Easter Island

Easter Island is a very small island located in the South Pacific between Chili and Tahiti. Created from a collection of huge volcanic eruptions, Easter Island was inhabited for millions of years by just dragonflies and birds. Eventually, Polynesian seafarers noticed the steep slopes of the island, drawing them in as a place of refuge. Part of the island features dangerous coastlines and literally hundreds of caves created naturally by the crashing and lava tubes. Because of this, these people found coming to shore very challenging.

Of all inhabited islands in the world, Easter Island is known as the most isolated. The shape of this island is triangular, covering just 53 miles. Formed when a plume of hot material rose from the Earth’s interior that then burned through the crust and erupted on the surface in the form of lava, this is a very interesting place. Today, people can visit Easter Island where volcanic cones make up each point. Of these, the larges is called Rano Kau, which can even be seen from space. Although smaller, the tallest of the cones is called Terevaka, reaching almost 12,000 feet above sea level. In addition, Easter Island features more than 70 eruptive centers although none have been active for 1,300 years.

On the north shore of Easter Island is Ovahe Beach or Anakena. Here, legend states that this beach is where King Hoto Matua first docked his canoe, which was the beginning of the pioneering of the island. Soon afterward, the island was excavated where it was discovered that the island offered a massive collection of erected Moai. More and more people made their way to this new colonized island, building houses and villages. In fact, history tells us that the number of people was so vast that people would turn their boats upside down for shelter until they could get a home completed. The settlement was on such a large scale that the forests were depleted.

Remnants of these structures were found in the 1800s although the majority had been destroyed by missionaires to make fences. Unfortunately, the damage done was significant, even more so than the Peruvian slave traders who came to Easter Island only to take most of the islander’s away and into slavery. Some people were able to escape where they hid in caves until being rescued by the missionaries. Even so, the missionaries were responsible for destroying the island’s religious artifacts, wooden sculptures but worst of all, Rongo-Rongo tablets, which were a record of Rapa Nui, the lost language. Because just a few of these tablets exist, no person has been able to decipher them.

In addition to its unmatched beauty, Easter Island is well known for the Moai statutes. With volcanic tuff being the ideal material to carve, Moai carvers, master craftsmen would create these incredible statues with a labor of love. The Moai statues are visible from all directions from the cliff face, mesmerizing all who come to see. While some of the reasons for the creation of these statues are speculation, many historians believe they were made for rituals and ceremonies.

At the completion of each statue, it was broken off at the keel and then very carefully slid down the mountainous slope with ropes tied off to giant palm tree trunks. The ceremonial platforms built to support the Moai statue collection are called Ahu. While these statues do not represent any specific person, some of them do have markings or inscriptions associated with chiefs. Interestingly, one of the great mysteries of Easter Island is why the carvers created the Moai sculptures with angular faces and long, phallus shaped bodies.

Easter Island is a real jewel located in an endless seat. The raw materials found there are bountiful and with new technology, the population growing. Even so, if you were to visit Easter Island today, you would still see signs of deforestation. Visiting the Moai sculptures is a once in a lifetime opportunity, offering an experience you will never forget. As you make your way around this small island, you can explore this site and many others to see for yourself why Easter Island is such a remarkable place.