Day One:
Sunrise Moai
We began our terrific tour with a visit to the accent Moai statues at sunrise. By witnessing the sunrise illuminating the Moai statues, we delve into the historical significance that shrouds these memorable figures that meant so much to the community on this island. The massive size of these statues reaches around 10 meters on average. Built probably from the main query about a mile away, they are carved first from the rock and then either ‘walked’ or rolled on logs down to their resting place.
Walking Moai and the Platform: Explore the arrangement of the Moai statues, and notice how the statues are facing inland and not out at the water. In pre-history times, it has been passed on that the Moai represent the connection between the main god Mana – who gifted his powers down to the people through the statures. So each family or clan had a Moai, and they worshiped it.
Hillside with Moai – Unveiling History: Moving to the hillside where more Moai statues are carved, we dove into the history embedded in these stone figures. The volcano where the Moai quary is located is called Rano Raraku and it is here that 95% of all of the statues on the island were carved. It can be counted and seen that about 397 Moai are at Rano Raraku. The process of making the monuments is quite an extensive. First, an outline of the Moai is chiseled out, and then the nose, eyes, arms, and chest outlines are carved. Next, the slab of rock is somehow cut off the mother rock where it was first outlined, and somehow moved down the hill where the back side of the statue can be carved with tattoos or other artwork.
The Largest Moai – 21 Meters (about 70 feet): Encounter the grandeur of the largest Moai, still attached to the mother rock but carved at an impressive height of 21 meters (approximately 70 feet). That is quite the size! We do not know the final plans for this specific monument, but we do know that he is the largest they get! You can clearly see the outline of the statue, including the nose, chin, arms along the side, and the base. Many Moai were never removed from the mother rock, and it can be a fun game to try to find the outlines of partially carved statues. Can you fine the Moai?
Village On Cliff – Tradition and Sacrifice: One of our last afternoon spots was Orongo – the village at the cliff. Restored by Dr. Mulloy in 1976, you can see the form of the homes that would have been used by the Rapa-nui people. You can also see to one side of the camp the famous caldera of Rano Kau, and the ocean with a view towards the dot of an island Motu Nui, Motu Iti, and Muto Kao Kao just off the coast. This village is mostly famous for holding the long-standing tradition (not practiced any longer today, but was common when the ‘worship of the Moai’ went ‘out of style’) of the Tangata Manu or Birdman Ceremonies. This tradition concludes of each tribe on the island coming together for a cerimony. Each tribe has a cheif, and that cheif chooses a ‘servent’, or a young man who is strong and enduring to be his contestent. The gist of the contest is that the first man (who represents their tribe) who gets the special bird egg at one of the three small islands off the coast (about a 1-2 mile swim) is the winner, and when they get the egg, he is declared the winner and the rest of the guys have to help him get back to the main island. Why does this go on? Whu do they do this? Well… like I said before, there is the main god “Manu”, who sends his power down to the humans to give them strenght to get through the year and activites. Original and in the begigin the people of Rapa Nui worshiped him and got their share of the Manu through the Moai statues, but then times changed. It was beleived that the statues no longer held any power and the people thought they could just get the power to themselves – through the bird egg. So the bird egg’s, they beleived, hold the power of the Manu. After everyone is back and such, the egg is taken by the cheif of the winning trib and he goes into the moutains for six months in solitude. Sometimes also with his winning campion. Then for the last six months the cheif’s family comes to stay with him, but they can never be in the same room as him; and they had to stay a ‘safe’ distence from him. It reminds me kinda like having a… holy covid? Maybe thats not the right thing to say. I have no idea anymore.
Houses – Architecture and Lifestyle: The architecture of the houses on Rapa Nui is very interesting. I find it fascinating that the people with no modern tools at all, and barely anything back then, could build houses so sturdy that they lasted hundreds of years! I love the earth. But back to business: the houses are made, or stacked up of large slabs of basalt rock which can commonly be found on the island. The rock is stacked so that as the roof gets higher, the slabs balence on eachother and end up closing in at some point. the most interesting part of the houses on this island though is the fact that the doors are so small! You would have to crawl or lay flat on your stomach to get inside. We believe that the reason is that the people didn’t spend so much time inside as we do today. The majority of the Rapa Nui people’s time was spent outside because Easter Island’s climet is so temperet!
Day Two:
Cave Spelunking: One of the best parts of the tour was on day two when we went cave spelunking at Ana Te Pahu! If you do not know that term, Spelunking is when you explore a cave that goes deeper into the bedrock so it actually gets dark inside. Well anyway, the caves we explored were primarily used as sleeping quarters for the Rapa Nui people when storms came in or if the tribe was too big to build a house for. The caves are made of (naturally) hollowed out lava tubes from the islands volcano. Another use for the caves is protection for their gardens as well as a great source of fresh water. The enternce into the cave is large and steps have been man mad to allow visitors to easily enter.
The Largest Village on the Island: One of the most beautiful spots on the island is the ruins of the largest village dwellings on Rapa Nui. Here you can find the foundations of the biggest “boat house”, which is the style of house they used to make. A boat house is a regular house that looks like a boat flipped upside down! Here you can also find more crumbles of toppled Moai that used to stand on the great platforms. Sadly they were trampled on by British and other exotic trespassers or explorers and the ruins are not what the once were. But the foundational architecture for the houses is quit the sight and something emensly beacutiful to look at.