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Revised Complete Guide to Easter Island Now Available!
A revised edition of The Complete Guide to Easter Island has been released by the Easter Island Foundation. Like its predecessor, which underwent three printings and has sold more copies than any other EIF publication, this expanded version brings together the latest scientific and tourist information in a format designed to appeal to both researchers and lay readers alike: Sections on history, legends, conservation, island theories, antiquities, and culture complement detailed coverage of the village of Hanga Roa, accommodations, shopping, vehicle rental, entertainment, island sights, and more. The Guide also includes a chapter on the Rapanui language, an extensive glossary, a detailed chronology, a comprehensive bibliography, and updated island maps. With 70 additional pages, this revised Guide includes new sections, such as discussions on the role of the sweet potato in Oceania, dating systems used by scientists, and listings of Easter Island artefacts found in museums around the world. Richly illustrated and featuring black & white and color photographs by the author. Whether you’ve been on the island, are planning your first trip, or returning to this most enigmatic place, The Complete Guide is your indispensable Easter Island resource. $25 + shipping. Order your copy from the EIF today! (Also available from Amazon.com)
Announcing an EIF publication by Rhys Richards...
Easter Island 1793 to 1861: Observations by Early Visitors Before the Slave Raids
From the back cover:
An exhaustive collection of reports, letters, and accounts — some never before published — from the first ships to visit Easter Island. A valuable scholarly edition to find a space on every Rapanuiphile’s bookshelf!
Softbound; 144 pages (featuring black & white photographs and illustrations); ISBN 978-1-880636-28-2; 2008
Available from the Easter Island Foundation (Easter Island Foundation Publications) or
Announcing a new publication by Christopher Stevenson & Sonia Haoa
Prehistoric Rapa Nui. Landscape and Settlement Archaeology at Hanga Ho´onu
From the back cover:
As the authors of this book show, contrary to past perceptions, the Easter Island landscape was a highly transformed and managed agricultural terrain that emerged in response to deforestation by the Polynesians who settled there. This volume adds a new dimension to scholarly investigations about why the island’s prehistoric society evolved the way it did.
Softbound; 297 pages (includes a fold-out map) ISBN 978-1-880636-26-8; 2008
Available from the Easter Island Foundation (Easter Island Foundation Publications) or
Announcing a new publication by Rhys Richards...
Manu Moriori: Human and Bird Carvings on Live Kopi Trees on the Chatham Islands.
From the back cover:
Tree carvings made by Moriori long ago remain alive today on Rekohu on only about 150 living trees. At the present rate of decline, all living carved trees could well be dead within the next generation. Fortunately, a substantial body of sketches and photographs of the motifs carved by Moriori long ago is available in Dunedin. The main motifs are squatting human "hocker" figures, which Moriori called "manu" or "birds". Before traditional Moriori society was overwhelmed by the Maori invasion in 1835, Moriori talked to thee carvings as an interface t hrough which to speak to their dead ancestors and spirits that were not in this world.
Softbound; 96 pages (featuring color and black & white photographs and drawings); ISBN 0-9582013-7-4; 2004
Order direct from Paremata Press 73 Seaview Rd., Paremata Wellington, New Zealand 5024
Another Archaeological Attack According to an article appearing in the April 6 El Mercurio de Valparaíso, two 30-year-old islanders, identified only by their initials (“L.P.T.” and “E.E.P.”), were caught damaging a protected archaeological site on the island in the area of Akahanga on the south coast and detained by police. The two were digging a shallow well ostensibly to provide water for their animals. Considering the act a flagrant violation, CONAF responded quickly and Sonia Haoa, a representative of the Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales de Rapa Nui, was dispatched to the site to certify its prehistoric status and evaluate the damage. In the process of digging the 10-foot (3-meter) deep well, the islanders had, in fact, uncovered ancient tools (which were taken away by local police). Ironically, the archaeologist has been criticized by some islanders for her condemnation of the acts of these two natives, as evidently certain inhabitants do not view the digging of the well in an archaeologically sensitive area as particularly reprehensible. By comparison with what the Finnish tourist did, one may make the distinction between intentional and unintentional harm but one cannot escape the conclusion that both incidents involved needless damage to the cultural patrimony of Easter Island. Yet it’s also difficult to escape the sense that there is a double standard; i.e., damage done to the island’s archaeology by a foreign tourist is worse than damage done to the island’s archaeology by natives. This apparent bias is borne out by the fact that local judicial authorities have ordered a 60-day evaluation period to determine on their own if the area where the two islanders dug the well is an archaeological site or not, despite the fact that a formal determination of this was made by an archaeologist. • • • Easter Island Moai Damaged According to various media reports (e.g., Yahoo! News, CNN.com, the New York Times, etc.) and corroborated by information supplied by Easter Islanders and numerous authorities, a 26-year-old Finnish tourist named Marko Kuljo was detained on Sunday, March 23rd after allegedly vandalizing one of the moai on Ahu Nau Nau. While initially facing the possibility of a prison term and a fine of $19,000 (U.S. dollars) if convicted of breaking off a piece of the right earlobe of the third moai on the ahu, the tourist, after being held under house (“hotel”?) arrest, is now going to be allowed to leave the island in so far as he has written a public apology, has paid a $17,000 (U.S. dollar) fine, and is banned from the island for three years. A non-native islander witnessed Kuljo repeatedly wandering around the platform, then jumping onto it and grabbing the lower earlobe of the moai. A piece was torn away and fell to the ground where it broke into fragments 8- to 12-inches (20- to 30-centimeters) in size. Kuljo then tried to run off with a souvenir of his reprehensible exploit. This is especially pitiful, as the moai at Ahu Nau Nau are amongst the better preserved on the island. The witness chased the suspect, obtained his name, and was able to provide a description of him (partly because of his extensive tattoos) to local police who later arrested him. Unfortunately, apparently no one else took part in attempting to prevent this vandalism and the park guard was preoccupied at the time and did not see the event unfold. Contrary to what some media reports have suggested, there is no evidence Kulju acted spontaneously nor impulsively but instead spent considerable time repeatedly walking around ahu, as if to steel his courage or perhaps keep an eye out for witnesses before he acted. It is difficult to accept, as one Weblog has suggested, that Kulju may have been simply attempting to "verify the hardness of the statue". And there is a world of difference between touching a statue and handling it in such a way as to break off a piece. (One shouldn’t be touching the statues in the first place and, in the second place, for those statues on platforms, to be able to touch a statue means one has had to climb onto the platform, which is forbidden.) Moreover, it seems disingenuous at best when the Finnish consul, according to other media reports, stated that Kulju was surprised his act would create such a "stir". How could he not know his actions were inappropriate? And, besides, who has the wherewithal to travel to Easter Island and visit one of its historic areas without knowing anything about how sacred it might be to the islanders or simply how valuable or fragile the site might be? This only inspires disbelieve that this tourist is merely ignorant, as otherwise how can one imagine him doing this sort of thing at any other famous or venerated places elsewhere in the world? There is no shortage of tour books about Easter Island, virtually every one of which addresses the sacred nature of the island’s shrines, the fragility of the statues, and the fact that tourists should obey signs and by all means stay off the platforms. Are we to believe that Kulju went to Easter Island with no preparation or reading or research or homework at all? Regardless, at least by his own admission (as reported in La Tercera), he has acknowledged that this is the worst mistake of his life. No argument there! Though trails and some walls and fences have been introduced in recent years to control burgeoning tourist access and minimize damage at various sites (some damage of which can also be caused by the thousands of horses that run free on the island — another problem), part of the charm of Easter Island is the open accessibility of the historic sites. But that accessibility makes the sites vulnerable. And one can easily fear that vandalism like that committed by Kulju will only encourage the island authorities to impose even greater restrictions. Consider Stonehenge. Its sarsen stones and even its bluestones are orders of magnitude harder than the lapilli tuff out of which the moai at Ahu Nau Nau was made, but, because of past abuses by visitors, restrictions were eventually imposed at Stonehenge and, short of special permit, tourists are now limited to viewing the monument from a walkway that circumnavigates the site and doesn’t get much closer than 20 feet (6 meters). The Puna Pau topknot quarry on Easter Island has recently become off-limits; visitors may view it from a pathway along the edge of the quarry. Similarly, regions such as the Poike Peninsula and the island’s tallest peak, Maunga Terevaka, no longer allow motorized vehicular access. As necessary as it is, one must also lament the idea that more developments like this will evolve more fully on Easter Island. How “bad” was this attack? Clearly, "bad" has two meanings here. The first is the heinous and callous nature of the injury to the statue, and there is no denying that the moai has been mutilated. It is not necessarily easy or inexpensive to repair such damage, nor will the moai retain its original aesthetic appeal, regardless of the state of reconstruction it was in at the time it was vandalized. Like other Polynesians, the early Easter Islanders believed (and some still believe) in the power of mana, a spiritual force with which the statues are imbued. One way to subtract mana or to de-sanctify a moai was to damage it. It is not necessary to believe in the Polynesian concept of mana to see that the damage done to this moai can be interpreted in terms of spiritual beliefs — and in some respects, repairs notwithstanding, this moai will never be the same again. The second "bad" aspect is that an act such as this does a disservice to tourists who take the time to learn what they can about the history and culture of Easter Island and who respect it and are grateful to experience it first-hand. Most people who visit Easter Island fulfill a lifelong dream in doing so. What is particularly "bad" about this is the act was committed out of stupidity, not ignorance, for there is plentiful information available that would have educated anyone with even meager curiosity about Easter Island as to how wrong it is to behave in this fashion, for this was not just a transgression against the sacredness of Easter Island that may be difficult for foreigners to fathom — but far and beyond this, the essential act is one of an omission of conscience. For no one should ever think it appropriate or insignificant to do what this tourist did. But one could hardly blame the islanders if because of acts like this they develop an even greater sense of scrutiny about and defensiveness towards tourists in general. While likely to have been said tongue-in-cheek or out of hyperbolic frustration, Easter Island Mayor Pedro Edmunds Paoa said in a USA Today interview that he wished Kulju’s ear could be clipped off as punishment. “If an ear is cut off, then an ear gets cut,” Edmunds Paoa said. "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth: That would be my form of justice". In what can ultimately only be seen as a weak response to this comment, a representative of the Finnish Embassy in Santiago reported that the chairman of a health club where Kulju regularly practiced fitness boxing said he was a responsible and well-liked person. "We haven't had a single bad experience with him; quite the opposite," Eero Vsara told the Associated Press. (Well, that's easily said; how many sacred statues would one expect to find in a health club?) In the end, unfortunately this is not likely to be the last time an event such as this will occur on Easter Island. Indeed, one may justly fear that, with increased tourism and limited resources, the problem is only going to get worse rather than better. • • • It’s the latest in a series of acts of vandalism and desecration that have been committed on the island in recent years. Not too long ago a Japanese tourist sprayed graffiti on the ahu at Vinapu; a Chilean man scratched his initials into a moai at Rano Raraku (where a British tourist also caused some damage a while back); tourists irreparably damaged cave artwork on the islet of Motu Nui; islanders have been known to scrape pigment from cave paintings; the ear of a moai on the Poike Peninsula was broken; the upright moai head at Vinapu was vandalized when an islander scratched eyes and a "happy face" smile onto it — and, on another occasion, someone scratched a tear-drop shape under one of the moai’s eyes. The island’s mayor even made a radio broadcast expressing anger about vandals who wrote graffiti on a moai; someone scratched initials onto a petroglyph panel at Rano Kau; and, in 2004, a 12-year-old island girl spray-painted graffiti (her initials) on the ahu at Tautira. In December of 2005, a Chilean administrator was demonstrating to his traveling partner how the moai were constructed when he threw a 14-centimeter (5.5-inch) rock at one of the statues, leaving two small scuff marks on the ancient sculpture and causing great embarrassment for the minister. And, of course, one of the more egregious examples of vandalism on the island occurred when a certain Canadian "landscape artist" re-arranged rocks, in some cases at potentially archaeologically sensitive locations and, despite being held by authorities and his materials confiscated, he smuggled some film off the island which an unscrupulous Canadian arts magazine published along with an article by this "artist" who laughed at having thwarted the islanders and the fact that they were offended by his reprehensible and illegal conduct. [For more details about this story, follow this link.]
Gotland Conference Photos
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