The first Europeans reached the shores of Easter Island, Rapa Nui, in 1722 – on Easter Sunday, thus giving the remote island its distinctive name. Just a century later, the society that produced the famous moai, recognisable the world over, was in serious decline.
Overpopulation and overuse of natural resources reached crisis point, and the islanders descended into tribal conflict. Warfare drastically changed the social order: the king’s power was diminished, and the island gradually fell under the control of tribal warrior chiefs. Within decades, the colossal statues on the ceremonial platforms, or ahu, were overthrown. By the time John Linton Palmer, ship’s surgeon aboard HMS Topaze, arrived in 1868, no moai was standing on a platform. Yet, out of this chaos came a completely new order: the rule of the sacred birdman.
This drastic change not only had a profound impact on island society, it also brought with it a completely new art form. The carved rocks of Orongo village, the centre of birdman ceremonies, are vivid testimonies to the glory of this emergent cult.
Redrawing the family tree