Testimony from the Past
The daughter of Lucas Tuki-Schmidt and Ana Teao-Manuheuroroa was born on June 21, 1928. She is the youngest of 11 siblings, all of whom are now dead. Many people considered Analola one of the most beautiful women of Rapa Nui.
The Years with Thor Heyerdahl and Film
In the 1950s, she worked with Thor Heyerdahl and recalls how the Islanders put antique finishes on their crafts and sold them as relics. The Rapanui removed stones from underneath the palm trees, sculpted them and then, with a paste made of banana fruit mixed with the sap of the tree, would make the stone look aged.
In later years, she helped the Spanish adventurer Kitin Muñoz with his Mata Rangi project (1998) and worked on the Kevin Costner film (1993-4), where she was in charge of the kitchens.
38 Years of Service at the Leprosarium
She also worked for 38 years in the old hospital and the leper colony, taking care of more than 50 patients until the last one died. According to her, many of those who were in the leprosarium were actually healthy people. “I remember that if anyone had a birthmark, they were immediately sent to the leper colony and there they were infected and died.”
Marriage and a Large Family
I got married at 21 (in 1949) to Belisario Rapu, who worked as a supervisor with the Williamson & Balfour Company and was a colleague of my father. My father forced me to get married. I wasn’t in love, but over time I learned to love him. The Company gave us a marvelous wedding reception. The church and the plaza were beautifully decorated; everything was covered with cheesecloth. I remember that we had one room for dancing and another with tables for eating. The whole town came.
I had 17 children with Belisario, and another one who is just mine (Jaqueline). I was with the captain of the Norwegian ship which brought Heyerdahl, Arne Hackman. I took care of my 18 children by myself. Some I sent to study in Santiago, but I raised all of them well.
Childbirth: A Tradition of Strength
When they were born, I had them all at home, except the youngest, Akahanga, who was born in the hospital. When my first was born, my parents and my in-laws helped me. I had to get down on all fours and push and the baby came out. My mother received him.
With that experience, I was able to have the others by myself. I cut their cords; I measured four fingers, tied it firmly with three knots which was an old marking, and then with a mata’a (obsidian blade) cut it. With the last one in the hospital, I had problems and almost died.
A Simple and Happy Childhood
I had a lovely childhood with my brothers and sisters. I remember that there used to be a lot of cattle and pigs; lobsters could be pulled out of the water every day between Tahai and Mataveri Otai. When I was 9 years old, we would go to Rano Kau volcano to plant mangos, flowers, bananas, grapes, avocados, figs, just everything, and then we’d swim and play. We had a good time. Life was very simple and lovely.
Life Under the Williamson & Balfour Company
The Company was very good to us. We had lots of benefits. Each worker received 4 rations of Mamoe (lamb) per month. Imagine! My father, my brothers, and my relatives worked with the Company, so we gathered numerous portions and shared with our families and neighbors. When the Company left (1953), we were all very sad.
School and the Nuns
When I was 7 or 8, I went to school, but I didn’t finish any course. At that time we had a small school. At the beginning, the teachers did the classes in Spanish and we didn’t understand anything. We played more than we studied. Later, when the nuns arrived, they did the classes in Rapanui. I remember that all day long they would say Hapi (book). They would beat us with a whip — not so much me, but my friend and desk mate, Rufina Paoa, got beaten a lot. Classes started punctually at 8 in the morning. All the children, regardless of their age, went to the same class which was held outside in the patio. We used to escape to eat grapes, olives, or whatever there was in the area.
Community Life and the Arrival of Ships
When the ships arrived, the seamen would give us clothes and we would have parties and barbecues in their honor. There were a lot of “pololeos” (courting), but everyone got along well. There weren’t fights and conflicts like today. In the past everything was better on the Island. The people didn’t drink because liquor didn’t exist and we all took care of each other like one big family. Today everyone is more impudent; they don’t respect anything or anybody. Now with the alcohol, men mistreat the women and they get crazy.
On Sunday the whole family used to go to Mass. From the time we were little, my mother taught us to sing in Rapanui and Tahitian. She sang beautifully. After Mass, everyone would go to the town square. They’d take the children to play and the adults would talk. It was the real social center.
An Artistic Legacy: The Rapu Tuki
My husband was one of the first musicians on the Island. He played accordion and guitar and I sang. We both were concerned to pass all our artistic knowledge to our children. Our descendants, the Rapu-Tuki, are true artists; they are musicians, singers, dancers, and craftsmen who keep the Rapanui culture alive — a legacy that even sails the sea today, with the Kuini Analola catamaran, named in her honor by her son Lynn Rapu as part of the effort to rescue ancestral Rapanui navigation.
Frequently Asked Questions About Analola Tuki
Who was Analola Tuki?
Analola Tuki (1928) was a Rapa Nui woman recognized for her beauty, her work with explorer Thor Heyerdahl in the 1950s, and her 38 years of service caring for patients at the Rapa Nui leprosarium.
How was Analola Tuki connected to Thor Heyerdahl?
She worked with Heyerdahl during the 1950s and recalled how islanders artificially aged carved stone pieces to sell them as antiques, using banana paste and the sap of its leaves.
How many children did Analola Tuki have?
She had 18 children in total: 17 with her husband Belisario Rapu and one daughter, Jaqueline, from another relationship. She raised all of them by herself, sending some to study in Santiago.
What connection does Analola Tuki have to the Kuini Analola catamaran?
The Kuini Analola catamaran, the first ancestral Rapanui vessel built in Chiloé, was named in her honor by her son Lynn Rapu as part of the project to rescue ancestral Rapa Nui navigation.
What did Analola Tuki do besides raising her family?
She worked 38 years at the Rapa Nui hospital and leprosarium, collaborated on cultural projects like Kitin Muñoz’s Mata Rangi, and worked on the production of Kevin Costner’s film on the island during 1993-1994.
