The inhabitants of this mysterious place called their land: Te Pito o TeHenua, or the navel of the world. Archaeological evidence indicates the discovery of the island by Polynesians circa 400 AD. "In 1722, a Dutch explorer, Jacob Roggeveen, sighted and visited the island. This happened to be on a Sunday, Easter Sunday to be precise, and the name stuck: Easter Island."(rongorongo.org)Roggeveen discovered three distinct groups of people on Easter Island, Dark skinned, Red skinned, and very Pale skinned People with red hair. Inhabitants are of Polynesian descent. Many early explorers who visited the island found a scattered population with almost no culture they could remember, with no any links to the outside world. The Easter islanders were easy prey for 19th century slave traders which also depreciated their culture, knowledge of the past, and skills of their ancestors. When people think of Easter Island they think of huge stone carved figures known as monoliths, that litter the coastline. These monoliths are called Moai and are carved from island volcanic rock. The Moai are seen all over the island, and in different shapes, sizes, and stages of completion. Many Moai are left unfinished. No one knows what purposes the Moai served, but the Moai were carved by the ancestors of the present inhabitants. Many of these were buried up to their shoulders and appeared as disembodied heads.All of the Moai were toppled in tribal wars 250 years ago. The Moai were depictions of ancestors. The people of Easter Island the Rapa Nui were ancestor worshipers and only had one diety called Make Make. Easter Island may be remote, but it's very easy to get to. LanChile, the national airline of Chile, flies jet airplanes twice weekly from Santiago, Chile's capital; and twice weekly from Tahiti. The island has been a part of Chile since 1852. .
My pilgrimage to Easter island will be a long and costly one, so it would only be right to bring some friends along.
