Every year, representatives of different lineage competed to obtain the first egg of the seagull known as Manutara, that nested on a small island, Motu Nui, located in front of Orongo.
Whoever brought the egg, unbroken and after a tough fight, was entitled as Tangata Manu. This meant that the winner was the reincarnation of the very Make Make god. During the year, the Tangata Manu and his lineage enjoyed economical, political and religious privileges, giving place to a despotic and cruel rule exercised over those defeated who, during the following year, would try to get their revenge. Cannibalism propagated in this period. Many petroglifs evoke the bird man, with a human body and a bird head, holding an egg in his hands.