trip. I knew of the great monumental statues called “Moai,” of course. I had seen pictures of these unique sculptures since I was old enough to be aware that there are many strange and unusual objects scattered in exotic places around the world.
Now I was going to see them up close. Maybe I would learn something about them.
One thing I did know from my reading beforehand is there is much that is still not known about these colossal stone carvings. One of the biggest unanswered questions is how the people who carved them moved these giant monoliths many miles from what has been confirmed as the quarry to the long pedestals or “ahu” on which they sat.
When Dutch sailors first arrived in 1722 and asked how the moai got to their sites, the Rapa Nui told them statues had “walked” there. To this day, scientists still aren’t agreed on how the giants weighing many tons were transported to sites around the island, or how they were placed upright on the ahu.
Much of the history of the island is shrouded in mystery, as well. The Polynesians were quite the seafaring people and populated islands across the South Pacific reaching, according to some evidence, as far as the South American coast. The consensus is some of these sailors first came to the island between 300 to 1200 AD. Once established, the Rapa Nui developed a prosperous culture and a religion that included ancestor worship.
This may have been why the statuary was created. It is also possible the maoi were carved to honor chiefs and other important people of the tribes. But, as the scholars tend to say about much of this island, it is impossible to be certain. Our Rapa Nui guide, Tommy, told us that the maoi alway face toward the villages so as to keep watch over the people.
By the 1400s, two large tribes had developed which controlled the island. This led to eventual warfare and an anarchic collapse of the cultures. The maoi, which were a symbol of power or “mana,” were toppled during the fighting. Concurrent with this struggle, the island’s ecology changed drastically resulting in the extinction of 21 species of trees and all of the land birds. Over-harvesting, the introduction of the Polynesian rat, warfare and climate change have been suggested as reasons for this destruction of the culture.
By the time the Europeans arrived, the population had shrunk from 15,000 to less that 3,000.
Of course, the Europeans didn’t help matters as far as the Rapa Nui were concerned. Their history since that encounter with the West has been mostly one of exploitation, slavery and oppression. Chile in a fit of wannabe colonialism annexed Rapa Nui in 1888. I asked Tommy about that. He acknowledged that his papers say he is Chilean, but he considers himself first and foremost Rapa Nui. I suspect the 45 percent of today’s population that are Rapa Nui do, as well. They are a proud people.
So many mysteries still surround this tiny, island (63.2 square miles). How did the first people who wound up here even find the place? What is the truth of the statues? How and why did the ecology and economy collapse? Perhaps, most importantly, what does the future hold for the Rapa Nui?
