Lā 7: Pōʻalima, Malaki 3 Ancestral Sites : Moai and Ahu
Kaʻimi & Nohea
3/3/17
3/3/17
Friday, March 3rd, 2017, was a day of unforgettable tours and sun. Our first stop after breakfast was Rano Raraku, a center of restored Moai and a crater that is nearly three million years old. Then we went to Tongariki, which is home to about 16 Moai with the view of the beautiful waves crashing behind. Lastly, we traveled to Anakena, where the ceremony for the Hōkūleʻa arrival would be taking place the following morning. The kumu and haumāna were accompanied by Sergio Rapu, a former governor, who gave us unique information about the Rapa Nui culture and helped us connect it to ourselves.
We started our day off at Rano Raraku with Sergio Rapu. He served as our host for the day, teaching us about the history, importance, and purpose of the human rock figures, commonly known as Moai. Rano Raraku is the quarry where restored Moai reside as well as where the Moai were originally created and later transported to Tongariki. The “cult of the ancestors” were represented differently through human figures, marking these Moai as the beginning of statuary art. Since this quarry is situated on a slope, their unique, ingenious ways of transporting these heavy figures included rolling them down the hill to Tongariki and swaying them from side to side with ropes attached to the tops for people to take turns pulling on.
After Rano Raraku, we drove to Tongariki to learn more about the Moai. Sergio Rapu, informed us about the Tongariki Moai and the transportation process. After the Moai were moved to their designated sites, their bases were trimmed. The Moai were repositioned from a forward-leaning posture to standing upright with their chest up high. We learned that in (2002) a tsunami came and knocked down the Moai. $3 million was generously donated by a company in Japan, along with the Chilean government to restore the ahu. Now they have 16 Moai, including the one at the very front entrance in acknowledgment of the Japan company’s generosity. Every ten generations the Moai would be redesigned. This allows the Rapa Nui to express themselves and their ancestral connections.
We ended our day at Anakena (Hanga Rau), which is a beautiful bay where the Hōkūleʻa would arrive for the ceremonies. This place is very significant to the Rapa Nui because it is where Hotu Matu’a, the first chief to arrive in Rapa Nui, landed. First, we started by eating lunch and had three beach cafes to choose from. After eating, we went up to Ahu Naunau, the ceremony site just ma uka of the beach, to familiarize ourselves with the area the ceremony for the Hōkūleʻa would be held. We spent a lot of time rehearsing our mele and staging, so we could have a general idea of how the ceremony would proceed.
Although Hawaiʻi and Rapa Nui share many similar traits, Hawaiʻi has canoe building, farming, and fishing, while there isnʻt much to do in Rapa Nui. This encourages us to appreciate the assets that Hawaiʻi enjoys; in fact, we can admire how the Rapa Nui people motivated themselves to ho’omau and continue to honor their ancestral Moai as a source of pride and identity.
We started our day off at Rano Raraku with Sergio Rapu. He served as our host for the day, teaching us about the history, importance, and purpose of the human rock figures, commonly known as Moai. Rano Raraku is the quarry where restored Moai reside as well as where the Moai were originally created and later transported to Tongariki. The “cult of the ancestors” were represented differently through human figures, marking these Moai as the beginning of statuary art. Since this quarry is situated on a slope, their unique, ingenious ways of transporting these heavy figures included rolling them down the hill to Tongariki and swaying them from side to side with ropes attached to the tops for people to take turns pulling on.
After Rano Raraku, we drove to Tongariki to learn more about the Moai. Sergio Rapu, informed us about the Tongariki Moai and the transportation process. After the Moai were moved to their designated sites, their bases were trimmed. The Moai were repositioned from a forward-leaning posture to standing upright with their chest up high. We learned that in (2002) a tsunami came and knocked down the Moai. $3 million was generously donated by a company in Japan, along with the Chilean government to restore the ahu. Now they have 16 Moai, including the one at the very front entrance in acknowledgment of the Japan company’s generosity. Every ten generations the Moai would be redesigned. This allows the Rapa Nui to express themselves and their ancestral connections.
We ended our day at Anakena (Hanga Rau), which is a beautiful bay where the Hōkūleʻa would arrive for the ceremonies. This place is very significant to the Rapa Nui because it is where Hotu Matu’a, the first chief to arrive in Rapa Nui, landed. First, we started by eating lunch and had three beach cafes to choose from. After eating, we went up to Ahu Naunau, the ceremony site just ma uka of the beach, to familiarize ourselves with the area the ceremony for the Hōkūleʻa would be held. We spent a lot of time rehearsing our mele and staging, so we could have a general idea of how the ceremony would proceed.
Although Hawaiʻi and Rapa Nui share many similar traits, Hawaiʻi has canoe building, farming, and fishing, while there isnʻt much to do in Rapa Nui. This encourages us to appreciate the assets that Hawaiʻi enjoys; in fact, we can admire how the Rapa Nui people motivated themselves to ho’omau and continue to honor their ancestral Moai as a source of pride and identity.