Chile’s Andes to Easter Island’s Moai

The public transportation system in Chile is subsidized by the government so that’s what I used to get back to Santiago, at 1/100th the price I paid to get to Cascada de las Animas, 2 hours SE of Santiago. Yes, I did mean 1/100th. I took a bus to the metro, then the metro to within a few blocks of my hotel in Santiago Centro. On Saturday things start winding down at 2pm, about the time I got to my hotel in Santiago, so I had time to get a few essentials, stop at Museo Chileno De Arte Pre Colombino, and have an early dinner. I skipped the terremoto, an ice cream and wine drink that Lonely Planet recommended, because the famous La Piojera drinking den looked a bit too seedy for a single female. The area I was in was more of the business district and didn’t seem the safest place to be, especially on a Saturday night. It was only one night, and then I was off to Easter Island, or what’s locally referred to as Rapa Nui.
For many Chileans, as well as those from other countries, this is the trip of a lifetime. Rapa Nui is a five hour flight, or a ten-day boat ride from South America. 43,000 visitors arrive annually to this 117 square kilometer island on flights that come only several days a week, even during high season. That’s more than 10 times the population. And actually the horses here outnumber the people, but it depicts a form of wealth for the islanders. The spirituality of the island doesn’t take long to reach you. The moai are everywhere—300 of various sizes, and some with ochre-colored top knots, are scattered along the coast of an island that is the result of three erupted volcanoes, complete with miles of now collapsed volcanic tubes. Another 100 lay in the quarry, unfinished.

The massive carved torsos of the moais still have archeologists puzzled over how they got from the quarry to the coastline. Some weigh as much as 90 tons. We visited the quarry where these moai were carved, and told how they were transported up to 20 or 30 kilometers to their final thrones, those being ahu, which actually were burial places of the family members. There are about 250 ahus, some supporting more than one maoi. The moai were a tribute to the wealthy. Each was built in the image of the person it was attributed to. They were positioned to face the interior of the island. One could consider the moai a form of converter. Energy, power and spirituality come into the moai and the moai in turn, converts this energy and projects it out to the people of his tribe. The eyes that were put in place as the final touch were to bestow this energy, power and spirituality upon their lineage. The custom stopped around the 1700’s when western civilizations infused the island with their religions and missionaries (bringing horses with them).

The moai’s were actually destroyed by the people that believed in them. It’s the common story of “us” vs. “them”. Rapa Nui was becoming overpopulated. (In fact, there was five times the population 500 hundred or so years ago compared to the present day.) There was not enough food and water to go around. Deforestation had already occurred and the fields were maxed out. Enemies would topple the moais to destroy the energy/power of spirituality that the moai’s were presumed to be bestowing upon their living relatives. They were always pushed face down to ensure their energy was eliminated. Given that these moai’s were up to 90 tons, this was not an easy task. Further destruction was from pirates in the 1700’s - 1800’s who sought treasures from the ahu’s, the “thrones” of the moai’s

There still is an annual celebration of the bird man that takes place in February. The original festival was a year of preparation for warriors who were to participate in the birdman competition. There warriors were to climb down a vertical cliff with only their bodies for tools, swim 1/5 kilometers to an island, confiscate a particular bird’s egg (I missed what kind of bird this was from), then swim the 1.5 kilometers back to the mainland, climb the vertical cliff and present it to the former year’s birdman, intact, without a crack. The warriors carried it in a cloth they wrapped around their head. The winner reigned for a year, and of course brought much prestige to his tribe. Villages were built especially for use only during the time of the festival, even more exclusive than the buildings used for the Minnesota State Fair. The houses were built in the shape of a boat, and were used only for sleeping. The entrance was wide enough for one person, and people had to crawl into it. That way spirits nor enemies could invade the quarters and it also moderated the temperate. Cooking was done outside the sleeping quarters.

Geologically, Easter Island is the formation of three erupted volcanoes, which are evidenced in vast craters. It’s Summer here, which means the dry season, though it’s rained everyday I’ve been here. Some rain is a fine, fine mist, others have been downpours. All water used by humans on the islands is from rain water. The cliffs can be steep, sandy shores are few, horses abound, and commercialization is showing itself. Just about everything has to be shipped here from the mainland. And as is typical, whatever fresh fruit and vegetables that are grown here are few, and don’t keep well. There is still the small town atmosphere, but since many natives do speak English, this small town atmosphere may not exist in the next generation.