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19-518: In the Rapa Nui mythology , the deity Makemake was the chief god of the bird-man cult; the other three deities associated with it were Hawa-tuu-take-take (the Chief of the eggs, a male god), his wife Vie Hoa, and another female deity named Vie Kenatea. Each of these four also had a servant god who was associated with them. The names of all eight would be chanted by contestants during the various rituals preceding

38-429: A year in a special ceremonial house; he would be considered tapu for the next five months, and in that time would allow his nails to grow long and wear a headdress made of human hair. He would be expected to engage in no activity other than eating and sleeping during this time. The bird-man cult was ended by Christian missionaries in the 1860s. The origins of the cult are uncertain, as it is unknown whether it replaced

57-565: Is still present in the decoration of the island's church. This Chile -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article relating to a myth or legend from Oceania is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Jacob Roggeveen Jacob Roggeveen (1 February 1659 – 31 January 1729) was a Dutch explorer who was sent to find Terra Australis and Davis Land , but instead found Easter Island (called so because he landed there on Easter Sunday). Jacob Roggeveen also found Bora Bora and Maupiti of

76-532: The Dutch East Indies Company (VOC), and between 1707 and 1714 worked as a Raadsheer van Justitie ("Council Lord of Justice") at Batavia, Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta ). He married Anna Adriana Clement there, but she died soon afterward. In 1714, he returned to Middelburg by himself. He became involved in religious controversies, supporting the liberal preacher Pontiaan van Hattem by publishing his leaflet De val van 's werelds afgod (The fall of

95-815: The Pacific Ocean . He made landfall near Valdivia, Chile . He visited the Juan Fernández Islands , where he spent 24 February to 17 March. The expedition later arrived at Easter Island (Rapa Nui) on Easter Sunday , 5 April 1722 (whereupon he reported seeing 2,000–3,000 inhabitants). Roggeveen charted the location of six islands in the Tuamotu Archipelago , two islands in the Society Islands , and four islands in Samoa , losing his flagship, Afrikaansche Galey at Takapoto atoll. At Makatea , he opened fire on

114-481: The Society Islands , as well as Samoa . He planned the expedition along with his brother Jan Roggeveen, who stayed in the Netherlands. His father, Arend Roggeveen, was a mathematician with much knowledge of astronomy , geography , rhetorics, philosophy, and the theory of navigation as well. He occupied himself with study of the mythical Terra Australis, and even got a patent for an exploratory excursion, but it

133-410: The egg hunt. The identities of the contestants, all men of importance on the island, were revealed in prophecies by ivi-attua priests, who could be either men or women. Each contestant would then appoint one or sometimes two hopu , adult men of lesser status, who would actually swim to Motu Nui carrying provisions in a bundle of reeds called a pora under one arm. They would each await the arrival of

152-435: The egg-finder remained alone on Motu Nui and fasted; he would then swim back with the egg secured inside a reed basket tied to his forehead. On his reaching land, he would then climb the steep, rocky cliff face and present the egg to his patron (if it were still intact), who would have already shaved his head and painted it either white or red. This successful contestant – not the hopu , but his sponsor – would then be declared

171-403: The first sooty terns , hoping to return with the first egg, whilst their sponsors waited for their return at the stone village of Orongo on the southwestern tip of Rapa Nui. The race was very dangerous, and many hopu were killed by sharks, by drowning, or by falling from cliff faces, though replacements were apparently easily available. Once the first egg was collected, the finder would go to

190-453: The highest point on Motu Nui and call out to the shore of the main island, announcing his benefactor by the benefactor's new name and telling him, "Go shave your head, you have got the egg!" The cry would be taken up by listeners at the shoreline, who would pass it up the cliffside to the contestants waiting in Orongo. The unsuccessful hopu would then collectively swim back to the main island while

209-537: The island, sub-divided it between clans claiming descent from his sons, and lived for more than a thousand years in their isolated island home at the southeastern tip of the Polynesian Triangle until the arrival of Dutch captain Jacob Roggeveen , who arrived at the island in 1722. The most visible element in the culture was the production of massive statues called moai that represented deified ancestors. It

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228-435: The new tangata-manu , and would take the egg in his hand and lead a procession down the slope of Rano Kau to Anakena (if he was from the western clans) or Rano Raraku (if he was from the eastern clans). The new tangata-manu was entitled to gifts of food and other tributes and his clan would have sole rights to collect that season's harvest of wild bird eggs and fledglings from Motu Nui. He then would go into seclusion for

247-437: The preceding Moai -based religion or had coexisted with it. However, archaeologist and anthropologist Katherine Routledge was able to collect the names of 86 tangata-manu during the 1913–15 Mana Expedition . Rapa Nui mythology Rapa Nui mythology , also known as Pascuense mythology or Easter Island mythology , refers to the native myths , legends , and beliefs of the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island in

266-743: The rivals of the VOC , to seek Terra Australis and to open a western trade route to the "Spice islands" in the East Indies. His fleet consisted of three ships, the Arend , the Thienhoven , and Afrikaansche Galey and had 223 men on crew. Roggeveen first sailed down to the Falkland Islands (which he renamed "Belgia Australis"), passed through the Strait of Le Maire , and continued south to beyond 60 degrees south to enter

285-444: The settlements before them, with their backs toward the spirit world in the sea. The Tangata manu or bird-man cult succeeded the island's Moai era when warfare erupted over dwindling natural resources and construction of statues stopped. The deity Make-make was the chief god of the birdman cult. The cult declined after the island population adopted Catholicism , though the birdman's popularity and memory were not erased and it

304-453: The south eastern Pacific Ocean . According to Rapa Nui mythology Hotu Matuꞌa was the legendary first settler and ariki mau ("supreme chief" or "king") of Easter Island . Hotu Matu'a and his two-canoe (or one double-hulled canoe) colonising party were Polynesians from the now unknown land of Hiva Nuku Hiva, Hiva Oa, Fatu Hiva, Mount Oave, Marquesas Islands, Tahiti, Fenua. They landed at Anakena beach and his people spread out across

323-531: The world's idol). The first part appeared in 1718 in Middelburg, and was subsequently confiscated by the city council and burned. Roggeveen fled from Middelburg to nearby Flushing . Thereafter he established himself in the small town of Arnemuiden , and published parts 2 and 3 of the series, again raising a controversy. On 1 August 1721 he headed an expedition sponsored by the Dutch West India Company ,

342-400: Was believed that the living had a symbiotic relationship with the dead where the dead provided everything that the living needed (health, fertility of land and animals, fortune, etc.), and the living through offerings provided the dead with a better place in the spirit world. Most settlements were located on the coast and moai were erected along the coastline, watching over their descendants in

361-517: Was to be his son who, at the age of 62, eventually equipped three ships and made the expedition. He became notary of Middelburg (the capital of the province of Zeeland , where he was born). On 12 August 1690, he graduated as a doctor of the law at the University of Harderwijk . About this time he married Marija Margaerita Vincentius. She died around 3 to 4 years later in October 1694. In 1706, he joined

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