The Rapa Nui

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THE RAPA NUI

The Rapa Nui

In this paper I will discuss the Rapa Nui and their arrival on Easter Island. I will cover the basic history of the Rapa Nui and their discovery and habitation of Easter Island. Further, I will review topics such as culture, marriage and family, religion, traditions and more.

Rapa Nui is more commonly known as Easter Island, a province of Chile. Its official Spanish name is Isla de Pascua. It is one of the most isolated inhabited islands on earth, located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. The island is triangular in shape, with three volcanic peaks, each one found at one corner of the island. Covered mostly in barren rock or grass and shrubs, the island was once heavily forested. The only indigenous animals are flocks of sea birds and the Polynesian rat. Cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, and dogs were introduced from other islands or from European visitors. The island is in a tropical climate zone, with water obtained from one of three springs, or by collecting rain water.

The first settlers, also known as the Rapa Nui, arrived around A.D. 300 – 400, and are believed to be of Polynesian descent. According to legend, these first settlers were a small colony of men, women and children who braved the ocean in nothing more than a catamaran. Their chief, Hotu Matu’a, led them to the island after fleeing their native homeland of Marae Renga following a defeat in war. The population on Easter Island has varied from 7 up to 17,000 before settlers from Europe arrived. Years of famine, introduced diseases from visitors, internal tribal warfare and slave raids led to severe population fluctuations.

Easter Island is world-famous for its giant statues known as moai. There are a to...

... middle of paper ...

...world, yet many of their customs are similar to others around the world, from marriage and family, to gender roles and religion. They have many differences as well, some still based on a more primitive scope like still believing in curses.

Sources

• William H. Swatos, Jr., ed. Twentieth-Century World Religious Movements in Neo-Weberian Perspective. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1992.

• Dr. Grant McCall, “RapaNui (Easter Island)”, ALS Independence 2003-11. 15 March 2012

• Deborah Underwood, “The Easter Island Statues”, KidHaven Press, c2005

• "Easter Island." Encyclopedia of World Cultures. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Mar. 2012

• Peggy Mann, “Easter Island: land of mysteries”, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, c1976

• J. Douglas Porteus, “The Modernization of Easter Island”, Dept. of Geography, University of Victoria, 1981

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