Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation Volume 2 Article 1 Issue 3 Rapa Nui Journal, Fall 2988

1988 Rapa Nui Journal 2#3 Fall 1988

Follow this and additional works at: https://kahualike.manoa.hawaii.edu/rnj Part of the History of the Pacific slI ands Commons, and the Pacific slI ands Languages and Societies Commons

Recommended Citation (1988) "Rapa Nui Journal 2#3 Fall 1988," Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation: Vol. 2 : Iss. 3 , Article 1. Available at: https://kahualike.manoa.hawaii.edu/rnj/vol2/iss3/1

This Research Report is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Hawai`i Press at Kahualike. It has been accepted for inclusion in Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation by an authorized editor of Kahualike. For more information, please contact [email protected]. et al.: Rapa Nui Journal 2#3 Fall 1988 the premier source for current Easter Island events and scientific studies... Special Conservation and Preservation Issue ......

.•• ••·••••• g~6ig~~e~;~~~p .•••·.·.: On Other Islands... THE DESTRUCTION .. ··r;iihti~heflC&er.a[FditOr . .•.•• Hxliritiiv~~tlf~k~{· TROUBLE IN PARADISE WROUGHT .... ··············)(EdiiM>·..······ .. PROBLEMS IN POLYNESIAN ROCK ART BY TOURISM ka~·jJJij~J~~;i·~.~·i~~~~~ CONSERVATION ...••••··•••••• •••• A Preliminary Field Report J. Douglas Porteous • tulti~naliie~s1(ift.;.pUbiish~f •four 9mesaYear£6dheJ)eri~ from the 1988 Lana'i Rock Art Project In my bookThe Modernization o/EasterIsland fifoE those interestediliEaster This year's August-September project to rec­ · Island ari~rolYri~~Ul...... •...... (porteous 1981), I note that academic interest in ord the rock art of Lana'i, Hawai'i specifically Rapanui has overwhelmingly concentrated upon ti~1~j;JJf6~~~~~7~:~4:n;::· .. focused on those sites most likely to be impacted archaeology and historical anthropology. Few by tourism. Atpresent, there is only a small ten seem interested in the recent history ofthe island, .~6~~:m~~t~{~f~1~~t:ri room hotel operating on the island; however, two or its current social, economic and political prob­ ··p~~lit@?ris;4ij(:i}~jat~rrta> large hotel complexes are scheduled to open next lems. The Pinochetregime, ofcourse, prefers this ... teHiilsare iliVitoo/We cinnot year. emphasis because archaeology is largely free of •.bE!resp(Msibl~fp~~rt#?1i~ited .. Threeofthe island's major rock art sites were ideology. itemsora,nythirigsubiriltted studied and documented. While work was in Yet at least one aspect ofmodem Rapanui is in WithOufadequatereturIl post­ progress, on-going acts of vandalism pointed up Reply:c:()~~ dire need of more research and application. This .age/ln{erriaH0n.al .... the importance ofconservation and preservation. pOsSibIerplea~~end is therefore, a call for research on the destruction pon. If At Luahiwa, one ofLana'i's finest (and most submissions ... ori.. 'inagnefic . wrought by tourism and the search for means to media. (ASCIIfortnat) either . accessible) petroglyph sites, wedocumented many prevent it. ISMor.Macintosh.....•.•... large and complex panels of petroglyphs. Upon All cultural artifacts exposed in the landscape returning to the site two days later, we were are subject to destruction and damage. This can Subscnptionratesf()f4issues: horrified to discover that one panel had been take place in a number of ways: U:S:·$12/ForeignAirrnail $20 vandalized; a petroglyph of a turtle was deeply . U:S. rundsonly;please. pecked on the rock, completely obliterating the • 1 • Natural erosion will inevitably reduce or original ancient figure. . impair man-made objects. This might well be ISsN 1040-1385 consideredinevitable, with mitigationprocedures ©Georgia Lee 1988 This incident however was only the latest in a long and unfortunate history regarded as inappropriate (a Celtic approach.) Re­ of petroglyph alteration on placement (as with the limestone carvings in this site. Our study clearly Oxford) or plastification (as with proposals for shows changes made to pet­ the Arches National Monument) should proceed roglyphs that were photo­ with due caution, ifat all. graphed in 1921 by Kenneth • 2 • Quarrying ofancient artifacts has always Emory. Many figures have taken place. TheColosseumandotherRoman and been changed by the addi­ Greek ruins were regarded as quarries by builders tion ofa variety oflines and of the medieval period. The "slates" of Orongo shapes. At the location where were extensively quarried when the Williamson­ Emory notes a simple hull­ Balfour company ruled Rapa Nui. shaped canoe, we docu­ • 3 • Theft is extremely common, and accounts mented a full out rigger with for the contents of most European and North a complete Hawai'ian sail American museums. Werea tithe ofartifacts to be (Figure 1). These deeply returned from such museums, Hangaroa would carved additions were un­ have a museum to be proud of. questionably created with ·4· Archaeology has been known to destroy, Figure 1: Petroglyph recorded at as well as to uncover. Luahiwa site on Lana'i, Hawai'l. Solid great effort and could not ·S· Construction of modem artifacts such as lines show canoe as seen In 1921. have been done hastily. At roads, airports and buildings may often destroy Shaded lines show recent alterations, the moment we can only continued on page 9.. valuable sites. continued on page 10...

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near its present state as possible, whereas restoration aims to allow ON CONSERVATION the observer to conjure up an image of what its original state is Nicholas Stanley Price, Ph.D. thought to have been. It is often debatable what that original state was, and so the Some of the following reflections appeared in a paper presented responsibility ofthe restorer is a heavy one, in physically imposing at the International Congress on Easter Island in 1984. Various his or her interpretation on cultural material. Restoration should recommendations based on the principles put forward here were therefore be an option requiring careful consideration as to whether made with regard to Rapa Nui in two unpublished reports (Stanley it is justifiable or not Price 1984, 1986). Fundamental to the idea of conservation is respect for the An important distinction, in my view, is that between conserva­ historical and aesthetic integrity of the obj~t. In other words, so tion and restoration. I suggestthat conservation involves measures that objects may retain those values that we ascribe them, no action to reduce the rate of deterioration of cultural property, so that it should be taken that diminishes their historical significance and continues to be available for study and analysis for the foreseeable aesthetic appeal. future. For this reason, all "intervention" on the object for purposes of Restoration, on the other hand, involves re-creating, either par­ scientific research and conservation must be the minimum neces­ tially or wholly, an image of the original state of the object or sary to achieve this end. This means, for example, when non­ building so that it becomes more intelligible to the observer. destructive analysis is not possible, the removal of samples of Various criteria havebeen proposed-and widely agreed upon­ minimal size; it means the testing of alternative treatments on for evaluating conservation measures: similar material of non-cultural origin (never on the original ob­ • 1· that they should constitute the minimum intervention ject); it means, above all, thorough documentation ofevery step in necessary; the process. In short, it requires a strictly scientific methodology. • 2 • that they should be fully documented; Based on a strict scientific methodology and a historical aware­ • 3· that any treatment should be reversible, or at least that it ness of the often conflicting values that are ascribed to cultural should not rule out any different treatment in the future; property, conservation has much to contribute to ensuring a future ·4· that the materials used in conservation becompatible with for the past. the ancient ones; References • 5· that conservation work should be subject to continuous Stanley Price, N.P. 1984. Conservation of the archaeological heritage of inspection and maintenance thereafter. Easter Island (RapaNui). A report prepared for the Centro Nacional de The same criteria should govern restoration, butwith theaddition Restauracion, Santiago, Chile. ICCROM, Rome. ofan important requirement-that the restored areas be viSiBle to -. 1986. Second report on conservation ofthe archaeological heritage of close inspection and recognisable as such. Easter Island (Rapa Nui). A report prepared for the Corporacion Put another way, once it has been decided that certain cultural Nacional Forestal, Santiago, Chile. ICCROM. Rome. material is worth preserving, conservation aims to maintain it in as

WORLD MONUMENTS FUND and ardent "Rapanuiphiles." Serving on the Executive Board of the Library Committee are TO HELP RAISE FUNDS Don Sergio Rapu, Provincial Governor ofEaster Island and former student of Dr. Mulloy; Ms. Joan T. Seaver, until recently the Vice FOR WILLIAM MULLOY MEMORIAL President of the Board of Trustees of the excellent Museum of RESEARCH LIBRARY Natural History in Santa Barbara, CA; Dr. Georgia Lee, Research Associate of the Institute of Archaeology at UCLA; and Dr. Following a meeting ofits Board ofTrustees in May ofthis year, William Liller, Assistant Director ofthe Instituto Isaac Newton of the prestigious World Monuments Fund revealed that it would the Ministerio de Educaci6n de Chile. vigorously support efforts to raise money to build and to operate a The goal ofthe Mulloy Memorial Library projectis to raisea total research library to be located on Easter Island and named in honor of US $500,000 which would pay for a new climate-controlled ofthe late William Mulloy, the world-renowned archaeologist who building, and provide sufficient endowment for the smooth opera­ restored several importantahu and moaion Easter Island during the tion of the facility. Approximately a quarter of this amount has 1960's and 1970's. already been raised or pledged. Besides contributing a generous "challenge" grant, the World As would have been Dr. Mulloy's wish, every effort will be made Monuments Fund, aU.S. non-profit organization, has set up a Trust to employ only native Rapanui at the Library. If necessary, the Fund to which tax-deductiblecontributionscan be made. TheWMF project will provide professional training for individuals. The will help in the preparation ofbrochures and in the planning offund­ Library Committee strongly urges readers of the Rapa Nui Journal raising activities of various sorts. and their friends to make generous tax-deductible contributions to The Mulloy Library Planning Committee is privileged to have support this importantprogram. Checks should be made payable to Professor Mulloy's widow, Mrs. Emily Ross MuUoy as Honorary the World Monuments Fund and sent to their offices at 174 East Chairperson, and Mulloy's good friend and coUeague Dr. Carlyle 80th Street, New York, NY 10021. A note should be attached S. Smith as Honorary Vice Chairperson. The other Planning stating that the check is a gift for the Mulloy Memorial Library. Committee members include twelve eminent scientists, scholars,

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A Look Backwards, 1955... there was a pit fIlled with stones and a mound ofearth next to it. I had two men remove the stones from the pit (See Photo.) and then A Small Pottery Scam leftoneman to startdigging outthe earth in the bottom. I carne back Carlyle S. Smith to see what he had found. He was troweling loose dirt in the bottom and said to me, "Creo que yo he encuentrado algunas cosas que el It has been suggested that I present a detailed account of my Sr. Kon-Tiki necesita." (I think that I have found some things that personal experiences as one ofthe professional archaeologists on Mr. Heyerdahl needs.) Thentheman troweled through theloosedirt Easter Island in December of1955. An attempt was made then to a bitand pickedup a very small red potsherd. Itwasexactly likethat plant potsherds at Ahu Tepeu, in order to please Thor Heyerdahl shown to us by the other person. who had asked ifanyone had any oldpottery. For his account and I called over our cameraman, Erling Schjerven, and we were the identification of the personnel involved, the reader should excited about the fmd. Erling set up his movie camera and we consult the popular book Aku-Aku. (HeyerdahI1958,pp. 99-101) decided thattheeventshould bere-enactedfor the movie. I said that My account is an edited excerpt from my journal, segments of it would be hard to explain to the man exactly what we wanted him which were sentperiodically to mywife, Judy, during the ten month to do. Meanwhile the camera was running to getpictures. The man long Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and then proceeded to fmd another very small sherd, as though he knew the East Pacific in 1955/56.1 have changed verbs to the past tense what was expected of him. We brought other men over to trowel and have added a few words and phrases for clarification. Dele­ through the dirt thrown out. When I was in the pit, minute sherds tions have been minimal. Since 1956,/ have returned to the island were found outside, in the loose dirt. 13 times, andJudy has accompaniedme three times. The islandand Sr. Ugarte, the manager ofthe sheep ranch, rode up on his horse its people fascinate us. and we told him what an importantdiscovery we had made. Hesaid he was headed for Cabo Norte, inspecting sheep, and would go to On December4, 1955, an EasterIslandercameto Thortosay that Vai Tea by way of Anakena to give the news to Thor. (Ugarte he had found pottery. Thor had shown people sherds from Peru in always spoke German to us because mostofus understood itbetter the hope that some might tum up on the island in support of his than Spanish. He had learned it in school in Chile.) theory ofraftvoyages from thecontinent. The man showed us a few After Ugarte left, Gonzalo and Arne appeared on horses. I polished red sherds, all from the samevessel. They looked likeplain shouted, "Get ready to say faen again, Arne. We have found ware from South America, suggestive of pottery I have seen from pottery." Theyboth showedsurpriseandreplied that itcould not be the Viru Valley ofPeru. Wewere quite excited because the man told true becausethey hadbeen informed by oneofthe woman in Hanga us he had found it at a ceremonial structure called Ahu Tepeu, a Roa that it was all a hoax and that people were laughing at us. The structure atwhich some ofthe stones were fitted in a waysuggestive person had obtained thepotteryelsewhereand had shown itto Thor of the Andean manner (Smith 1961, pi 18, c.d.). as a means ofgetting a reward. It immediately became clear to us Thor said, "I wonder what Arne will say when he sees this." that he must have made an arrangement with our workers whereby I said, "He will say, 'Faen.' " (This is Norwegian for "What the they would'find' pottery atthe site to supportthe hoax. Noneofour devil.") workers would admitanything. We stopped digging for pottery and When Arne Skjolsvold saw the sherds, that was the first thing he continued with the burials. With two fence posts, and the strength said. of all the laborers, we were able to pry up the well-made slab of The next day we went to Ahu Tepeu with the ownerofthe pottery stone covering the vault. We took photographs and made sketches. and five laborers. The man showed us a looted grave in the slope of By then it was too late to do any more that day (Smith 1961, fig. 53 the stone structure, saying that was where he found the pottery. We and pI. 19). searched allover the surface of the structure and on the ground Itwas slow trip back. We had to walkovera mile back to thejeep around it, butfound no pottery, only chippedobsidian artifacts. Test and then drive about five miles overthe worst trail youcan imagine. excavations were carried on by having the men remove someofthe In some places, the road went right across the ruins ofstone housed stones covering the slope of the ahu. They uncovered two well shaped like boats. In other places we had to go into frrst gear over preserved skeletons in a rough stonecist. Then, in anotherplace, we ragged lava. found two grave vaults, one crude and the other carefully made, Finally we reached Hanga Roa where we went to see Father with a well fitted stone lid. Looking through the crack in the end of Sebastian to tell about the hoax. He passed itoffas justvillagegos­ the vault, we could count nine human skulls and a mixed mass of sip and could not believe that the men he had selected to work for other bones. us would actually plant the pottery for us to fmd. The next day I was assigned the task ofinvestigating the site and We were not convinced, and headed back to Anakena, disgusted went there with six laborers (Smith 1961, pp. 189-195, Fig. 52). with the whole episode. It took a long hard drive of45 minutes to Arne and Gonzalo Figueroa stayed in Hanga Roa to transact some coverthedistanceofsome 10miles overthe wheel track thatpassed business in the morning. I started test excavations in several places for a road. outside the walls of the ahu but no pottery appeared. At one place When we reached camp, Thorand everyone were waiting for us.

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We were about an hour late. They were excited and could not Addendum believe their ears when we said the whole thing was a hoax. There followed a long, rapid discussion in Norwegian between Thor and After the above events took place. I found a source ofexcellent Arne. Thor so wanted pottery to be found to support his theory that· potters clay in a damp area in the talus on the west slope ofRano he was not willing to accept either side of the case until he knew Raraku. This clay was usedfor dams in the process ofmaking a more about the situation. mold ofa moai. now standing, cast in plaster. in the Kon-Tiki Mu- Ugarte had come riding into the camp like Paul Revere, except seum in Norway. I was also successful in making a small pottery that he must have said, "Doktor Smith hat Keramik an Ahu Tepeu vessel, which Ifired. This suggests thaL ifany women ever came to gefunden." instead of"The British are coming!" This excited Thor the islandfromSouth Americainprehistoric times. theywouldhave so much that he ran up the signal flag to the ship, established walkie found clay and utilized it in the manufacture ofpottery. talkie contact, and informed them of the good news. It was also a In 1963, I searched for pottery in the Marquesas. One of my sailor's birthday, so the gin and vermouth were broken outfor mar- workers at the site on Hiva Oa obliged me by 'finding' a potsherd. tinis, Yvonne's which he had ~~~,incek- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~made~mith

bration. All was 1965). If there is rather anticli- amoralto allthis. mactic, after our it is that archae- arrival. ologist should be The next day cautious about Thorwent with us telling local. non- to Hanga Roa, to professionals confer with the what they would Padre and the like to find. Poly- native workers. nesians are The Padre was friendly and ac­ still convinced commodating. It that if anything is part of their was wrong, the charm. workers were not The excavation of the pottery "find" at Tepeu. in on it Thor still Photo courtesy of C. S. Smith wanted to get to L-- ,- ---I the bottom ofthe problem, but the men would admit to nothing. In­ stead ofgoing back to Abu Tepeu, we went to Abu Vinapu, where References Bill Mulloy was worlcing. There our workers assisted in the raising ofthe body ofa large red stone statue that Thor sees as being related Heyerdahl, Thor. 1958. Aku-Aku. the Secret ofEasterIsland. Chi­ to some around Lake Titicaca. He strengthened his case by pointed cago. out that the nearby ahu has stone work remarkably like that ofthe Smith, Carlyle S. 1961. A Temporal Sequence Derived from Inca structures in South America. Each stone is carefully ground Certain Ahu. Report 2, In Thor Heyerdahl and Edward N. and fitted. He cited further support for his theory of contacts with Ferdon,Jr. (Editors). "Reports ofthe Norwegian Archaeologi­ South America in the form ofa drawing of a reed boat with a sail cal Expedition to EasterIsland and the EastPacific, Vol. 1, Ar­ at the Orongo site. In such a boat the Indians of the coast of South chaeology of Easter Island." Monographs of the School of America, he said, made sea voyages. This is why he wanted the American Research and the Museum ofNew Mexico. No. 24, pottery find to be authenticated. pt I, pp. 181-219, Figs. 50---60, Pis. 18-25. Santa Fe. Thatevening Gonzalo and I proved to Thor that the whole pottery -. 1965. An Archaeological Hoax in the Marquesas. American episode was a hoax. We had been able to fit some ofthe tiny sherds Antiquity. Vol. 30, No.3, p. 355. found at the site, to one ofthe large sherds owned by the man who reported the pottery in the first place. The joining was made at a Carlyle S. Smith, Ph. D. fresh break in the sherds. Laterwe gotsupportfrom EdFerdon, who Department of Anthropology found another man in Hanga Roa from whom the pottery had been University of Kansas obtained. It was from an old pot of unknown origin in his house. Gonzalo was convinced that the pot was made in modem times in a remote village in Chile where old crafts survive. Much ofthis pot- tery is available today on Santiago. So ended the pottery fiasco.

Rapa Nui Journal • Page 4 • Fall 1988 https://kahualike.manoa.hawaii.edu/rnj/vol2/iss3/1 4 et al.: Rapa Nui Journal 2#3 Fall 1988 A LAYMAN'S GUIDE TO RONGORONGO An Historical Approach Alan Davis-Drake Part One ofa Three Part Series: The European and American Discoveries-the 19th Century (The Discoveries and Observations of the Tangata Hiva)

Graphic art has rarely reached such a level ofperfection in any primitive culture. handful of repatriated Rapanui who returned to their homeland with nothing but the accumulated diseases of their captors. -Alfred Metraux, 1957 The religious scene on Rapa Nui would soon change. Brother Eugene Introduction Eyraud began with an uneven start in 1864. His first pathetic failure to convert the Rapanui is a lively story, which can be discovered elsewhere, Rongorongo embraces a unique status in the history of Polynesia. Rapa but of interest here is his return in 1866--with Pere Hippolyte Roussel. Nui, EasterIsland, produced the only known systematized "writing" in the Concurrent with their inevitable success in building a mission, the grand Pacific isles: a series of neatly carved glyphs scratched on wood with a gathering of rongorongo was also underway. shark's tooth or a sharppieceoflocalobsidian. Whetherornotrongorongo actually is "writing" remains the subject ofdebate, a debate as lively today These missionaries are the first reported tangata hiva to actually see IwMu rongorongo, or "the tablets" as they began to be called. At first, the as it was a hundred years ago. missionaries showed no particular interest in the obscure boards. There What follows is a simple, historical essay parroting what various people were more pressing 'issues' to control. Still, through a familiarity with the experienced, contemplated and wrote when they encountered the ever day-to-day world of the Rapanui, the missionaries became increasingly elusive rongorongo script of Rapa Nui. The following is not a research aware of various odd carvings. paper. It is neither implanted with exacting references nor blazoned with incandescent ethnologic discoveries and insights. Instead, it is a series of Once fully converted to the religious ways of their new "fathers," (a quick conversion by any missionary's standards) the Rapanui chose to fascinating stories, each echoing the reoccurring themes ofpost-European show devotion to theirnew religion by collecting all their newly shornhair life on the eastern limit of the Polynesian triangle. and weaving it thinly together into a single long cord. They wrapped this This essay was compiled by an amateur-for fellow armchair adventur­ scruffy strand around a piece of wood and sent it off to Papeete as a gift to ers. For us, it will hopefully bring the inaccessible concept ofrongorongo their new religious leader, MonseigneurTepano Jaussen, BishopofTahiti. closer to life... Beneath his newly acquired tangled mat ofhair, the Lord Bishop ofAxieri 1864 and the Missionaries discovered a contrastingly neat set ofhieroglyphs. One can easily imagine The first reports ofearly foreigners visiting RapaNui did not express an his wide-eyed wonderment upon seeing his first rongorongo. awareness of the existence ofactual rongorongo until the arrival ofthe first MgT. Jaussen immediately sent instructions back to his subordinates on missionaries in 1864. Fifteen years before, a single wooden pectoral Rapa Nui, ordering them to obtain more of these strange tablets. Itbecame ornament, a reimiro, was reportedly seen on New Zealand. A meticulous immediately apparent to the Fathers that certainpeculiar items werehighly line ofunidentifiable glyphs could clearly be seen arching across its curved prizedby the locals.The Rapanui wouldin nowaybepersuadedto partwith and polished flat surface. This reimiro marks the beginning of the tangata their precious possessions. The IwMu rongorongo were almost unobtain­ hiva's, 1 the outsider's, unrequited affair with the unintelligible writings of abler-with one exception. An unnamed, industrious Rapanui wentright to Easter Island. Here the tangata hiva unwittingly begin their contribution to selling Father Zombohn a perfectly preserved tablet. Soon afterwards, a the loss of knowledge of rongorongo. young boy found a worm-eaten fragment All possibility for learning the true and com­ ofrongorongo on a rock. He immediately plete purpose ofrongorongo was lost during the gave itto PadreZumbohn.Othertablets re­ infamous years of1859 and 1862. Raiders for the luctantly appeared. Theywerequickly col­ Peruvian slave trade captured all the important lected as well-and were all obediently ariki-the clan leaders. Also captured were the sent on to Tahiti. tangata rongorongo, the rongorongo men, hold­ Holdinghisproudnewpossessions, Mgr. ers ofthe knowledge ofsacred writing. With the Jaussen discovered Metoro-a Rapanui captive Rapa Nui holy men and literari all work­ living and working there on the Brander ing the guano fields of South America, there plantation (Croft 1874).The Monseigneur remained no living inheritors ofthat tradition on was told that Metoro had been trained the island. Theceremonial formalities connected under a famous tangata rongorongo. with rongorongo continued for a shortwhile, but Anxious to learn whatthe glyphsmeant, he they were empty celebrations lead by a desperate handed oneofhis tablets over to the Rapa­ people clinging to traditions they would soon no nui, who tookup the piece ofwood, turned longer know. Thesurviving, unpracticedpartici­ it backwards and forwards, in the oddstyle pants could not read the glyphs. They honored required to read the glyphs, and began and revered the wooden boards, but stared at the chanting. (More about this will befound in sacred rongorongo like illiterate parishioners PartThree.)lthasbeensuggested(Metraux clutching hymnals in empty, outdoor church 1957, Englert 1974) that Metoro was not pews. Their religious leaders were gone. Rongorongo sample from a tablet In the trulyconversantwithrongorongo, andwas If, after a few years ofinternational protests, a National Museum of Natural History In San­ not "translating" the text but was instead few tangata rongorongo were among the small tiago, Chile. continued on following page...

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simply expressing what he guessed the tablets depicted: "This is a bird," impassioned Rapanuiphile. For unknown reasons, when he fust landed on and "this is a man with a club" and etc. Not catching on, Mgr. Jaussen the island, the islanders uncharacteristically showed him and his fellow assiduously jotted everything down and proudly compiled a rongorongo shipwreckees a sizable number of rongorongo. The Rapanui decidedly 'dictionary.' Metoro's words were taken as gospel for many years after­ expressed a reverence for the oddities and clearly indicated the value ofthe wards. objects. He told Croft that he had met two old men on the island who claimed to have learned how to read and write rongorongo in their youth As time progressed, an increasing number of foreigners found them­ (Croft 1874). selves shipwrecked on the inexorably named 'Island of Mystery.' Upon Four months later, when he was about to leave, DeGreno tried every­ returning home, they told friends and associates ofseeing on Easter Island thing he could to obtain at least a single sample. While he himselfwas not unusual, "written" tablets. Whenever spoken of, rongorongo caused a stir. successful, the ship's Captainmanaged to somehow obtain two or three of Was it possible for an uncivilized people to have made a leap out of the the precious gems, which were immediately taken back to Europe. We do stone age? Did they do iton their own?Theories beganto ferment-already not know the methods he used to obtain them. One can safely assume he both sensible and outrageous... came forth with a sizable payment, either in cash or trade goods. These And as always, whenever outsiders made attempts to procure one of rongorongo followed the almost predictable fate ofthose entrusted into the these presumably rare items, they were easily frustrated. The islanders hands ofCaptain Gana-they were never to be seen again. would not part with their rongorongo as freely as they did other local 1877 and the French warship Seignelay sculpture. Evidently a sporadic tourist trade was forming evenback then­ 1877 saw the end ofCaptain Dutroux-Bornier.4 Soon after the Captain's but there were limits. Bargains were met for anything but therongorongo.3 death, A. Pinart, a passenger on the Seignelay, visited Rapa Nui. He 1870 and Captain Gana reported there were still rongorongo on the island but could obtain none. Eighteen years before the island's inevitable annexation. a Chilean He saw them being used as cores for rolling up nets, fIshing cord and as sailing class warship, the 0'Higgins, landed on Rapa Nui in January of such, and he credits this as the sole reason for their preservation. 1870. Where others had failed, Captain Gana quickly proceeded to stealth­ 1882 and H. M. Gunboat Hyane ily obtain three rongorongo. Fortunately he gave two to the ChileanMuseo Historico Nacional in Santiago, but the third he sent on to France; it never Captain-LieutenantGeiselerofthe GermanNavy investigated the island for four days in 1882. He quickly prepared his report to the Cheif of the arrived. Casts were quickly taken of the two National Museum ron­ Imperial Admiralty. Before leaving Germany, in preparation for his visit gorongo, and copies were subsequently sent onto various museums in to Easter Island, Geiseler read two recently published observations on Europe. Whereas the English Etlmological Society was exceptionally rongorongo.5 His own comments, published on his return in a supplement interested in this strange new discovery, the copies sent off to Berlin lead to the OffICial Navel Gazette, make interesting reading (Geiseler 1883). professionalS there to believe the originals had been used "as stamps for marking native cloth" (Thomson 1889). Although often vague and unsubstantiated, his notes are rich in hurried detail. He directed his observations to the director of the Etlmographic Admiral De Lapelin visited the island aboard the Flora in 1872. He left Department at the Kaiserliches Museum. with rongorongo aboard. Geiseler briefly observed that the written Rapanui language did not 1874 and Mr. Croft (and Mr. DeGreno) belong to "a vanished people," but instead, to the people currently living On 30 April 1874, an American in Tahiti, Thomas Croft, wrote a letter on the island. This was inreaction to the growing beliefthat in was improb­ to the California Academy of ,.. ---1...... , able for the Rapanui them­ Sciences in which he discussed selves to havecreatedtheonly rongorongo (Churchill, 1912). written language in the Island This letter gives us some brief PacifIc.6 He established mat­ insightinto the the 18thcentury ter-<>f-factly that each "sign" western world's fIrst glimpses was cut in wood with a sharp of rongorongo. piece of "lava glass"--the Croft gives a detailed report same used to produce spear of his personal attempt at hav­ heads (mala' a)--and that ing the glyphs translated by an each had a fIxed meaning. unnamed Rapanui. Ontheir fIrs t Like othervisitors during this attempt, Croftwrote down eve- time in the island's history, rything the man said. A week he gained his knowledge by later, Croft discovered he had misplaced his notes and so persuaded the enlisting the aide of Alexander P. Salmon.? same man to do another translation. The man again gave his interpretation Salmon questioned an unnamed "old chief' (Hangeto?) for Geiseler. ofthe same tablet, this time in both Rapanui and Tahitian. As heproceeded The "chief' said that the Rapanui script was used for only two purposes: to with this second dictation. Croft became doubtful ofits correspondence to send short, secret messages between chiefs in villages around the island the previous week's translation. Fortunatelyhe found the notes oftheir fust (the messenger would therefore beignorant ofthe writing) and to create ge­ session and compared them. He saw two totally different interpretations. nealogicallists ofthe ancestors which were written on rongorongo tablets. The following week, determined to uncover the man's rue, Croft once (Geiseler also personally saw the scriptonrei-miro 'breastplates.').Salmon again invited the man to his house and persuaded the Rapanui to attempt a told Geiseler that only two rongorongo were still on the island and these third translation. This fmal translation was for a third time different from were in the possession of ."chief Hangeto," who was demanding an the previous two. Unskillfully, Croft flared up in anger and accused the Ra­ exorbitantprice. Still, Salmonsuggested these precious items could indeed panui of deception. He chased the 'fabricator' from his house. be purchased for £2 sterling, but only after the Hyiine set sail.s He could Croft writes further ofthe experiences ofa Mr. DeGreno from Sweden easily send them onto Tahiti and from there have them forwarded to who was at the time living in Papeete. The previous year DeGreno was a Germany. Geiseler took the bite. passenger on a ship which sank as it sailed passed Rapa Nui. While De­ During the Hyiine's short stay, Salmon apparently admitted to having no Greno was for a few months stranded on Rapa Nui, he quickly became an continued on following page...

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interestin learning themeanings to the rongorongo script, although, as was elder who claimed to hold knowledge of rongorongo. Gossip told that his style, he promised to quiz Hangeto after the ship's departure and during the slave raids, this man, Ure Vaeiko, had been in training to read forward his fmdings to Geiseler. the glyphs. Thomson arranged a meeting, but tried in vain to obtain any Geiseler himself presents a small, comical attempt at deciphering the information from the old man; even monetary bribery was fruitless. "signs." His venture centers Thomson reports that the around the apparent representa­ man claimed to be too old tion of a "woman's vulva," and to take any chances; he did "theegg godMakemake."He also not want to subvert his mentions signs to designate times opportunity to enter heaven of the year: a man carrying sea byreading a scriptnow con­ weed represents the season for sideredpagan.Themission­ sea weed gathering, while a fish aries had taught him well, on a line hints at the principle or perhaps he had his own fishing season. Geiseler specu­ personal reasons relating to lates thatthe symbols which indi­ tapu. Whatever, underpres­ cate time were included in the sure, Ure Vaeiko quickly Chiefly genealogies to designate went into hiding, hoping to when an individual was born. The Captain-Lieutenant gives us no indica­ avoid the issue completely. He wished only to disappear until the Mohican tion as to how he developed his method of translation, or if he had help. sailed away forever. He never obtained a rongorongo. In a series ofevents resulting in what even Thomson himself described as an"unscrupulous strategy,"Ure Vaeiko was fmally corneredinhishome 1886 and the U.S.S. Mohican and eventually aquiessed to relating at least some of the ancient traditions By 1886, the rongorongo race had been well under way. Sevenexcellent he had learned. He apparently found it rewarding to relate this soon to be rongorongo were already in the curious collection ofTepano Jaussen, the lost information to a thoroughly enthralled audience, particularly after a BishopofAxieri, Vicaire Apostolique ofTahiti. Theserongorongo ranged few drinks. Where before he would not touch an actual tablet, he showed in size from 14 x 10 cm to 168 x 18 em. no object to "reading" directly from photographs ofBishop Jaussen'sown It is ironic that the missionaries were to become active saviors for the personal rongorongo. And here is the key. If the Bishop himself owned unusual artifacts and the church their primary haven. Today there remain them, reading them wouldbequiteproper. Ure Vaeiko gave a name to each conflicting reports concerning the missionary view ofrongorongo. of the tablets and "read" each in Rapanui. Salmon, who accompanied the Before arriving on RapaNui, the U.s.S. Mohican stopped in Tahiti and crew on almost all its interactions with the Rapanui, took notes which were the crew was given pennission to photograph Bishop Jaussen's rongo­ later translated into English. rongo collection. Uponhis arrival onRapa Nui, PaymasterW. 1. Thomson, Thomsor. and company made no attempt to interrupt Ure Vaeiko's U.S.N., as all before him, met with the locals and the Rapanui once again "reading," although it soon became apparent to everyone listening in that sheepishly denied the existence of rongorongo. The current head of the this Rapanui "was not actuallyreading the characters."Thelong night wore island ranch, Alexander Salmon told Thomson that he knew there were on. Finally, in the midst of a "reading" Thomson ventured an experiment. tablets still hidden on the island, and implied there was something he could He surreptitiously substituted one rongorongo photograph for another and do to secure samples for the US Navy. Much planning and bargaining Ure Vaeiko, ignorant of the change, faithfully responded with exactly the ensued. Two tablets were fmally purchased, as Thomson states, "at same "reading" again. The crew immediately responded with unkind considerable expense." One can only imagine to whom it was costlier. Itis accusations of fraud. Finally Ure Vaeiko entered into a long rationaliza­ from this transaction and the incidents which followed that we gather what tion, explaining the "value and significance" of the individual glyphs had little we know of rongorongo's purpose and eventual demise. indeed been forgotten, but there were specific indications on each rongo­ One of Thomson's rongorongo was made from toromiro while the rongo tablet which revealed which tablet it was. Each tablet relayed a second was purported to be made from a canoe piece which eventually specific legend. Ifyou knew which tablet was which, you knew the legend became driftwood. (CfRoutledge section in Part Two.) These rongorongo it contained. One did not have to know how to read the glyphs to tell you still lay hidden in the United States National Museum in Washington. what was on a table, all one had to know was the name of the specific The islanders explained to Thomson the reason for the disappearance of rongorongo. rongorongo: the missionaries had ordered all rongorongo to be burned, Thomsonwas soon able to verify this questionable assertion. Heshowed "with aview to destroying the ancientrecords, and getting rid ofeverything the same photographs to another Rapanui, one who claimed to be a relative that would have a tendency to attach [the Rapanui] to their heathenism, and of Maurata, the last Rapanui ariki. Fortunately, Katae identified specific prevent their thorough conversion to Christianity. The loss to the science rongorongo and related the identical legends previously dictated by Ure of philology by this destruction of valuable relics is too great to be Vaeiko. An importantpieceofthe rongorongo puzzlehad beenuncovered. estimated."Thomson was told that the great ariki mau Hotu Matu'a was a It was not until 28 years later that someone would undertake to fmd more. lineage holder ofthe rongorongo tradition. He brought 67 tablets with him when hesettled on RapaNui. Theycontained "allegories, traditions, genea­ To be continued inforthcoming issues ofRapa Nui Journal... logical tables and proverbs" relating to his homeland. At that time, the Part Two will bring us into the 20th century andPartThree willcontain tangata rongorongo came only from a select group: the ariki mau, the six information on where to find rongorongo, how to read and write it, and district ariki and their sons, and members of the royal family-together where to get help understanding it-lhat is, who is currently working on with a special group of teachers and priests. The remaining islanders only deciphering the glyphs. came into indirect contact with rongorongo during ceremonies--in par­ Notes to Part One ticular an annual ceremony at Anakena, during which time the sacred scripts wereread aloud for all to hear. This was a unifying day for the entire 1. Literally, in Rapanui, "man of Hiva," connoting 'person from island population; even at times of war the reading of the rongorongo another land.' Hiva was one of the many epithets for the homeland of the assured a day of truce. original settlers on Rapa Nui. During his short stay, Thomson heard persistent rumors of an island continued on following page...

Rapa Nui Journal • Page 7 • Fall 1988 Published by Kahualike, 1988 7 Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation, Vol. 2 [1988], Iss. 3, Art. 1

2. Cut by the missionaries so the islanders would no longer appear heathen. 3. Thefirst actual 'carving industry' did not begin until the late 1800's, when Alexander Salmon (see Note #7) organized repeated wholesale LAVA AND VOLCANIC TUFFS searchesofislandcaves forprecious •sale items.' He enlargedhis inventories by hiring groups of Rapanui to carve replicas of traditional motifs for his COMPETITION store. These practices prevail today, producing the same few, basic varieties of carvings-rongorongo among them. The Direcci6n deBibliotecas, Archivos y Museosde Chile 4. Dutroux-Bomier was the initial representative of the Tahitian firm has announceda competion aimedatconserving thearchaeo­ Brander. He settled on Rapa Nui in 1870 to set up a sheep ranch; he soon logical heritage of Easter Island. enslaved the population, manipulating them into driving offhis personal For the purpose of this competition, papers may deal with adversaries---the Missionaries. lavas and volcanic tuffs from any part of the world but must 5. A. Bastian and C.E. Meinicke. 6. Unfortunately this "theory" occasionally appears in print today, address one or more of the following: perpetuated by popularauthors who revel in the spectacular without having 1) Deterioration: causes and mechanisms more closely investigated the reliable, opposing evidence. Such "popular" 2) Conservation: treatments, application methods and theories have been a staple ofpublished writings on Easter Island, continu­ evaluating ofconservation procedures ing to do a disservice to the serious study of Rapanui culture as well as to Papers should be written in either English or Spanish and the Rapanui people themselves. (See further, Childress 1988.) 7. Alexander P. Salmon came to the island in 1877, to protect the sheep all accepted papers will be presented at a meeting to be held ranching interests threatened after the assassination of the infamous onEasterIslandinOctober 1990. Awards will begiven to the Dutroux-Bomier. Salmon, a half-Tahitian connected to the royal family five best papers. All accepted papers will be published there, quickly took an humanistic and cultural interest in the Rapanui. Both Interested parties may obtain registration forms from: fortunately and unfortunately, he became our principle source ofRapanui traditions. Dr. A. Elena Charola, Co-ordinator 8. According to Geiseler, rare items such as these were sold only at a high price. At that time the Rapanui were mostly in need ofclothing. The Lava and Volcanic Tuffs Competition BranderCompany Store's response was to sell trousers at£3 or 4 sterling­ Biblioteca Nacional, Depto de Museos practically an unattainable sum of money. Salmon, of course, controlled Clasificador 1400, Correo Central the Brander interests on the island. Santiago, CHILE

Sources Detailed instructions will be mailed upon request. The Croft, Thomas. 1864. Two lellers to Prof. George Davidson, President of the deadine is December 31, 1988. California Academy of Sciences. In Easler Island: Ihe Rapanui Speech and the Peopling of SoUlheast Polynesia by William Churchill, 318-323. Carnegie Institute Pub. No. 174. Washington, D.C. 1912. Englert, P. Sebastian, O.F.M. CAP. 1974. lA Tierra de Holu Matu'a: The History and Elhnology ofEasler Island. Ediciones de la Universidad de Chile. Santiago. Geiseler, Kapitiinlieutenanl. 1883. Die Osler-Inse/. Eine Stolle prohislorischer Kultur in der SUdsee. Berlin. -English Translation in Anon. Manuscript. GET OFF YOUR HANDS AND KNEESI Jaussen, Tepano. 1894. L'ne de Paques: Historique et ecriture. Bull. Geogr. His!. Stop Searching! et Descriptive, No.2. 240-70. Paris. Metraux, Alfred. 1937. The Kings of Easter Island. Jounal of the Polynesian Back Issues Are Still Available! Sociely, vol 46. --. 1938. The Proto-Indian Script and the Easter Island Tablets (A Critical Study). Anlhropos, vol. 33. --. 1940. Elhnology ofEasler Island. B.P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 160. --.1957. Easler Island: A Slone Age Civilizalion ofthe Pacific. London. Thomson, William Judah. 1891. "Te Pito te Henua, or Easter Island. Report to the U.S. National Museum." Annual Report for 1889, 447-552. Pinart, A. L. 1878. "Exploration de rne de Paques." Bullelin de la Sociele de Geographie. vol. 16, 193-213. Paris.

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Rapa Nui Journal • Page 8 • Fall 1988 https://kahualike.manoa.hawaii.edu/rnj/vol2/iss3/1 8 et al.: Rapa Nui Journal 2#3 Fall 1988

Trouble in Paradise... continued from page 4. suffer. These ancient carvings are an irreplaceable resource-a glimpse into the mind and spirit of those long gone. speculate on the reasons for such activity. Polynesia has remarkable and extensive rock art sites; they de­ This is an unexpected kind of vandalism. Usually, vandalism serve our care and protection. entails inscriptions such as the hasty writing ofnames, dates, four­ letterwords, etc., as wellasattempts While still working in the field. to physically remove petroglyphs. theLana'iRecording Team discused This is usually done by visitors, but various preliminary recommenda­ the type ofalterations witnessed on tions for introducing measures to Lana'ipoint towards localresidents protect rock art sites. We share them rather than casual tourists. These here. in hopes 0/beginning an open incidents bring to mind similar epi­ dialog on the issue o/preservation. sodes on Rapa Nui and in the Mar­ o Limit access to sites. This in­ quesas. cludesconstructing fenced areas with On EasterIsland in 1935, Lava­ locked gates, as well hiring trained chery sketched a bas relieffigure on guides to limit entry. a largepaenga atAhu Raai in theLa Problems: This approach is Perouse Bayarea. This figure is said Figure 2: Petroglyph recorded at Ahu Raai on Rapa often unsightly. Also, fences can to representan aku aku spirit. Lava­ NuL Note the addition of a crudely pecked oblong present a tempting "challenge" to chery drew the figure in its original 'head' above the origional finely worked bas relief. vandals, encouraging them further. form. Since that time, local resi­ It may draw attention to a site that dents have carved a head onto the otherwise might not have been noted. figure, making it appear to be a turtle (Figure 2). o Monitor sites. The best way to prevent vandalism is to have Vandalism to rock art is also evidentin theMarquesas Islands­ someone watching. although not as prevalent. French Polynesia is geographically iso­ Problems: This approach is very costly and is often unworkable, lated and has received relatively little impact from tourism. Many considering distances between sites in the same area. Mul­ of its sites are unknown or are difficult to reach. tiple monitors would be needed. Still, a chiefs residence in Ua Pou has lately been vandalized Create publif: areas. Set particular sites or parts ofsites aside as with a chain saw in an attempt to remove several small bas relief o figures. It has been said an islander sold the carvings to a tourist "special places." This includes constructing walk-arounds passing by on a private boat to direct traffic and posting 10w-profJle signs requesting On Nuku Hiva, an irate islander cut the ears off a tiki at a site visitors to avoid certain areas, not to touch, walk on, etc. in the Taipee Valley. The reasons for this act are still unknown. Helpful here also would be signs explaining the particular From historical records, we also know ofanother chiefs resi­ sacredness of the area. dence on Hiva Oa, which was decorated with an elaborate row of o Keep sites clean. Vandalism encourages further vandalism. It is tiki, today most of these carvings are missing their heads. important that sites be kept clean ofdebris, free of words, If.was said that a previous owner of the land was afraid a west­ spray paint, etc. Creating the proper environment encour­ ern photographer was going to makeenormous sumsofmoney pho­ ages thoughtfulness. tographing the tiki and selling the negatives to foreign magazines. Problems: Any necessary repair work should only be attempted The islander thus destroyed most of the images. Unfortunately archaeological field workers can unwittingly en­ courage the destruction ofrock art. Atthe startofa field trip on Hiva Oa a team first surveyed sites in the Hanaiapa area with the help of a local from thearea. Itbecameevidentfrom closeobservations that certain figures in bas reliefwouldbedifficult to record. The subject was openly discussed. When the surveying was complete, the team was shocked to discover a bas relief sharply outlined by a recent hand. This appeared to have been done by a local resident, thinking he/she would behelping the team by pointingoutthe distinguishing shapes of the figure in question. Throughout Polynesia, innumerable examples of the destruc­ tion and alteration of rock art continues to be documented. The value of early drawings and photographs in determining changes Figure 3: Petroglyphs on top of a high boulder at such as these is inestimable. Without such materials, we would be Luahiwa. Unfortunately, inaccessible panels such as left with only the end result, often ignorant of the true form of the this are a rarity. original designs.* Without protective measures, petroglyph sites will continue to continued on following page...

Rapa Nui Journal • Page 9 • Fall 1988 Published by Kahualike, 1988 9 Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation, Vol. 2 [1988], Iss. 3, Art. 1 by professional conservationists. Destruction... continued from page 1. o General Education. Education is the ultimate solution to this problem. Herethegeneral stress wouldbeon thesacredness .6- Tourism, however, threatens to become the major destruc­ ofancient areas, the ritual associations, heritage, etc. This tive force in the next century, as already witnessed in the Lascaux can be introduced through school programs, public service caves, the Parthenon and the fragile Arctic sites. Touristic destruc­ announcements, etc. This includes the education of local tion can take place in several ways. Simply by 'being there,' by adult citizenry. walking over artifacts, tourists wear them away. Problems: It is difficult to reach the potential vandal oreducate Visitors are also prone to chip pieces off, write on, or otherwise him. (One study shows the largest percentage of litterers deface the monuments they pay so dearly to see. Tourists thus and vandals are young males aged 17-28.) contribute to the wear and tear of monuments and to soil erosion o Tour Guide Training. Creating a reliable team oftour guides to around them. Encouraged by tourists, local inhabitants may also sites is very important. They can create the necessary envi­ increase destruction by chipping off salable items, by excessive ronment for producing sensitive tourists. usage, by lack of care in exposing further sites, or by sheer Problems: In their enthusiasm to please tourists, guides some­ vandalism. Not all the graffiti on the Rapanui moai are of visitor times challc or scrape petroglyphs to make them more vis­ provenance. ible. Although earlier issues oftheRapaNuiJournal have noted some Tourist Brochures: County, state or government park bro­ o individual casesoftourist-relateddestruction, I am notaware ofany chures should stress proper behavior at sites. Producers of full-scale study. Such a study would involveseveralphases, includ­ private, local brochures can personally be encouraged to do ing: a) an historical survey ofvisitor impacton cultural artifacts; b) this as well. a study of current visitor impacts; and c) a plan for the mitigation *Petroglyphs in East Polynesia re-patinate within a few years, of such impacts. causing recent carvings to appear to be ancient. I would be interested in hearing from anyone who is currently Sources working on, or is interested in working on, this problem. Emory, KennethP. 1924.Th£/s/ando[Lanai. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 12. Honolulu. J. Douglas Porteous, Ph.D. Lavachery, H. 1935. lie de paques. Paris. Dept. ofGeography ~=--=0 ~ Georgia Lee, Ph. D. University of Victoria P.O. Box 1700 ~ Sidsel N. Millerstrom ~~0 Alan Davis-Drake ~ Victoria, B.C., CANADA V8W 2Y2 Lanai City, Lana'i, Hawai'i

Figure 4: Bird-like petroglyphs recorded at various sites on Lana'!. (Not drawn to scale)

Aroi, returning by Ahu Akivi and Tepeu and back down the west THE GREAT MOTORCYLE RALLY coast to Hanga Roa. However, a Chilean official gave assurances OF 1988 that the participants stayed on public roads at all times. The newspaper, La Epoca. reported that the president of the According to reports received from a number of islanders and Chilean Instituto de Ecologia, Mauricio Bravo, has spoken out in printed in at least two opposition newspapers and one opposition protest against the "Rally Enduro Rapa NuL" It is understood that magazine, on September 9 a motorcycle rally took place on Easter (privately) several conservation groups in Chile and elsewhere and Island. Reports agree that from 50 to 60 of these machines partici­ a number of concerned individuals have been in touch with the pated as part ofthe centennial celebration ofChile's taking posses­ Chilean authorities, and they have made known their intense disap­ sion of the island. pointmentthatsucha potentiallydestructiveeventcould have taken It is still not clear exactly where the course was laid out. There place in this uniqueopen airmuseum. Oneperson compared having seems to be general agreement that the route took the motorcyclists a motorcycle rally on Easter Island to putting a discoteque in the from Hanga Roa up the west coast through the Tahai area, around British Museum or a collar rink in the Louve. the North Cape, by Hanga Oteo and Papa Te Kena to Anakena. First reports indicate that there was no significant damage, but Afterwards they continued along the public road, turned into the the article in La Epoca quotes the Instituto de Ecologia as saying Rano Raraku area, and returned to Hanga Roa. One island source that generally "these competitions are damaging zones ofecologi­ states that at Hanga Reva (between Akahanga and Vaihu), the cal value." Iffurther reliable information comes in,RNJwill carry bikers turned inland and passed through Vaitea on towards Rano it in a future issue.

Rapa Nui Journal • Page 10 • Fall 1988 https://kahualike.manoa.hawaii.edu/rnj/vol2/iss3/1 10 et al.: Rapa Nui Journal 2#3 Fall 1988 Corrections... from Vo/2, No.2: PUBLICATIONS Please note the following ommission, from the central portion of "Des Recent & Topical Moai en Espagne!" Our appologies to the author, FraTlfois Dederen. Arredondo, AnaMaria. 1987. Proposicionesparaelestudioe inter­ Uniques a notre connaissance, dans toute l'Europe, ces deux pretacion de leyendas de IsladePascua. Baessler-Archiv, Neue cousins germains de Rapa-Nui, sont en realite Ie resultat de Folge BandXXXV (UX Band) Sonderclruck aus Heft 1. Muse­ l'amour insense pour sa patrie et pour l'ile de Paques d'un natifde ums fur Volkerkunde, Berlin. pp. 261-276. In Spanish, one I'endroit En effect lors du mundial de football qui se deroulait en map. 1982 en Espagne, Tony Pujador y Estany conyut Ie projet incroy­ Carlier, Pierre, Alain Gautier and Jean-Marie Groult Decouverte able dejumeler la ville d'Olotavec Hanga Roa, capitale de l'ile de d'endocarpes dans un tunnel de lave de la presqu'ile de Poike Paques, separees par une distance de 20,000 km, soit la moitie de (lie de Paques, 20 Juillet 1984). Recherches Speleologiques, la circonference de la terre. Groupes d' etudes et Recherches Speleologiques. Copies are Mais pourcela, certaines similitudesetaientnecessaires et indis­ available from J-M Groult, 706 Av. de l'Epine, 76500 Elbeuf, pensables pour la realisation de cette folie, mais ce n'etait pas cela France. qui manquait dans la region et pour n'en citer que quelques-unes Christmann, Helmut, 1983. Die Osterinsel: GeheimnisvollesEiland vous apprendrez, si vous ne Ie savez deja que: im Sudmeer. Druckerei Kemper, Plattling. 126 pages, in • Les Espagnols, sous Ie commandement de Felipe Gonzales de German. Illustrated with black and white line drawings and Haedo, redecouvrirent I'ile de Paques en 1770, soit 48 ans apres photographs. Forinformation aboutobtaining this publication, Jacob Roggveen et la baptiserent San Carlos, (nom du roi d'Es­ contactthe author atD-7070 Schwaebisch Gmuend 5, Sonnen­ pagne). Par la meme occasion, ils etablirent la premiere carte halde 9, Bettringen, West Germany. officielle de I'ile. Esen-Baur, HeideMargaretand GeorgZizka. 1988. Forschungsre­ • Le pare de la Garrotxa est la seule region volcanique de toute ise zur Osterinsel. Natur und Museum, 118(8), pp. 243-252. I'Espagne identique a I'ile de paques. Frankfurt. Maps, black and white photographs. • La region d'Olot est la terre de predilection des Moko, lezards Esen-Baur, Heide Margaret; Untersuchungen uber den Volgen­ qui se dorent au soleil a longueur de journee, comme a Rapa-Nui. mann-Kult auf der Osterinsel. Weisbaden: Franz Steiner Les jeunes fIlles d'Olot jouent encore a ces jeux de fIcelJes, Verlag, 1983. 399 pages. (Arbeiten aus dem Seminar fur appeles communement Kai Kai au nombril du monde, et qui ont Volkerkunde der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-UniversitatFrank­ pratiquement disparu dan notre vielle Europe. furt am Main, 14.) II existe encore a Castellfollit une carrere de pierres, petit"Rano Kirch, Patrick V., 1988. "The Talepakemalai Lapita Site and Raraku" local, dont les differentes espeees de roches et de tuf OceanicPrehistory,"National GeographicResearch 4(3):328­ ressemblent a s'y meprendre a celie de l'ile de paques. 342. The initial human colonizationofthe southwestern Pacific En plus de cela, dans cette petite carriere, un phCnomene naturel was effected by populations of the Lapita Cultural Complex; extraordinaire a voulu que dans un coin de celle-ci se trouve en sites from this culture are marked by a distinctive type ofearth­ profilla silhouette gigantesque d'une tete de moai tournee vers la enwareceramic plusassorted shell, boneandstoneartifacts and gauche. are found from the Bismark Archipelago in the west, through Mais les similitudes ne s'arretent pas encore la, puisque cer­ Melanesia, to as far east as Samoa and Tonga-a straight dis­ taines families s'appellent Mata, (pointe de lance en obsidienne) et tance of about 4500 km. The rapid dispersal of the Lapita que les tetes de certains lits anciens sont ornes de l'embleme des people through Oceania stands as a remarkable event in world peres des Sacres Creurs dit de Picpus, qui evangeliserenta partirde prehistory. Kirch's paper describes new findings in regard to 1864, l'ile de paques. Lapita economy, society, and long-distance exchange. "Adama" Sans Ombilic Kirch, P.V. and T.L. Hunt 1988. Radiocarbon Dates from the Seuls les sourds et les aveugles n'ont pu comprendre la motiva­ Mussaw Islands and the Lapita Colonization ofthe Southwest­ tion qui poussait Tony Pujador a faire cejumelage dit impossible, ern Pacific. Radiocarbon, Vol. 30 (2), pp. 161-169. mais c'etait mal connaitre cet homme exceptionnel. Klein, Otto. 1988.lconografia de la Isla de Pascua. Universidad Apres bien des diff!cultes, et des demarches diffIciles et Technica Federico Santa Maria, Valparaiso, Chile. This lim­ laborieuses, mais aussi avec un bon sens et une comprehension ited edition contains 302 pages, in Spanish. Illustrated with remarquables de la partdes autorites locales, la realisation de cette black and white linedrawings and photographs; onecolorplate. idee put enfm etre concretisee. C'estainsi qu'une delegation de 6 Lee, Georgia. II Codice Estetico Dell'isola di Pasqua. L'Umana natifs de I'iledePaquesfutinvitee, etse renditdans lacitecatalane. Avventura, spring 1988. Jaca Book, Milano, Italy. Pg. 81-93. Un authentique tailleur de moai realisa avec l'aide des autoch­ Liller, William and Julio Duarte D. Easter Island's 'SolarRanging tones, notre geant de pierre, que I'on peut voir desormais dans une Device,' Ahu Huri A Urenga, andVicinity.Archaeoastronomy, des arteres de la ville... Vol. IX, Nos.14, January-December 1986, pp. 38-51. Loti, Pierre. L'/le de Paque~Iournal d' un aspirant de La Flore. Editions Pierre-Olivier Combelles, 11, Avenue des Cedres, Please also note in RNI, Vol 2, No.2, in Sidsel Millerstrom's 92410 Ville d'Auray, France. 128 pages, 33 illustrations. Date account ofrock art research in the Marquesas Islands, the height of of publication not stated. the walls of the pit discovered by Jean-Louis Candelot were 2.81 Rouse, Irving. 1986. Migrations in Prehistory. Yale University meters and not 281 meters. Press.

Rapa Nui Journal • Page 11 • Fall 1988 Published by Kahualike, 1988 11 Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation, Vol. 2 [1988], Iss. 3, Art. 1 I would like to add that at least 20 meters of the old sheep What's New in Hangaroa company wall from Tongariki was used for fill to provide bases for News from EI Mercurio de Valparaiso subsidized housing in the village. The stones used for the sheep fences came from nearby archaeological sites; many are paenga June 1988 stones of boat-shaped houses. The Consejo de Ancianos has ap­ Ora ElenaCharola, in chargeofthe Latin AmericanOfficeofthe pealed to the governor to stop this continued destruction of yet World Monuments Fund, visited the moai from Easter Island that another bit ofEaster Island history. was taken to Villa del Mar in the 1950's. This three meter tall moai Name Withheld, was taken from the south coastofRapaNui and installed in front of Hangaroa, Rapa Nui a hotel on a busy boulevard that runs along the coast. The 15 to 20 Dear Editor, metric ton statue was deteriorating due to weathering processes accelerated by its exposed position. The statue has since been Through the attention of Mr. Christian Walter, a German moved to the gardens of the Fonck Museum, Vifla del Mar, where resident on Easter Island of many years, we became aware of a other important Easter Island artifacts are curated. It may be statement by Joan Seaver, which mightcreate a new anthropologi­ possible to treat the statue with conservation methods to halt cal myth if it remains unclarified In her brief article on "Maria, erosion and consolidate the stone. Madre de Rapa Nui Revisited," she emphasizes the cultural impor­ tance ofwoman in the history or prehistory ofRapa Nui and gives the example ofthe "dream soul" ofHaumaka's as being referred to in Barthel's work The EighthLand(pp. 28 ff. German edition 1974, See page 10for coverage of pp. 40 ff.) as "she" (p. 2). This induces... her to insinuate that the the Great Motorcyle Rally of1988 discovery ofRapaNui by Haumaka orhis "dream soul" was theac­ complishment of a women. As a matter of fact, Barthel's book is a translation from the German which is a language that, different from English, has three LETTERS grammatical genders. ThuS', the German "Traumseele" which cor­ Dear Editor, responds to theEnglish"dream soul" is feminine andhencereferred to in German as"sie," i.e., "she."Thetranslator ofThe Eighth Land An article in your Summer 1988 Journal has prompted me to did simply a bad job because he lost sight of the subject and write. I am a foreign residentofEaster Island, married to a Rapanui translated mechanically "she" instead of "it." The thesis of Joan and therefore havean intense interestin localeventsas well as some Seaver is therefore based on a mistake ofthe translator and musL be strong opinions. rejected. First, it is appalling that just one month after the conservation Annette Bierbach and Horst Cain meeting in Santiago, three statues at Rano Raraku were damaged, Koln, Germany two of them severely. The castings by the German museum staff Joan T. seaver responds... had beenapprovedby theConsejo de Monumentos whowereaware of the fragility of the stone. Yet permission was granted. One may SinceMs. Bierbach and Dr. HorstCain havecalled for clariflcation well wonderwhy this permission was given, why there was no local concerning my "insinuation" thaL a woman, in the form of the supervision, and why the statues were cast simultaneously without "dream soul" of Hau Maka, discovered Rapa Nui, I am glad to first testing the process on an obscure piece of volcanic tuff. provide it. Bierbach and Cain are correct in assuming that I relied The Germans claim that the residents of the island were publi­ on what appears to be a major error in the English translation of cally informedoftheirplansoverradio and television. Butwereany Barthel's The Eighth Land, for the gender of the "dream soul." ofthese taped interviews actually broadcast? Neither the residents Unfortunately they themselves are incorrect in referring to the nor the Consejo de Ancianos (elected island residents who work to erring translaLor, Anneliese Martin, as a "he." My intention was noL preserve their heritage) were forewarned of this project. Their to rewrite the legendary history of the island in citing references Lo reaction was one of fury. The archaeological heritage of Easter women in Rapa Nui oral traditions. Rather, it simply was to dem­ Island is, after all, the collective heritage of all Rapanui and an onstrate that from earliest times woman were perceived as socially ~ irreplaceable world treasure. significant.

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