Introduction
The culture of Rapa Nui civilizations is vast. There are five principal elements of the culture, that are the Moai, the Rongorongo, Orongo, Tangata Manu, Rei Miro and the caves of the island.
THE MOAI
Let’s start talking about the Moai: They are big statues that are tall from 2 to 21 metres. They are made of tuff and there are around 890 statues on the island. Many of these statues are unfinished and other are reversed.
We know about the three main tipe of Moai that are: the unfinished Moai freezed in horizontal in the cave of a volcan, the full-body Moai and the Moai that stand near Rano Raraku (an important volcan of Rapa Nui). They were moved thanks to wooden sleds secured by ropes positioned on canoe rails made of wooden logs held by stringers.
THE RONGORONGO
The Rongorongo is a sistem of writing created by Rapa Nui civilizations discovered in the 19th century. There have been many attempts of deciphering it and unfortunatly, none of them have been successful. So, we can consider this system of writing undeciphered. Rongorongo texts are written in alternating directions. “Rongorongo” is the modern name of this language. The original name was “kōhau motu mo roŋoroŋo“. The most of this glyphs are inscribed in wood but there are also some glyphs inscribed in stone.
ORONGO AND THE BIRD-MAN
The Orongo is a stone village in the south-west of Rapa Nui. This site was also used for cerimonial functions like the Bird-Man cult that consisted in a race to bring the first manutara (an important bird) egg back undamaged from Motu Nui to Orongo. The race was risky, and hunters often fell to from the cliff face or were killed by sharks. But if someone win this race, He will become Tangata Manu (the Bird-Man).
REI MIRO
A reimiro is a typical pectoral ornament of the people of Easter Island that has human faces on both sides. The name comes from Rei (prow) and miro (boat). In the past, it was made in toromiro’s wood. It could represent a bird or a boat, and some rei miros have some engravings in rongorongo language on them. We still don’t know what was his function, but we know that it is the simbol of the Rapa Nui island: a red rei miro with a white background.
RAPA NUI’S CAVES
There isn’t much to know about these caves. The only two things that we know are that slaves used caves to hide themselves from their masters and that they are one of the main tourists attraction in the island.
