Forming the eastern tip of Polynesia is the small and isolated island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Although famous for its extraordinary statues (moai) that once stood on ceremonial platforms (ahu), there is a wealth of associated but less well-known archaeological sites and monuments. As seen in CWA 104, the spectacular ruined ahu complex at Akahanga, with its fallen moai and topknots (pukao) is situated on the south coast of Rapa Nui. With the roar of the Pacific Ocean in our ears, if we walked inland, within a hundred metres or so the foundations of a number of houses (hare paenga) would become visible poking through the low grass. These take the form of a series of shaped black basalt blocks (paenga) set end-to-end to form a boat-shaped house foundation. The blocks were well-bedded in the ground and each has a series of circular holes cut into the upper surface. During house construction, thin c.2m lengths of wood were pushed into each hole and, at the top, pulled together and lashed to a ridge-pole to form a keel-like roof. This would create an unusual house shape reminiscent of the hull of an upturned canoe. Outside the front of the house, a semicircle of water-worn stones (poro) provided a platform area.
Houses of this form are restricted to Rapa Nui and not present on other Polynesian islands. In order to explore this exceptional architecture further, it is necessary to move away from the houses themselves and consider two things: first, the way in which Rapa Nui was initially colonised, and, second, the beliefs of the early settlers. By this means we will see the hare paenga is much more than a dwelling replicating the imagery of an upturned canoe, but through the use of particular materials this architecture expressed a model of the cosmos that had a substantial affect on those who encountered it.
The voyagers
In the book On the Road of the Winds, Patrick Kirch suggests ‘the history of the Pacific is more than anything a history of voyages, and all that word entails: curiosity, courage, skill, technique, stamina, doubt, hope and more’. Through a series of extraordinary voyages, ancient Polynesians sailed mainly eastwards encountering and settling islands as they went. This was a truly remarkable feat because the vast Pacific Ocean can be as treacherous and dangerous as it is beautiful. Originally, because of the massive distances traversed, this was believed to have taken almost a millennium to achieve, but is now considered to have occurred within c.300 years from c.AD 900-1200, and possibly even less. This was the great age of Polynesian expansion and the time of the voyaging canoe. From a variety of sources, we know that canoes were not merely functional sea-craft, but vessels of sacred character. From the rituals surrounding their construction to the launching ceremonies, canoes attained special significance, and we can be sure that this was enhanced in the case of voyaging canoes.
