Rapa Nui runs on island time. Even the sunrise is late here. It’s raining, but warm. A large cruise ship is lingering just off shore, but we have seen no signs they are disembarking passengers. If they do, we hope to avoid large crowds of day-trippers on shore from the ship. If not, why sail all this way just to look at this island from off shore? But that appears to be what some do.
Breakfast isn’t served until 8 a.m. Breakfasts throughout this trip are very sweet. Not just the occasional Danish, but lots of sugared pastries of every sort. Today’s unique addition was a sort of pecan pie that Mary raved about, but which was all gone by the time I went back for a slice.
We didn’t begin our day’s activities until 9. By mini-bus (there are only 8 of us now) we left the island’s only town, Hanga Roa, and drove along the south shore of the island. We had to drive around the south end of the airport, and learned that the airport is here today because, back in the 1980s, NASA needed emergency landing spots (TALs or “Transoceanic Abort Landing sites) for the space shuttle in case it needed to come down in a hurry. Easter Island was selected as one of those, so has a long runway with some of the most advanced navigation aids anywhere.
At one point we had to stop for a herd of horses in the road. Horses, cows, and chickens roam freely on the island. Horses and cows are branded, but it seems it would be inconvenient to have to go all over the island looking for your horse when you want to ride it to round up your cows.
First stop was a recently opened site that is a modern re-creation of what an ancient Rapa Nui village might have looked like. It is reconstructed from archaeological data. It seems that chickens might have lived better than people.
 |
| Part of this reconstruction has been left unfinished to show how the house was constructed. |
To build a family home, rectangular volcanic stones were laid out in an long oval pattern. The stones had holes drilled in them into which pieces of cane were inserted. The cane was bent into an arch so that the other end could be inserted into a hole in a rock on the opposite side of the oval. Once a frame of arches was in place, grass thatch was placed over it.
The house was only for sleeping, and the doorway was very small (and always oriented to the village ahu (platform) and moai (the famous Easter Island “head” sculptures that sit on the ahu). Thus, the first thing one would see upon emerging from the sleeping hut in the morning would be the statues of the ancestors of your village chief, who had watched over and protected the village through the night (more on that in a bit).
 |
| Cooking pits always have 5 sides. |
All other activities were outside, around the cooking pits. Then, as now, it seems that everything happens in the kitchen.
Chickens, on the other hand, roosted in long oval coops made of volcanic stone with rock slabs over the top. The stones retained heat to keep the chickens warm at night. Also, one had to constantly beware that the neighbors might come to steal your chickens. So after your chickens came home to roost at night, you would plug the wall with the “secret stone.” Our guide asked us to guess what stone could be pulled out of the wall, and we couldn’t find it. She did, and as soon as the stone was removed, about a half dozen noisy chickens came rushing out of the opening.
Next we went to an actual archaeological site where an ancient village has been uncovered. A heavy downpour of rain delayed our visit, but we eventually were able to get off the bus. Now that we had visualized what we were looking for, we could easily spot the foundations of houses and chicken coops on the ground.
Also there was a “cave” — actually a man-made cave from which volcanic rock had been quarried, but a place that had been inhabited. In old Rapa Nui society, the poorer classes could not afford houses, so lived in caves.
Of course, every village has an ahu and moai. Here, as everywhere, the moai have been toppled over on their faces. Easter Island suffered an environmental collapse about 250 years ago. Food became scarce, and tribes went to war against one another to steal whatever food could be found. In any raid on a neighboring village, the first step had to be toppling the guardians who protected it. So any moai found standing on an ahu on the island today are restorations. The moai here have not been restored.
We returned to the bus and moved on to Rano Raraku — the birthplace of the moai. This volcanic crater is the largest concentration of the soft stone that could be carved to create moai. When any of the tribes decided to erect a moai, they came here, to a community of skilled craftsmen, and negotiated to pay in food and livestock for a statue. The craftsmen would ask, “mo ai?” — “who do” you want to memorialize?
The environmental upheaval that brought about the collapse of Rapa Nui society occurred at the height of moai creation. So in this place there are dozens of moai, in various stages of creation, that were abandoned. This has given scholars their greatest insights into how the statues were created. Mudslides from earthquakes have buried many up to their necks, which led to the misunderstanding that these were only heads. But the full bodies are there, underground.
The Rano Raraku site is simply amazing, and we could easily have spent more time there. But a storm blew in off the ocean, and our tour continued in nasty wind and driving rain. A few turned back. Five of us did the whole tour, but the photos didn’t turn out very well.
When the first Europeans reached the island and saw the moai, they asked how the statues got from the quarry to the various ahu around the island. The native elders replied, “they walked.” The Europeans laughed. Now research indicates that the reply might not have been so far fetched. One theory is that the statues were erected at this location and then rocked back and forth with ropes to move them along the path. If this was, indeed, how it was done, then they would have certainly appeared to be “walking.”
At this site there is also a very unique moai of completely different style. One theory is that this statue represents a kneeling priest, rather than a king or chief.
Lunch was scheduled at Rano Raraku, but since we rushed through it on account of the weather, the catering truck had not yet arrived. We went on to Tongeriki which is very nearby, just at the bottom of the crater near the sea. This site has an unusually large ahu that was restored in the 1950s, but then destroyed in a tsunami. It was restored once again, but since records of the original archaeological findings were lost, the restoration is not historically correct. Nevertheless, it’s an impressive row of 15 moai.
The schedule showed a “box lunch” for today, but when we returned to Rano Raraku we found a picnic shelter in which tables were set with tableclothes, china and silverware. Heated serving pans were keeping warm a meal of roasted chicken, rice, and salad. There was also a fruit jell-o for dessert. Not exactly PB&J in a box.
After eating we continued on to Anakena on the northeast coast of the island. Here was another ahu — in fact, two — with 6 restored moai on one, and a seventh on the other. These were very near the sea, with a beautiful white sand beach nearby. Had it been a warm and sunny day, we’d have probably taken a dip in the ocean. As it was, we just waded in up to our knees or so. The water was quite warm, but rather turbid.
It was about 3:30 p.m. when we returned to the hotel to enjoy hot showers and a couple glasses of wine before going to dinner with the group. This was a dinner on our own, but the tour leader offered to make a reservation for all of us at a place she knew to be good. It was.
Breakfast isn’t served until 8 a.m. Breakfasts throughout this trip are very sweet. Not just the occasional Danish, but lots of sugared pastries of every sort. Today’s unique addition was a sort of pecan pie that Mary raved about, but which was all gone by the time I went back for a slice.
We didn’t begin our day’s activities until 9. By mini-bus (there are only 8 of us now) we left the island’s only town, Hanga Roa, and drove along the south shore of the island. We had to drive around the south end of the airport, and learned that the airport is here today because, back in the 1980s, NASA needed emergency landing spots (TALs or “Transoceanic Abort Landing sites) for the space shuttle in case it needed to come down in a hurry. Easter Island was selected as one of those, so has a long runway with some of the most advanced navigation aids anywhere.
At one point we had to stop for a herd of horses in the road. Horses, cows, and chickens roam freely on the island. Horses and cows are branded, but it seems it would be inconvenient to have to go all over the island looking for your horse when you want to ride it to round up your cows.
First stop was a recently opened site that is a modern re-creation of what an ancient Rapa Nui village might have looked like. It is reconstructed from archaeological data. It seems that chickens might have lived better than people.
The house was only for sleeping, and the doorway was very small (and always oriented to the village ahu (platform) and moai (the famous Easter Island “head” sculptures that sit on the ahu). Thus, the first thing one would see upon emerging from the sleeping hut in the morning would be the statues of the ancestors of your village chief, who had watched over and protected the village through the night (more on that in a bit).
Chickens, on the other hand, roosted in long oval coops made of volcanic stone with rock slabs over the top. The stones retained heat to keep the chickens warm at night. Also, one had to constantly beware that the neighbors might come to steal your chickens. So after your chickens came home to roost at night, you would plug the wall with the “secret stone.” Our guide asked us to guess what stone could be pulled out of the wall, and we couldn’t find it. She did, and as soon as the stone was removed, about a half dozen noisy chickens came rushing out of the opening.
Next we went to an actual archaeological site where an ancient village has been uncovered. A heavy downpour of rain delayed our visit, but we eventually were able to get off the bus. Now that we had visualized what we were looking for, we could easily spot the foundations of houses and chicken coops on the ground.
Also there was a “cave” — actually a man-made cave from which volcanic rock had been quarried, but a place that had been inhabited. In old Rapa Nui society, the poorer classes could not afford houses, so lived in caves.
Of course, every village has an ahu and moai. Here, as everywhere, the moai have been toppled over on their faces. Easter Island suffered an environmental collapse about 250 years ago. Food became scarce, and tribes went to war against one another to steal whatever food could be found. In any raid on a neighboring village, the first step had to be toppling the guardians who protected it. So any moai found standing on an ahu on the island today are restorations. The moai here have not been restored.
We returned to the bus and moved on to Rano Raraku — the birthplace of the moai. This volcanic crater is the largest concentration of the soft stone that could be carved to create moai. When any of the tribes decided to erect a moai, they came here, to a community of skilled craftsmen, and negotiated to pay in food and livestock for a statue. The craftsmen would ask, “mo ai?” — “who do” you want to memorialize?
The environmental upheaval that brought about the collapse of Rapa Nui society occurred at the height of moai creation. So in this place there are dozens of moai, in various stages of creation, that were abandoned. This has given scholars their greatest insights into how the statues were created. Mudslides from earthquakes have buried many up to their necks, which led to the misunderstanding that these were only heads. But the full bodies are there, underground.
The Rano Raraku site is simply amazing, and we could easily have spent more time there. But a storm blew in off the ocean, and our tour continued in nasty wind and driving rain. A few turned back. Five of us did the whole tour, but the photos didn’t turn out very well.
When the first Europeans reached the island and saw the moai, they asked how the statues got from the quarry to the various ahu around the island. The native elders replied, “they walked.” The Europeans laughed. Now research indicates that the reply might not have been so far fetched. One theory is that the statues were erected at this location and then rocked back and forth with ropes to move them along the path. If this was, indeed, how it was done, then they would have certainly appeared to be “walking.”
Lunch was scheduled at Rano Raraku, but since we rushed through it on account of the weather, the catering truck had not yet arrived. We went on to Tongeriki which is very nearby, just at the bottom of the crater near the sea. This site has an unusually large ahu that was restored in the 1950s, but then destroyed in a tsunami. It was restored once again, but since records of the original archaeological findings were lost, the restoration is not historically correct. Nevertheless, it’s an impressive row of 15 moai.
The schedule showed a “box lunch” for today, but when we returned to Rano Raraku we found a picnic shelter in which tables were set with tableclothes, china and silverware. Heated serving pans were keeping warm a meal of roasted chicken, rice, and salad. There was also a fruit jell-o for dessert. Not exactly PB&J in a box.
After eating we continued on to Anakena on the northeast coast of the island. Here was another ahu — in fact, two — with 6 restored moai on one, and a seventh on the other. These were very near the sea, with a beautiful white sand beach nearby. Had it been a warm and sunny day, we’d have probably taken a dip in the ocean. As it was, we just waded in up to our knees or so. The water was quite warm, but rather turbid.
It was about 3:30 p.m. when we returned to the hotel to enjoy hot showers and a couple glasses of wine before going to dinner with the group. This was a dinner on our own, but the tour leader offered to make a reservation for all of us at a place she knew to be good. It was.
No comments:
Post a Comment