Rapanui eyes are opened

“Eyes that look to the sky” has been one of the names by which Easter Island has been known to Europeans since the last century. Some have thought this referred to the extinct volcanic cones located at the comers of the triangular island, while others, more fanci ful, have imagined that the phrase refers to the Islanders searching the skies for the re turn of their interplanetary ancestors.

Few considered that the term, mata kite rangi, in the local language, might refer to the hollow sockets of the mega lithic stone figures (moai) that are scattered over the land scape, many of them once proudly erected on huge stone altars (ahu).

In all, there are about 800 of the figures around the island with, perhaps, another 200 yet to be located.

While Rapanui is one of the best known of the Polynesian islands, archaeology there is fairly recent, beginning with the Heyerdahl expedition in the mid-19505. Due to the island’s remoteness, travel to Rapanui in the past was expensive and time-consuming. For much of the last three decades what archaeology was done was de dicated to restoration, Professor William Mulloy of the University of Wyoming being the most prominent fieldworker on Rapanui until his death in 1978.

Two things have changed in recent years. Firstly, there are up to four flights per week (in summer) to the island between Chile and Tahiti, and, there is now a Rapanui archaeologist, trained in the United States, who can conduct his own re search.

Sergio Rapu is that archaeologist and as well as being the curator of the Easter Island Museum, is (since Febru ary 1984) the governor of the province of Easter Island (see PIM May 1984).

Rapu’s most notable field work took place in 1979 when he led a team excavating Ahu

Nau Nau, located at Anakena Beach, on the northeast coast of the island, some kilometres distant over rough roads from the main town.

Anakena is the island’s largest white sand beach, but it is also the landing place of legend of the founding hero of the Rapanui, Hotu Matu’a.

That same white sand had oozed over the ceremonial centre (ahu) and its toppled figures (moai), hiding them not

only from investigation but also from wind and water erosion.

Moreover, unlike other such sites, much of the decorative stone was intact for study.

In the course of Rapu’s in vestigations, he found that the ahu was more highly decorated than had been supposed.

Subtle elevations gave the structure a slight lift at either end, making their association with up-turned canoes more pronounced than had generally

been thought. Decorative stones around the main plat form were in place for their size, as well as their color and shape.

There seems to be evidence that the figures themselves may have been painted, and had inlaid ear plugs.

The large red scoria top knots, or “hats”, at Anakena were of a more varied style as well.

The most startling finding, though, was that the figures had

inlaid coral and rock eyes!

For some time, archaeolog ists had found pieces of con cave coral slabs at ahu sites, but no one could figure out their purpose. Some had thought that they were fragments of decorations, possibly placed on the top knots or nearby around the altars. Their purpose was unknown.

Through a combination of luck and skill on a well-pre served site, Rapu found enough of the fragments to start him thinking. As he fitted the puzzle together, the general outline of an eye appeared.

The effect of placing this

assemblage into the usually empty moai eye sockets was devastating.

Mata kite rangi they were the eyes that looked at the sky.

Though only enough frag ments for a couple of the original eyes were found at Ahu Nau Nau, Rapu directed a temporary restoration of eyes for the other figures on the restored platform.

The Islanders, accustomed to their sightless ancestors, shiv ered with the thought that they may still be watching. Though trained in a rational, scientific tradition himself, even the archaeologist-governor finds

their fully restored aspect distur bing, even threatening.

The hard work of carefully sifting through previous archaeological reports now goes on. Patricia Vargas and Claudio Cristino, of the Univer sity of Chile’s research centre, are carrying on the methodical detailed work of survey at the moment and, already, they have discovered village sites, where none were thought to exist, and house types that were not well known in previous work. Other researchers, such as Britain’s John Flenley, have evidence of exotic vegetation, while Australia’s Johann Kam

minga is working on the en gineering problems of moai movement.

Slowly, the mysteries of Eas ter Island the theme of so many books and articles are being made understandable. In the case of the current work, what is found only enhances the wonder the casual visitor and resident Islander feel for Rapanui’s complex past.

The Island is a monument to human achievement; an open air museum showing how peo ple on a sparse and remote island, with relatively small population, can survive and,

even, flourish.

Grant McCall.