Rapa Nui

An enormous petrified sponge

From the arrival of the first inhabitants of the island, the caves began to form an essential part of the social, spiritual and daily life. Oral tradition reveals that in order to enter a cave it is necessary to ask for protection from the spirits, because the caves are as sacred as the earth and are “Tapu” or taboo.  In many caves, petroglyphs and pictographs of the god Make Make, the bird-man and other ancient cosmic figures can be discerned.  Some served as residences, such as the Ana Kena cave, where the legendary king Hotu Matu’a lived during his first years on the Island, and which has since given its name to the Anakena beach, originally called Oromanga.  The Rapanui tell us that each cave had its own name, sometimes related to the name of the original inhabitants or their clan, other times due to some characteristic of place, form, size or use.

 

The caves served not only as living spaces or refuges for people or even complete families, but also to keep maidens where they could whiten their skin for spiritual purposes (Ana O Keke and Ana Hue Neru),  to hold religious rites (Ana Kai Tangata and Ana Te Pora) or to store food and family treasures.  According to Lavancherie (1935) there used to be “workshop” caves in which bone and obsidian objects were manufactured.  Some caves served as collective tombs, while others were set aside as individual burials, where the old people could go when it was their time to die.  Only a few years ago, this happened for the last time.  The family searched for their missing grandmother for more than a month without finding a trace of her.  She had gone to her rest.