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Published: March 18th 2006
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Moais Overlooking a Village
According to our guide, these huge statues were probably erected to protect the village whose ruins are still barely visible by the sea. The statues stand at the water's edge facing the village. EASTER ISLAND
Five days of cruising the South Pacific from the coast of South America brought us to Easter Island. This is a tiny volcanic island 2000 miles from any population center - about halfway between South America to the east and Tahiti to the west. The closest other inhabited island is over a thousand miles away - tiny Pitcairn Island where the mutineers of the H.M.S. Bounty settled in 1790.
We had an interesting approach to the island. Its only dock was too small for anything but fishing boats, so our ship had to anchor offshore. The ship's' tenders that took passengers between the ship and the island had to make their way through a ring of scenic but exceedingly dangerous rocks on the shore of the narrow beach at one end of the island. Each tender boat captain had a local pilot at his elbow who guided him along the twisting channel among the rocks where huge breakers crashed. We finally reached a small cove, no bigger than a large swimming pool, where we cautiously disembarked and boarded small ramshackle buses. Easter Island is not a frequent cruise ship stop, and it has almost no tourist facilities.
Moai with Eyes
None of the moais had eyes when they were found by Thor Heyerdahl, but there was evidence the statues once had black and white stone eyes. Some were found at the base of the statues and were replaced. This moai was given its eyes when the statues were restored in recent years. Only when we toured the small island with its sparse greenery could we appreciate the beauty of its setting. The steep black volcanic cliffs and rocky coastline with towering white breakers looked out over a vast blue sea, often framed by the mysterious giant moais that seemed to protect their ancient home. This was an island like no other we had seen.
Easter Island is said to be one of the most isolated places on earth. Humans came there about 2000 years ago, probably from other Polynesian Islands. In 1722, a Dutch explorer, Jacob Roggeveen, sighted and visited the island. This happened to be on an Easter Sunday, and the name stuck: Easter Island.
The main feature of the island, of course, is the huge stone statues whose origin has never been fully explained. Public interest in Easter Island was inspired in the 1950s by Thor Heyerdahl, who visited the island and excavated some of 400-odd mysterious stone statues partially buried all over the island. He provided the first detailed information about them and spakred worldwide interest.
How did the inhabitants of this speck of volcanic rock ever produce the hundreds of colossal stone statues, or
Moai with our Ship
This made an impressive sight indeed, with the moai in the foreground, the Crystal Serenity in the background, and an unbroken 180 degree view of the blue Pacific. “moais” and set them upright all over the island? Theories abound, even including aliens from outer space who used extra-terrestrial technology to accomplish these feats. However, the anthropologist aboard ship who lectured us on Easter Island culture had a more prosaic explanation.
Once upon a time, the anthropologist said, the mostly barren island had many tall palm trees with thick heavy trunks. The island was composed of mostly volcanic rock. For reasons best known to themselves, the Polynesian inhabitants quarried the rock to make the huge statues, and then transported them to sites all over the island by rolling them on the huge palm tree trunks, and hauling them upright. This activity went on for many years.
All went well for a time, but the ecology of the island suffered a fatal blow with the loss of the palm trees and a growing population. The various tribes began competing over the increasingly scarce resources. In their warfare they even pulled down and tried to destroy each others’ most sacred symbols, the moais.
Worse yet, Chilean “blackbirders” (slavers) came and captured most of the male population of Easter Island to work gold mines in Chile. This decimated what
Easter Island Coastline
Small rocky islets along the island coastline. was left of the social structure of the island, leaving a scanty and impoverished population. All memory of why the islanders’ ancestors carved the giant stone figures has been lost.
At the moais we saw an Easter Islander dressed as an ancient Polynesian warrior, cavorting about grimacing horribly and threatening bystanders with his long spear (for photographers, of course). We didn’t fully understand this until we found that his ancestors were real man-eaters. Some locals make jokes about this, or dress up as cannibals for tourists. Others take offense at any allusion to this custom which has become in their eyes barbarous and shameful.
According to early missionaries, cannibalism did not disappear until after the introduction of Christianity. Before this, the natives are said to have eaten humans, including not only stray traders but also women and children of the island, which provoked violent reprisals. An act of cannibalism committed against the member of a family was a terrible insult to the whole family. The Easter Islanders' cannibalism was partly caused by a simple taste for human flesh that could impel them to kill for no other reason than wanting fresh meat. Humans were the only large mammals
Man Eater
Easter Islander dressed in a costume reminiscent of his man-eating ancestors. Dick used his zoom lens for this long distance shot of him at rest. When tourists approached, he danced about wildly and gnashed his perfect white teeth. And impressive sight! available.
With its colorful history, landscape of impressive “moais,” and the stunning vistas from the high cliffs, Easter Island is a perfect place for tourists and expensive resort hotels. Unfortunately, cruise ships stop at the island only a few times a year, and the small airstrip is seldom used. There are virtually no facilities for tourists. The island is just too isolated to draw many visitors.
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John Stewart
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Easter Island
I enjoied your TravelBlog about Easter Island, although the story about the original inhabitants is very sad, especially the bit about them destroying each others Moai. Looks like a great cruise itinery.