Easter Island/Rapa Nui 2003
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Easter Island/Rapa Nui 2003 |
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Go topside to the or look at these |
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Background Easter Island, called Rapanui by the natives today, is at the southeastern end of the Polynesian Triangle, with Hawaii at the top and New Zealand at the southwest. At 171 square kilometers it is a little smaller than Lanai and a bit larger than Niihau in the Hawaiian chain. The population is around 3000 now, and may have been 10,000 at one time. It's location (3700 km from Chile, 2600 km from Mangareva, and 4000 km from Tahiti) makes it one of the most isolated inhabited areas in the world. Note: the historical background below does not have universal agreement. At some time in the distant past (dates are very controversial) the legendary king Hotu Matua left his homeland in the Marquesas and landed with a party of settlers at Anakena Beach on Rapa Nui's northeast coast. The descendants of those settlers forms twelve tribes divided into two confederations. They brought with them from the Marquesas a form of ancestor worship involving rather small stone statues placed on platforms, but over the years this evolved into a system of rival clans building larger and larger statues and eventually degenerated into wars that were disastrous for the population and for the environment. A separate sect known as the "birdman cult" gradually became the dominant religious and social expression before the society fell apart. In 1722 a Dutch sea captain landed on Rapanui on Easter Sunday and gave it the name of Easter Island. Later, sailors coming from the west who were familiar with a small island 650 km south of Tahiti called "Rapa," applied the name "Rapa Nui" (Big Rapa) to Easter Island. Apparently, the original native name was "Te Pito Te Kainga" (Navel of Mother Earth), but the islanders adopted and still use the name Rapanui. By 1804 European, South American, and American ships began to kidnap islanders as slaves, but the worst blow came in 1862 when over 2000 inhabitants, including the king and many keepers of the culture, were abducted as slaves and taken to Peru. The few survivors who were returned brought back diseases that decimated the population further. Of the estimated population of 6000 that existed in 1862, only 111 remained by 1877. In 1888 the island was annexed by Chile and has been part of that country ever since. Tourism is the primary source of income today. Some fruits and vegetables are grown on the island for local use. Although 90% of the island is rolling, rocky grassland, reforestation projects planting mostly eucalyptus have brought trees back to 5% of the land surface. The official flag is that of Chile, but a Rapanui flag exists that features a chest plate called "Reimiro" that was worn by kings of old. I have read in several places that this flag is not allowed to be flown on the island, but in fact I saw it displayed openly in several places. While on the island I heard that there is a budding independence movement. NEXT -> Hanga Roa |
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