Easter Island - Hanga Roa

 

Back in Hanga Roa, I took a side trip to Hanga Kio’e (Mouse Bay), a small bay thought to be a former royal residence. Legend says that an old widow entered the cove with a mouse in her mouth, in mourning of her dead husband whose remains were buried here. Two Moai built in the late 17th century stand here, one complete but without his pukao and the other in ruins, only his back was placed back on the ahu. It is a quiet and contemplative place with few visitors frequenting. 

Hiking along the coastline, I arrived at the ceremonial complex of Tahai. It is one of the oldest settlements. It was a practical location due to easy sea access for fishing and fresh water. Nearby was a long and narrow oval foundation that used to be a house and a cave used for shelter where as many as 200 people once lived. 

Three ahus are placed near the coast being: 

- Ahu Vai Uri, the longest platform with five restored Moai carved in different styles. A sixth statue lies on the ground near the ahu.

- Ahu Tahai, is an eroded, singular statue with a thick neck and torso.

- Ahu Ko Te Riku, that was fully restored complete with pukao and the only one on the island with coral eyes and red scoria pupils (see postcard image). 

About 160ft (50m) from the ahu is the tomb of William Mulloy and his wife. William was a well renowned anthropologist who came to the island in 1955 and spent the next three decades studying the island, promoting its culture and working tirelessly to restore many of the popular sites.  

Meandering along the rest of the coastline, I reflected on the Rapanui people, their Moai worship and Birdman Cult. Their rise and fall as a culture were driven by overpopulation, overharvesting, deforestation and hastened by the Polynesian rats. Arrival of the Europeans, missionaries and the Peruvian slave traders compounded their demise. What little was left of them was further devastated by the introduction of smallpox and other foreign diseases for which they had no natural immunity. 

Fast forward to the 20th century and the Rapanui culture is seeing a revival through traditional dances, music, symbolic tattoos, festivals, tourism and ongoing restoration of the Moai statues. Locals are engaged by archaeologists to assist on their projects and subsequently trained in excavation techniques and conservation methods. They are taught long-term preservation, so they may protect their precious artifacts into the future.

Although it was one of the finalists, maybe one day we will see the Moai make the New 7 Wonders of the World list. 

For now, I bid you farewell or as they say in Rapanui, lorana (goodbye).

Easter Island - Puna Rau

The journey through the centre of the island is along endless meadows and rolling hills. What stands out significantly is the lack of trees, which is the same for most of the island. There are patches here or there but most are not native to Rapa Nui. 

When the first settlers arrived with some unsuspecting guests, the Polynesian rat, Rapa Nui was teeming with native palms and other large trees. Pollen and nut studies on the island suggest that they likely belonged to native, giant, palm trees similar to Jubaea, a Chilean sugar palm tree that grows up to 60ft (18m) in height. 

The palm tree had many uses. A tapped palm tree would yield over 400 litres of sap that was used as a sweet and nutritious beverage. Its core would be harvested and the nuts collected for food. Along with other tree types, the palm was also used for thatching, making ropes and clothes, weaving mats and baskets, and building canoes, levers and sails. 

The rats that hitched a ride found an abundance of food with no natural predators besides the humans. Feasting on the unlimited supply, they multiplied exponentially, doubling almost every six weeks. 

Within a few centuries, the island could no longer sustain the excessive needs of its occupants nor its population growth. At its height, Rapa Nui had as many as 15,000 inhabitants and who knows how many rats. Usage outgrew new growth and by late 17th century the island was treeless. 

The effects of overharvesting began with deforestation. With no trees, the islanders couldn’t build their canoes to fish, diminishing their food source and their ability to search for food elsewhere. Island-bound, they were also unable to reduce the population through migration. 

Native land birds went extinct and the trees could no longer disperse their pollen. More than 20 plant species disappeared. With no supply of timber, the Moai could no longer be transported, thereby abandoning this ceremonial practice and replacing it with the Birdman Cult. 

The Rapanui found themselves in an ecological trap. Famine followed causing significant social upheaval. By the time the Europeans’ arrived, the population dropped to around 2,000 inhabitants and the island was devoid of trees.

Today, Easter Island has only 5% arboreal coverage whilst two-thirds of it suffers from erosion caused by climate change with Poike the most affected. Reforesting programs are underway but given the island’s open and windy environment and lack of soil nutrients, the process will take time. 

For now, the Australian eucalyptus tree seems to be doing well on the island regardless of the environment and I enjoyed seeing patches of them as I progressed towards Puna Rau. 

Puna Rau is a small extinct volcano and the quarry of red scoria, the material used to make the pukao. The scoria is a type of volcanic ash that is highly porous with a reddish tint due to the iron oxide composition. It is soft and easy to carve making it a desirable rock for the pukao and other small items but unsuitable for large scale carvings like the Moai. 

Given the sheer size and weight of the pukao, it is surmised that the islanders used their cylindrical shape to roll them on custom-built roads to their destination. It is also thought that the pukao was added to the Moai either by using ramps and rolling it on top of the standing statue or attaching it to the statue if in a lying position with ropes and then elevating it all as one piece. 

Rolling off the hilltop, I make my way back to Hanga Roa.