Once Upon A Time On Easter Island

Easter Island is located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. It lies 3,700 miles from Chile and 4,000 km from Tahiti. It has an area of 162.5 km2 and its chief town is called HANGA ROA. The island is especially known for its monumental statues and Pacific writing. These statues formed in a surrounding material resulting from the volcano and found writing on wooden tablets are remarkable. Since 1995, Easter Island is part of the World Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Nowadays, the island is primarily based on tourism. The majority of the population lives in HANGA ROA, the main town of the island.

The island was discovered by the navigator and explorer JAKOB ROGGEVEN April 5, 1722. At that time, she had about 4000 inhabitants. These original Malayo-Polynesian lived mainly from fishing and agriculture. Several investigations followed that of the Netherlands, among others that of Felipe Gonzalez of Spain HAEDO commissioned by the viceroy of Peru. The island was later colonized by Spain in 1770 and in 1888 became a possession of Chile.
On the first shipment, the population of the island was divided into several clans. They were subject to royalty. The first king who ruled the island was called HOTU MATUA. Then a few sovereigns succeeded until 1862. Faced with a very high ranking, people trying to survive by any means, moreover, cannibalism was a common practice in this remote island in the civilized world.

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Resources became inadequate to meet the growing population. This shortage caused social disorder which manifested itself in violent struggles. Then rebellion and a war with the Polynesians were followed. The Polynesians were newcomers to the island from the fourteenth century. Easter Island society was completely decimated as a result of a great slave raid in 1862. Few survivors returned years later but the rest of the population were killed with diseases.

The Sea, The Stones, A Touch Of Green

On the slopes of the volcano, the RAO RARAKU, there are large platforms, the "AHU", on which are erected the enigmatic statues, the "MOAI". Their heights vary from 1 to 20 m. These statues have the blank stare and a long face enigmatic.

Today there are about 850 statues scattered over the island. One surrounding the territory, while others are not yet completed are scattered all along the coast or near the volcano. The material used for carving the gigantic statues is none other than the tufa rock of the volcano RARAKU RAO. There are two types of statues that stand in the island: those that are covered by symbols and which are adorned with hats "PUKAOS". These have the characteristic to be levied on "AHU" and turn away from the coast. Originally, the eyes of "MOAI" were represented by the coral white and red tuff. Found buried in sand in 1978, they were placed in their orbits.

The Island And Its Secrets

The mystery still hangs over the creation of statues: the civilization that has carved the means used to transport them and finally their functionality. Indeed, the origin of the people who erected the sculpture is still in theory. Some analysis, based on skeletons dating from 1100 to 1868 led to prove that the Polynesians were the first inhabitants of the island. However, other assumptions remain as the oldest "MOAI" were built there over 500 years of our era.

Previously, the island was entirely forested. The residents thus had enough raw materials to manufacture and transport of sleds statues. In 1955, an experiment was conducted to determine the limits of exploit in making a statue. The results showed that in 18 days, a 23-ton statue could be erected by a dozen men.

It is assumed that the main function attributed to the statues was religious. Unfortunately, no information on the mythology of the city is available to refute or confirm this hypothesis. As for RONGORONGO, this unusual script, it still remained partially illegible so far. It remains unclear whether it is an alphabet of ideograms or hieroglyphs.

Easter Island, As Tourist Destination.

If you want to discover the myth of the Easter Island and spend memorable moments, the preferred means of transportation to arrive on the island is necessarily the plane because the island is surrounded by rocks that make the docking of ships difficult. The only airline serving the island is LAN Chile or "Linea Aerea Nacional (national airlines) still known as" Latin American Network. "

Infrastructure such as a church, post office, bank services or the restaurants and snack bars are present. Many efforts have been made to improve the satisfaction the tourists. Other services are also available as the Internet and for entertainment there is also a disco available for everyone to Easter Island!

Day or night, the monumental statues of Easter Island would make you perplexed. Also opt to visit the National Park of Rapa Nui. You can admire the spectacle of semi-wild horses. Or treat yourself to an excursion near the volcano. Finally, just enjoy the extraordinary landscape of Easter Island, ANAKENA Beach golden fine sand and palm.

If you plan to visit Easter Island, you are advised to choose Reduced Rate Traveling Package available on the site of MauriTravel.com