Nga Rongoa Ancestral Medicine on Rapa Nui Within the philosophical world view of the Rapanui, good health is based on the union of man and nature, between life and death, in the present, the past and the future. Any mishap or disease has its origin in supernatural forces and is in
URU KEHU Legend Maori “The ancient seas roared under the influence of the moon and the stars and the Uru Kehu o Nga Tupuna finally disembarked. Our ancestors with the red and golden hair arrived to our island. Most of them perished in the cold ocean when the sea broke
Guerillas of “Che” Guevara in Rapa Nui Political asylum On February 26, 1968, while I was Governor of Easter Island, I received a radio-telegram – we didn’t have telephones then – from the then Minister of Interior, Edmundo Pérez-Zujovic, who informed me that the Chilean government had accepted a petition
Felipe Pakarati Felipe Pakarati Tuki, blind since 1968, has left an important legacy for future generations in Rapa Nui. In the book “Papa Tu’u ‘i Hanga Kao Kao”, dedicated to his grandfather Timothy Pakarati, has been narrating the social and cultural changes of his time. In 1947 I was seven
Tapati Rapa Nui 2011 From the 3rd to the 12th of February, the traditional Tapati Rapa Nui was held. This is an anual festival in which the families form alliances around two or three candidates for Queen, participating in cultural events and artistic and athletic competitions in an attempt to
Polynesian Legend A fact of life The Waitaha tribe of New Zealand tells us that in maorí communities there are always men and women who prefer to elect partners, or lovers of the same sex… “Some children are just born special. Some have both poles existing in their bodies and
Mokomae the Word Made Flesh Mokomae is the name of an ancestral warrior of the Ure or Mokomae clan which used to live in the area of Poike. It is from the Araki tribe. One of their descendants is the Chilean – Rapanui Luis “Tito” Hormazábal Araki, today a Tohunga
The Failure of the Moai Testimonials and legends confirm that there were difficult times. Juan Tepano, a major source for Routledge, Macmillan Brown and Metraux, told them that when he was young the old people spoke of the “failure of the overthrown statues”. He also remembered a story about when
Rapa Nui An enormous petrified sponge Under a thin layer of soil over the ancient volcanic rocks lies an invisible world, cloaked in legends and mysteries. Rapa Nui has a volcanic bedrock which can be compared to a giant petrified sponge, riddled with caverns of varying sizes, from small grottoes
Esperanza Pakarati Tepano Esperanza Pakarati (1922 – 2005) was the great-granddaughter of the last Rapanui priestess, Te Oho A Neru, whom she actually knew, and granddaughter of important local personages, the catechist Nicolas Pakarati and Juan Tepano-Huke. She was married at a young age to Esteban Atan-Pakomio, who was later
Maori Legend Creation Story The Maorí believe that the universe is represented by the supreme god Taaroa and his union with Fei-Materai, who represents the night, from which Ranginui (the sky) and Papatuanuku (the earth) were born. In the beginning, the sky and the earth were joined in such a
Marine Park on “Salas y Gómez” The international conservation organization, Oceana, and the National Geographic Society scheduled an expedition to the Salas y Gómez Island in March of 2010. The scientific team, with their guide, Michel García, a diver from Easter Island, were able to record the underwater life that
