Rapu Nui

RAPU NUI
Volcanic in origin, Easter Island is globally, one of the most famous archaeological sites due to the huge Maoi statues, yet, is one of the least affected by tourism, so has managed to maintain it’s original heritage and traditions. Fairly small, with many hills, Easter Island has no trees and is volcanic in origin. South of the equator, situated in the Pacific Ocean, it lies approximately 3600 km, or 2200 miles, from the coast of Chile, and is considered by many to be the remotest, inhabited island in the world. With a mass of only sixty-three square miles, Easter Island boasts three volcanoes that are now extinct. The tallest reaches heights of 1674 feet above sea level. Originally called TePito o TeHenua by its original inhabitants, which roughly translated means “The Centre of the World” or precisely translated means “The Navel of the World”, it was soon to be changed to Rapa Nui by the Tahitian sailors of the 1860’s. Rapa Nui means “Great Rapa” as the Easter Island had similarities to another Polynesian island called Rapa Iti, which roughly translated means “Little Rapa”. However, upon the arrival of the first European, Jacob Roggeveen, on April 5th, 1722, the island received it’s current name of Easter Island.
Easter Island, of course, is most famous for the extremely large and impressive stone statues that are called the Moai. Originally, these statues were stood upon enormous stone platforms called Ahu. With 288 different statues, and 250 Ahu platforms, the perimeter of the island consisted of an unbroken ring of Moai and Ahu around the outskirts, each one placed approximately half a mile from the other. Interestingly, there are approximately 600 further statues that are scattered across the island, mainly found within the quarries where they would have been sculpted, or along the historical roads that journey from the quarry to the coastline. Carved from the stone from the RanoRaraku volcano, the statues weigh approximately 14 tons and average a height of 14 feet and 6 inches. However, some of the Moai reached weights in excess of 80 tons and heights of 33 feet.
FESTIVALS
Tapati Rapa Nui festival is held in late January or early February. Comprising of traditional culture inclusive of dancing, canoe racing, fishing tournaments, stature-carving, horse racing, sporting events, examples of body painting, reinactments of past battles, cuisine and feasts, and a finale of the crowning of Queen Tapati Rapa Nui, spectacularly highlighted under a spot-lit AhuThail.
RanoRaraku is one of the major events that take place here. Consisting of a unique triathlon, the contestants paint their bodies, build and sail on hand-built crafts made of reeds across the lake to collect bunches of bananas on their poles. They then have to circle the crater by running around the circumference and up the hill, where they collect large bundles of reeds, before finally swimming back across the water.
Haa Pei, another traditional event, consists of the young male contestants sliding down the grassy mountain on sleds made of banana tree trunks. These sleds gain great speed. The main access street is lit-up with a variety of different coloured lights. Please be advised that flights tend to be booked up far in advance for both of the aforementioned events.
In July, there is the Tokerau Singing Festival.
As the Chilean Independence Day is on September the 18th, the town celebrates with carnival parades. A three day public holiday is given for this large fiesta. It is traditional that on the day of their Patron Saint, families will hold a traditional feast that is cooked within their traditional earth oven which is known as an umutao.