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But first, there can be no discussion about Rapa Nui and its people, without understanding a little of its history.
In 1722, the Dutch explorer Jocob Roggeveen was the first European to discover the Island. He named it Easter Island as it was discovered on Easter Day. He and his crew at first, thought that the moai were idols as people bowed before them. The first encounter didn’t end well as a confrontation occurred which resulted in the sailors opening fire and killing a number of the natives.
In 1774, Captain Cook, a British explorer, sent a party ashore and when they returned, they reported that a number of the statues had been toppled.
The visitors mainly sought water, wood and fresh food. There was no safe anchorage. Observations from their visits records that by this time, wood was very scarce and only small canoes were being made by the locals. Roggeveen described the islanders as living in squalid reed huts or caves, being in a perpetual state of war between the tribes and having to resort to cannibalism to supplement the meagre food supplies available on the island.
There has been much controversy and confusion about the origins of the Easter Islanders. The renowned explorer, Thor Heyerdahl, believed that the people who built the statues were from Peru because of similarities found in their stonework. Although, Heyerdahl produced significant evidence to support his claims, once they were looked at in detail against other alternatives, his concept has now been scientifically disproved.
Erich von Daniken put forward theories that the island was once inhabited by people that were under an extra-terrestrial influence but no scientific evidence has every been found to support this theory.
Archaeological evidence, however, indicates that the island was populated by people of Polynesian descent about 400 AD. Evidence has also been found of writings by the locals in Rongo rongo script, which is really the only written language in Oceania (the Pacific). Pottery, carvings, tattooing, music and dance follow the Polynesian style. The Romga rongo tablets are believed to record ancient hymns, genealogies and practices brought by the original inhabitants of the island.
