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| Port of Call - Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile
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| Kang Je-Suk from South Korea with Rapa Nui friends
visiting the famous Rapa Nui Moai |
'Te Pito o Te Henua' or the Navel of the World,
is another name for the isolated Polynesian island whose people are
the farthest removed from any other population. The closest inhabited
land is Pitcairn Island, nearly 2000 kilometres away! Although separated
from South America by over 3700 kilometres of Pacific Ocean, Rapa
Nui is governed by Chile. But the cultural traditions and people are
more Polynesian, more Rapa Nui, than Chilean - and the recent resurgence
in indigenous culture and language are good evidence of this. Despite
a brutal colonial history during which the Rapanui population was
decimated to a mere 200 people, and the island became a livestock
ranch for 60,000 sheep, the Rapanui people today number 4000 and rely
on the tourism and salt industry for their main sources of income.
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| Vai-a-Heva Rapu Drago with Peace Boat friend
in traditional Kari Kari dance wear |
Vai-a-Heva Rapu Drago, a 23 year old woman from
the main town of 'Hanga Roa' was Peace Boat's guest speaker during
the Santiago to Rapa Nui leg of the cruise. While onboard, 'Vai' taught
indigenous dance workshops and gave participants a taste of Rapa Nui's
rich musical culture. Once Peace Boat arrived in Rapa Nui, a group
of participants joined Vai and her 'Kari Kari dance group' to learn
more about indigenous performance. Apparently, the fifty or so performers
at the Kari Kari school evolved from a casual group of friends who
enjoyed singing traditional Rapa Nui music together back in the 1970s.
Today, the enthusiastic group of musicians, dancers, singers and artists
have set themselves up in a theatre called a 'living cultural centre'
where they can not only showcase their musical culture to visitors,
but also strengthen their indigenous knowledge and skills, and ensure
that Rapa Nui culture is passed on to future generations. Peace Boat
participants were lucky to also enjoy their Kari Kari friends' homemade
cooking, which included taro, fish, 'umu' (lamb cooked in an underground
earth), kumera and maize. |
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| Peace Boat participants collecting rubbish around
a ceremonial site on Rapa Nui |
Instead of making a beeline for Rapa Nui's most
famous attraction, the colossal moai - or 2 to 21 metre statues made
from volcanic rock, a large group of participants stopped off at the
special ceremonial site of 'Hanga Tuhata', and collected rubbish for
one hour. In the spirit of wanting to give something back to the local
Rapanui people rather than be conventional tourists, Peace Boat built
this environmental community work into the day's itinerary. After
listening to local people tell us about the various rituals that are
performed in the cave of Hanga Tuhata, the sixty or so Peace Boat
people wandered high and low and returned an hour later with a vast
array of litter. Old rope, plastic bottles, thongs, glass, wrappers
- ceven a plastic laundry basket - were amongst the items of trash
collected, which was then more thoughtfully disposed of by our Rapanui
companions. |
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| Ahu Tongariki where fifteen Moai are lined up
facing the sea |
Arriving at 'Ahu Tongariki' took everyone's breath
away. Here there are fifteen stately Moai standing above the largest
'Ahu' (stone platform). Exactly how the ancient people of Rapa Nui
from the 10th century onwards managed to construct and move these
massive statues is both mystifying and impressive. The Ahu supporting
the Moai is a mass of loose stones held together by retaining walls
and paved with flat stones on the surface, and surrounded with a vertical
wall on the seaward side. Participants made a conscious effort to
tread carefully and not intrude upon the sacred zone surrounding the
Moai simply because they might have wanted to take a better photo.
The group then moved onto the extinct volcano of 'Rano Raraku', the
quarry where the Moai were cut. As we climbed up to the top to check
out the spectacular panoramic view and peer down into the volcano's
crater where a small lake has formed, we weaved between dozens of
Moai in various stages of progress. Most of the human-like statues
seemed relatively short compared to those at Ahu Tongariki, but this,
we realised, was because they were buried up to their shoulders or
necks in earth, so that only their heads protruded. Besides feeling
in awe of the handiwork and cooperative labour of the ancient Rapanui
people, there is a sense of spirituality and mystery to be experienced
when one is among the legendary stone antiquities. |
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| Playing jump rope with children from 'Hogar
Menores' in Hanga Roa |
'Hogar Menores' or Children's Home, is a safe haven
for Rapa Nui children who come from dysfunctional families. A large
group of Peace Boat participants spent a day with the fifty or so
children aged from 6 to 17, and had plenty of fun and laughs together.
The recipe for an afternoon of playful good times was prepared in
advance by Peace Boat participants, who brought with them a variety
of Japanese games, sports gear and friendly, smiling faces! Origami
and Japanese calligraphy attracted dozens of kids like bees to nectar,
while the more active types played jump rope and soccer out in the
sun. Finger-painting and hand printing was also a favourite. The team
from Peace Boat's 'Momoji no Te' (a project to support and interact
with underprivileged children around the world) brought a huge banner
covered with messages & the colourful handprints of Japanese school
children. They then asked the children from Hogar Menores to decorate
another banner with their own hand prints, designs and messages so
that this Rapa Nui token of friendship could be presented to the children
in Japan. |
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| Kakki with an affectionate little buddy from
Hogar Menores Children's Home |
On top of chatting and playing together, each party
showed the other a little of their musical talent. Singing, dancing,
and improvising to the beats of popular songs from Rapa Nui and Japan
were great ways for everyone to loosen up and have a relaxing time
together. Before leaving, Peace Boat handed over bags full of useful
things for the children, including pens, pencils, notebooks, calculators,
soccer balls, musical instruments and pencil cases. This was the first
time Peace Boat visited Hogar Menores and everyone had a wonderful
time. We are looking forward to meeting up and playing with our Rapa
Nui friends again soon! |
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Rapa Nui - Indigenous Polynesian name ('Rapanui'
is used to describe the people)
Isla de Pasqua - Spanish name
Easter Island - English name |
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| Peace Boat's
40th Voyage index |
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PEACE BOAT is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. |
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