Easter Island is famous for its stone statues of human figures, known as moai (meaning “statue”). The island is known to its inhabitants as Rapa Nui.
What are the things on Easter Island called?
In Tuki’s native tongue, the island—like the people and the language—is called
Rapa Nui
. Platforms are called ahu, and the statues that sit on them, moai (pronounced mo-eye).
What is the mystery of the Easter Island statues?
What purpose do the statues of Easter island Have? Archaeologists suggest that the
statues were a representation of the Polynesian people’s ancestors
. The Moai statues face away from the sea and towards the villages, by way of watching over the people. So here at Ahu Tongariki these Moai look over a flat village site.
What are the stone faces on Easter Island called?
These big stone carvings — the tallest is almost 10 metres and weighs 82 tonnes — are made from volcanic rock. Called
moai (say “moe-eye”)
they made Easter Island one of the most mysterious places on Earth!
What are the big rocks called on Easter Island?
Ancient artisans of Easter Island depended on the quarry at Rano Raraku to supply the volcanic stone for the island’s famous
moai
. Moai are the huge stone carvings of heads that have come to symbolize Easter Island civilization.
Why are there no trees on Easter Island?
Easter Island was covered with palm trees for over 30,000 years, but
is treeless today
. There is good evidence that the trees largely disappeared between 1200 and 1650. … However there is evidence the Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans) was present from 900 and it seems clear that these rats caused widespread deforestation.
Are there any Easter Islanders left?
The Rapa Nui are the indigenous Polynesian people of Easter Island. … At the 2017 census there were 7,750 island inhabitants—almost all living in the village of
Hanga Roa
on the sheltered west coast.
Is the Easter bunny real?
What is known, according to Wikipedia, is that the Easter Bunny – actually,
hare
– was introduced to America in the 1700s by German settlers to Pennsylvania. Children would hide nests they made of caps and bonnets, which the hare would fill with colored eggs.
Can you move to Easter Island?
Entering Easter Island as a
resident
When boarding a plane going to Rapa Nui as a resident, you simply have to show your passport. If you don’t have a rapa nui family name, the board control will look you up in their computer system to verify that you are in fact a resident.
How much does it cost to fly to Easter Island?
| Expense Cost (daily) | Transportation $24,000 CLP ($37 USD) | Total $66,000 CLP ($100 USD) | Total (four days) $264,000 CLP ($400 USD) + flights | *You can reduce this to $16,000 CLP (camping) or $30,000 CLP (dorm) |
|---|
What language is spoken on Easter Island?
Islanders smile, sing and dance in polyester costumes to cater to the mostly Spanish-speaking spenders. Ever since Chile annexed Easter Island more than a century ago, the Spanish language has been chipping away at the Polynesian-based language called
Rapa Nui
.
How did the moai statues fall?
Construction of the moai statues appears to have stopped around the time of European contact in 1722, when Dutch explorers landed on Easter Day. Over the next century the moai would fall over,
either intentionally pushed over or from simple neglect
. Why construction was abandoned is another mystery.
What really happened on Easter Island?
In this story, made popular by geographer Jared Diamond’s bestselling book Collapse, the Indigenous people of the island, the Rapanui, so destroyed their environment that, by around 1600,
their society fell into a downward spiral of warfare, cannibalism, and population decline
.
How old is Easter Island heads?
When were they built? This is a question of much debate among scholars in the field, although there is a consensus they were built sometime between 400 and 1500 AD. That means all the statues are
least 500 years old
, if not much more.
Who lives on Easter Island today?
Today, the people living on Easter Island are
largely descendants of the ancient Rapa Nui
(about 60%) and run the bulk of the tourism and conservation efforts on the island. Many locals living on Easter Island have livelihoods that involve the water—which makes sense!
Why is it called Easter Island?
The first known European visitor to Easter Island was the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who arrived in 1722. The Dutch named the island Paaseiland (Easter Island) to
commemorate the day they arrived
.
