Linda Kohl

Day 5, Part 1 Tues. June 12 Easter Island.
Had a great free breakfast: eggs, rolls, sweet treats, fruit, veggies, juice (cantaloupe juice and strawberry juice), cold cuts. The tour bus (about 10 people) picked 4 of us up from my hotel. Our first stop: Vinapu. Vinapu is the site of the most perfectly fit ahu, a way of working the stone that does not exist in any other part of Polynesia and that has given rise to many theories about the origins of the population of the island, which relate it to the Inca culture of South America. Also, the guide stated that the island did not have the iron tools needed to make perfectly rectangular blocks, weighing several tons and adjusted with great precision. Vinapu I or Tahira has six fallen statues face down with three of the pukao that topped them. Its orientation, as in many other platforms; here directed east of the winter solstice. This construction has a great resemblance to the structures observed at Machu Picchu in Peru. This similarity has led to the scientific community thinking of possible contacts between the ancient inhabitants of Polynesia and South America.
Then we went to Orongo, high on a part of the Rano Kau volcano, for the fascinating birdman (Tangata Manu) story. This is most known as a ceremonial village but also as an astronomical observatory. One month a year (Sept – beginning of spring) the various island tribes would send their chiefs and top athlete to the temporary village to participate in the competition. They stayed in low houses (sorta like a basement floor) with doors at ground level, like a window well and that size. It required people to enter head first (so if an enemy you could take care of him). [Note: throughout the island people only slept in their homes and they housed maybe 12-20 people – no rooms.] The competition: The athletes had to scale down the cliff and then swim out to the islet. They then stayed in caves on the islet waiting for the first sacred egg of the manutara bird (often called “sooty tern”) to be laid. The athletes then stole whatever egg they could grab, stored it on their head (wrapped up), swam back, scaled the cliff and presented their chief with the intact egg. Note that other competitors would try to break the egg so they could win the competition. The winning chief got to live for a year in a special house with no one but his man-servant who took care of his meals and needs. If anyone touched the winning king, one could be punished with death. WOW! The winning athlete got to pick one of 7 virgins for his bride. They were kept in a cave during the competition and if the “doctor” determined they weren’t a virgin, they were thrown off the cliff at Orongo. Such an interesting story..
Pictures: 1-vinapu, back of ahu (perfect blocks) and an unrestored Moai; 2-pukao/topknot
3-5 explanation of Orongo 6-the islet swum toRead more