Rapa Nui Easter Island Legend History Pictures Stamps

Some facts about Easter Island

Perhaps the most isolated place in our planet, Easter Island is in the middle of Pacific Ocean at 1800 kilometers away from Pitcairn Island (the nearest populated point), and at 3760 kilometers from Chilean coast in South America.

Although Easter Island is the most widely known name of this South Pacific island, its first name was Te Pito O Te Henua (Navel of the Earth). Nowadays the island is also known by its local name, Rapa Nui, same name that give themselves its inhabitants of Polynesian origin.

In 1995, Rapa Nui National Park was declared World Heritage site by UNESCO, because of the unique megalithic culture developed by this Polynesian society through centuries of isolation from the world. Rapa Nui National Park was created by Chilean government in 1935, it has an area of 6,666 hectares and comprises almost a third part of Easter Island.

Being just a small volcanic triangle shaped island of 166 square kilometers of surface, Easter Island is one of those extraordinary places where legend and history exist side by side.

What is very special about Easter Island is that visitors can be in direct contact with the island ancient culture. You can walk among Moai statues in the slopes of Rano Raraku volcano, you can even touch Moais. But be careful because as strong as they may seem Moai statues and Tangata Manu petroglyphs are fragile, and it is a task of everybody to preserve Easter Island heritage for future generations.

Rapa Nui Central is an on going project about Easter Island history and culture. At this moment Rapa Nui Central is organized as follows:

Easter Island legend covers the arrival of the first inhabitants of Rapa Nui (navigators of Polynesian origin) and the original culture they developed in early Easter Island history.

Then there is an account of Easter Island history from its discovery by European navigators in XVIII century till nowadays.

There is also a section with original Easter Island pictures featuring Moai statues, Tangata Manu petroglyphs and Ahu ceremonial platforms. This part of the site has complementary information to Easter Island legend section.

Finally there is a collection of stamps, First Day Covers, souvenir sheets, and postal history related to Easter Island culture. It is interesting because in these stamps appear many of the main archaeological sites of Easter Island including Moai statues, Ahus, and Rapa Nui people in traditional costumes.

Some specific Rapa Nui words that you will find in the site:

Ahu: Easter Island sacred place where ancestors were revered. Ahus usually have the form of a rectangular stone platform. Some Ahus have Moais statues sitting on them, those are the guardians of Easter Island.

Moai: Large stone statue that represents the ancestors of Easter Island people. Each Moai had the name of the person it represented. There are almost 400 Moai statues on the slopes of Rano Raraku volcano, the main quarry of Easter Island.

Tangata Manu: Bird man. Title given to the head of the clan that won the annual competition of finding the first Manutara (migratory seagull) egg. The Tangata Manu had the Mana or vital energy, and as in other Polynesian cultures, he became Tapu (taboo). So Tangata Manu, although revered, lived isolated for months, he was only allowed the company of an Ivi Tumu Atua (shaman). However his clan got political power till the next year. It seems each Tangata Manu was represented in a petroglyph.

Rapa Nui Central recommended links:

Islands Search: a useful directory about Islands sites.

Island Pointing: online resources for the island traveller.

Jean Herve Daude: interesting site developed by an artist from Quebec about Easter Island and Polynesia culture.

Matatoa: An Easter Island fusion band that is popular in Polynesia. Their songs are in Rapa Nui language. Samples of their music can be listened in the site.