Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui is one of the most mysterious places in the world. It lies 2000 miles from the nearest inhabited shore in the South Pacific between Chile and Tahiti. Known in ancient times as Te Pito o te Henua (the Navel of the World), the island is most well known for its massive statues recognized throughout the world. This lonely island can only be reached in two ways, from Santiago, Chile in the east, or from Papeete, Tahiti to the west.
By the 16th century, Easter had nearly 10000 inhabitants who made huge statues known as ‘moai’. The 887 moai were carved form the island’s volcanic rock and have long angular faces. Some have eyes made from coral. The average moai was about 4m tall and weighed 14 tonnes, so they would have been extremely difficult for the islanders to transport. Archeologists believe that the statues symbolize the spirits of Easter’s most important inhabitants!!!!!! It is one of the biggest mysteries to the world that how was it possible in 16th century to create such huge statues when there was no trace of technology. It is to be noted that there can be no comparison with creation of Pyramids because Egypt had huge man power and the help of ropes, weapons rather various mechanical goods when Pyramids were created.
The first confirmed European ship to reach Rapa Nui was a Dutch ship commanded by Jacob Roggeveen. Jacob encountered the isolated shores on ‘Easter Sunday’, 1722 so he gave the island its modern name ‘The Easter Island’.
Roggeveen was actually searching for the islands of Mangareva far to the west and came upon Easter Island quite by accident. At that time Easter was full of inhabitants!!!!!Roggeveen found the inhabitants to generally be friendly and accommodating. They seemed to have ample food and were in good spirits. The Dutch marveled at the colossal statues standing around the island and noted that the islanders seemed to pay themonuments great respect. In 1770 a Spanish expedition reached Easter Island and reported conditions to be much the same as the Jacob had recorded.
HOWEVER, four years later when Captain James Cook arrived, he found the island to be utterly changed and in a dismal state!!!!!!!!!!! Cook recorded the islanders as being thin and miserable with scarcely enough food to get by. Even the land had transformed. In fact he did not see anything which can induce ships that are not in the utmost distress to touch at this island. Cook’s expedition was also the first to note that many of the massive statues that once proudly gazed out from the shore were now toppled and lay face-down or were purposely broken or disfigured.
But what caused the great stone monuments to fall? Speculation has ranged from earthquakes to a volcanic eruption, but more recent evidence clearly indicates that the statues were felled by the locals themselves. Early accounts of the island tell us that the moai were built in the image of great rulers and that each had its own name. Indeed, while similar, no two moai look alike.
It seems that sometime in the late 1700’s, warring tribes finally turned their aggression towards the relics of the past and during this period many of the moai were toppled or defaced. Over the next hundred years the violence escalated and retaliation ensued causing the statues to be systematically brought down until none were left standing. What caused the individual island groups to become so destructive towards a past they once cherished is still an area of intense speculation and we may never know the real answers.
Every Spring, chiefs from the major tribes throughout the island would come together at this village to participate in the birdman competition. Each tribe would enter its own competitor who climbed 1000 feet down the steep cliffs and plunged into the ocean below. He would then swim through shark infested waters for over a mile to reach the tiny nearby island of Motu Nui where he would wait for the laying of the first egg from a migratory bird known as the sooty ternThe first competitor to return with the egg won the honor of becoming birdman for his master. Upon being crowned birdman, this individual went off to live a life of seclusion for one year where all his needs were attended and he was afforded many privileges.
Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl spent many years trying to convince the world that the great stone monuments found on Easter Island were created by an expedition of Pre-Incan explorers arriving from Peru. On the surface, much of his evidence seems compelling, but over the years many of Heyerdahl’s theories have not stood up to scrutiny. One of Heyerdahl’s dubious claims is that ……….
“the practice of ear lengthening is unknown in Polynesia, but Incas of royal birth adopted the habit of their predecessors by piercing their earlobes and putting large plugs in them.”
While it is true that similar images can be found in both places, birdman symbols also show up in Polynesia as well. It is true that there are striking similarities between Easter Island birdmen and motifs found in South American pottery, but the representation of a human-bird hybrid is by no means a concept exclusive to South America.
Heyerdahl tried to shape the island’s history in South American terms. He believed that Pre-Incan explorers first discovered the island and later set sail further west where they captured Polynesians whom they enslaved. However, over the years historians and archaeologists have come down strongly against Heyerdahl going as far as to portray many of his theories as racist
The currently accepted history of the island as described by mainstream scientists describes the earliest inhabitants coming solely from Polynesia. Any South American influences are attributed to Polynesians from Easter Island setting sail to South America and not the other way around. Even this contact is described as being extremely limited and is downplayed in the extreme by most researchers.
