Where in the World is Easter Island?
An Avid Traveller
Having been grounded since March, I was recalling an amazing trip to Easter Island last November. Since our return, many people have asked, “Where in the world is Easter Island?” Here is my answer!
The loneliest inhabited island on planet Earth, it is thousands of miles from any other inhabited land mass. Over 2,000 miles West of South America and about 1,100 miles east of Pitcairn Islands. Born of five volcanoes — Rano Kau, Rano Raraku, Puna Pau, Poike and Maunga Terevaka — it is assumed to have been settled sometime between the first and sixth century. Over tens of thousands of years, it became a lush tropical island. And then humans arrived! Locals refer to it as Rapa Nui, the greater Rapa island. The Dutch gave it the name Easter Island, as they discovered it on Easter Day in 1722. Barely 14 miles long and 7 miles wide, the triangular island is 63 square miles.
The debate about the origin of the settlers, has long been settled. Although Easter Island is now part of Chile, the original settlers did not arrive from South America. The natives believe that their ancestors originated in Taiwan and came to the island via the beautiful Polynesian islands. Even though all speak Spanish, their native language is Polynesian. Chile annexed the island in 1888 and they all became full Chilean citizens in 1965.
There are many stories regarding the arrival of the Polynesians. One story goes that the ‘shaman’ or priest of a Polynesian island, possibly Marquesa Islands, told the king, Hoto Matua, that he had dreamt that there was this lush island that could be reached by following the Orion belt. The king did not fully trust the shaman, so he sent an exploration team and insisted on including two sons of the shaman. After the successful return of the exploration team, they decided to move their seven tribes to Rapa Nui. They built great big canoes, some supposedly large enough to hold a hundred people. Other were smaller. They rowed and rowed and two months later they landed in Anakena Bay, the only sandy beach on the island.
No, they didn’t live happily ever after. The island was supposedly a lush carpet of palm trees. However, a major deforestation occurred on the island. Scientists are still trying to figure out what caused the deforestation of the island. The tribes grew. They built canoes, for after all they were of the sailing culture. Some people believe that the process of building the canoes caused the deforestation. Others believe that the cause of the deforestation was something else. Perhaps some kind of plant disease from the plants the inhabitants brought? They did bring plants. Most plants on an island come from seeds carried by the ocean. Others seeds are brought by the few birds that could make the long trek. However, some plants need saplings, not seeds. Bananas, for example. Easter Island now has an extensive banana crop and exports them to mainland Chile! Recent theories for deforestation include rats that stowed away on the canoes from Polynesia, and “found an unlimited food supply in the lush palm trees.”
After the deforestation there were supposedly wars among the tribes for the meager resources. Brother against brother, friend against friend, neighbor against neighbor. It became the survival of the fittest. Young boys are murdered, girls are stolen. The island became over populated for its resources. Insufficient food. No trees to carve canoes, and no canoes meant that the only food was fishing from the shores.
The wars were eventually replaced by a sporting contest: the bird-man competition. The tribes developed and trained young men to compete to bring the egg of a manutara bird (a sooty tern) from the large rock formation called Motu Nui. The young men would live in caves in Orango village till the manutara birds were spotted. Then they would clamber down the hill and swim across to Motu Nui and hide till the birds laid an egg. The first one to bring back an egg for their tribe was declared a winner. The chieftain of the winning tribe would rule the island for that year. Many tribes never won. The oral history says that one tribe won the competition seven years in a row! Many died while competing, some by accidents, others from shark attacks and a few at the hands of another ruthless competitor!
There continues to be a debate as to when the culture of the Moai statues began. Some tribes traded to get the statues, other may have pooled in their labor to create these statues, which were usually a tribute to a significant ancestor.
These statues are small and large. From a few feet to over 30’ tall! Most average 13–14 feet. Heavy, about 14 tons average! An incomplete statue, named el gigante, is about 70 feet tall and estimated to weigh 270 tons! There is still no definitive answer, but many theories, as to how these large and heavy statues were moved from the quarries to their final locations, some tens of miles! Many experiments have been conducted to confirm the different theories. Most believe that they were somehow “walked” to their final destination. My favorite answer: “They were moved by mana” — a magical spiritual force, as a local tour guide told us!
The statues were carved out from the rocks in Ranu Raraku crater. They were then slid down and made vertical on the slope, so that the backs could be finished. Later, they were somehow moved to the final place and the eye sockets were carved to hold white coral eyes with red scoria pupils fitted into them. Some of the statues have red hats (pukao).
Sometime between 1722 and 1868, all the statues were toppled. Different theories abound as to why this happened. Tribal rivalry as well as a massive earthquake are two well established theories.
Overall there are nearly 900 Moai’s currently documented. However there are some that are still buried. About 50 of the statues have been restored to their original standing positions. Efforts are underway to complete a detailed inventory of all the Moai statues. The re-erections are being sponsored slowly by multiple organizations and governments. UNESCO created a Rapa Nui National Park in 1935, which covers about 40% of the island.
Easter Island has a small but very functional airport, code name — IPC. Very close to downtown, one can practically walk there from the airport. Most flights are from Santiago, Chile — SCL) (2,320 miles), but one can also fly via Tahiti — PPT, (2,640 miles). Given its remote location, it is five to six hours of flight time from either direction. The nearly 8,000 locals are friendly, and there are plenty of decent hotels and restaurants. Tourism is now their main source of income. We would recommend a minimum of three nights on the island. It is said that those who visit Easter Island, always want to return! One can sign up for guided tours of the island (recommended) or even rent a car and drive yourself. Although many locals understand English, a rudimentary knowledge of Spanish is helpful.
Now you know Where in the World is Easter Island — and how to get there!
___________________________________________________________________An avid traveler, S. K. Gupta is also a member of Travelers Century Club. This is one of a series of articles on uncommon , but unique sites around the world. S. K. enjoys researching and writing about the not-so-obvious things in life. sk.gupta.us at gmail dot com
