RAPA NUI

We’re happy to present you where we come from : Rapa Nui, our lovely island. Rapa Nui is over five hours by plane from the nearest landmass (Tahiti or Chile).

Archaeological evidences indicate discovery of the island by Polynesians at about 400 AD. The early settlers called the island "Te Pito O Te Henua" (Navel of The Earth).

Upon their arrival, an impressive and enigmatic culture began to develop. In addition to the statues (Moai), the islanders possessed the Rongo Rongo script, the only written language in Oceania.
Dutch admiral Roggeveen, who came upon the island on Easter Day in 1722, named it “Easter Island”.

The population of Easter Island reached its peak at perhaps more than 10,000, far exceeding the capabilities of the small island's ecosystem. Resources became scarce (perhaps linked with a climatic change) and the forests were destroyed - cleared for agriculture and moving the Moai. In this regard, Easter Island has become, for many, the perfect example of an ecological disaster.

Later, the social order began to decline into bloody civil war. Eventually, all of the Moai were torn down by the islanders themselves. All of the statues now erected around the island are the result of recent archaeological efforts.

From then on, all foreign contacts were disastrous for the island population which, through slavery and disease, had decreased to approximately 111, in 1874. Following the annexation by Chile in 1888, however, it has risen to more than 2,000. Today, the land, people and language are all referred to locally as Rapa Nui.

This island remains one of the most unique places you will ever encounter: an open air museum showcasing and a fascinating living culture.

 

TAPATI  FESTIVAL

Since 1975, the Tapati festival unifies all the islanders around the Rapa Nui culture. For two weeks (at beginning of February), people from everywhere around the world can also watch all the cultural events : dances, songs, music, wood and stone carving, Mahute (barkcloth) crafts creations, Tatoo, Takona (body painting), Kai Kai (string figures), Umu (food cooking) and traditional sports like : Haka pei (sliding down a steep hillside on the trunk of a banana tree), the Tau’a (triathalon-style race : swimming, paddling across the lake at Rano Raraku volcano, and a race around the lake with 30 kgs of bananas on the shoulders).
The two queens in competition amass points from the win competitors. The crown of the Tapati Queen closes the festival. It’s really incredible to share in a traditional culture, still alive, in one of the most fabulous places in the world.