Yesterday we visited the top knot quarry-Puna Pau-where they carved the red top knots that they placed on top of the Moais. They weighed 5-10 tons and were also moved clear across the island--12 KM in some cases.
We also visited the church. Missionaries converted the Rapa Nui to christianity, but the islanders also brought in their own religion--the birdman religion. The chruch is filled with imagery from the birdman religion and so it was quite fun to see how the islanders did that.
Easter Island was a great experience and there are still great challenges facing the Rapa Nui. The conventioall wisdom os that the islanders deforrested the island resluting in many people dying. They cut down the trees to move the huge Moai and for fuel. There was also much warfare on the island. Some use this as a lesson on environmental conservation. At one point the population was down to 110 people. There was also much warfare on the island. I think the story os more complicated than that. In the 1800s the island was raided for slaves with thousands of men taken from the island. Later on the slaves were sent back and brought with them smallpox. Then there was the impact of the colonists.
Until 1964, the Rapa Nui were not given full political rights and prior to then had to request permission just to leave the town of Hanga Roa. The island was "rented out" to an a British Company Williams and Balfour that turned the island into a sheep farm for several decades. The Moai sites are now considered national parks, but they are really sacred sites to the people. The government is now giving land to the Rapa Nuis families without regard to the sites that are meaningful based on ancestry.
Just a few years ago they only had 3 hours of electricity a day and when were were leaving the elctricity went out in Hanga Roa. Most people live in Hanga Roa--there is no elctricity or running water in the rest of the island.
Much more to be said on all of these topics.
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