Beingindigenous | Magazine

Petroglyphs on Te Pito o Te Henua or Eastern Island

Located in the Pacific Ocean, the Eastern Island is considered to be the world’s most remote inhabited island. The oldest known traditional name of the island is Te Pito o Te Henua, meaning ‘The Center (or Navel) of the World.’
The petroglyphs and rock paintings were important, sacred images to the ancient Rapanui People.

Orongo is a key archaeological site on Easter Island
One of the most fascinating sights at Orongo are the hundreds of petroglyphs carved with birdman and Make-Make images. Carved into solid basalt (pa'enga), they have resisted ages of harsh weather. It has been suggested that the images represent birdman competition winners. Over 480 birdman petroglyphs have been found on the island, mostly around Orongo. Heyerdahl says that this artistry stands in sharp contrast with the rest of Polynesia, and archaeologist Henri Lavachery, who spent six months on Easter Island in 1934, drew comparisons with the imagination and variety displayed by the pottery motifs of the early Mochica art in Peru (dating from the first few centuries AD).

The famous birdman (tangata manu) design can be related to cult events. The emblem of birdman (a crouching profile human with a bird head and beak) became the symbol for the new rule by the matato'a. The cult festivities were held at one of the most scenic spots on the island, 'Orongo, located on a narrow ridge between a 1,000 foot drop into the ocean on one side and a deep crater on the other side. The most sacred area at 'Orongo was Mata Ngarau, where priests chanted and prayed for success in the annual egg hunt.

The purpose of the birdman contest was to obtain the first egg of the season from an offshore islet, Motu Nui. Contestants descended the sheer cliffs from 'Orongo and swam to Motu Nui where they awaited the coming of the birds. The first to procure an egg became the winner. He presented it to his sponsor who then was declared birdman for that year, an important status position.

Long neglected in favor of the great statues, today we enjoy the petroglyphs and rock paintings as non-renewable works of art -- as ancient prayers and offerings made by this remote group of Polynesians, isolated in the vast seas of the great South Pacific Ocean.

More information:
http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/easter/rockart.html
http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId={694886CF-280A-11D5-93F2-00902786BF44}