Easter Island’s Mystery Is Sculpted in Stone

To the ancient Polynesians it was te pito te enua , “the navel of the world,” and, indeed, this is a lonely dot in the Pacific Ocean surrounded by a vast expanse of sea.

One of the most isolated of islands, it lies 2,300 miles off Chile, which annexed it in 1888, and 1,200 miles from its nearest neighbor, Pitcairn Island.

Triangular and punctuated at each of its corners by an extinct volcano, Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as the natives call it, is unlike the lush paradises of the South Seas.

Splendors Are Few

Covered with dry grass and isolated clumps of trees and bushes, devoid of rivers or streams, there is little in the way of scenic splendor except, perhaps, for the turquoise breakers pounding on black lava shores.

“Nature has been exceedingly sparing of her favors to this spot,” wrote 18th-Century explorer Capt. James Cook.

Yet this 45-square-mile island contains a wealth of archeological treasures. Hundreds of monolithic statues, called moai , towering to extraordinary heights, are scattered over the island.

The angular faces have somber, contemplative expressions. Their isolation and air of mystery have lured thousands of visitors to this remote land.

(No one knows who carved these stone faces. One far-fetched theory attributes them to spacemen who visited Easter Island millions of years ago.)

Most of the coastline, where the moai are, was declared a national park by Chile in 1935.

Although the island is believed to have been inhabited hundreds of years earlier, the classical period of the moai began in the 12th Century.

Carved from volcanic stone, these giants, thought to represent chieftains elevated to gods after death, were raised onto stone altars, or ahus , before each village.

The more than 600 statues were all fashioned from a quarry at Rano Raraku, an extinct volcano at the northeastern corner of the island.

Carving the Statues

One 1,300-foot wall is gouged with hundreds of unfinished moai , some horizontal, some vertical. The ancient sculptors carved directly from the rock, completing the front, then cutting trenches along the sides.

Work continued on the back or underside until a narrow stone ridge was all that remained to separate the moai from its bed. Sculpture ended with the torso.

Outlines of skinny arms were carved on the bodies, with long, thin fingers joining over the stomach. Some have tattoos on their backs. It is speculated that the statues were lowered from the quarry by thick vines and dragged to their sites with the aid of log runners.

On a gray cliff above the quarry is one attached figure after another.

The largest, more than 60 feet long, lies imprisoned in its massive rock bed. More sculptures are found inside the crater, together with basalt picks lying in disarray, testimony to the sudden departure of the quarry workers.

On the lower slopes is an array of statues, each leaning at a different angle, many with torsos concealed by 300 years of shifting earth. Broad-nosed, tight-lipped, with heavy brows shielding hollow eyes, they are 12 to 37 feet high and weigh as much as 30 tons; no two are alike.

Construction was once highly competitive, increasing in size and number; population increased and food production declined.

Sometime in the late 1500s, tribal wars began that lasted for 250 years. Moai by the hundreds were toppled from their ahus until none stood. In time, the inhabitants forgot the moai and lost the skills of their forefathers.

A park ranger patrols the vicinity to provide information and ensure safety, both for the moai and the eager tourists climbing the steep island slopes.

‘Living Faces’

On duty is Ata’a, a diminutive Polynesian wearing the uniform of the Chilean National Parks. She points out how the time of day and the changing light alter the expressions of the stone deities. Perhaps this is why they were called Aringa Ora , “living faces.”

Ata’a said her favorite time is at night when the moon is full. “They turn white,” she said. “As I walk among them I feel as if I’m being followed, and that some are turning to gaze after me with their hollow eyes. There is no experience quite like it!”

A short distance from the quarry, the island’s largest ahu , Tongariki, lies in ruins, destroyed by a tidal wave in 1960.

The force of the sea tossed a 60-ton moai 100 yards up on the beach, leaving it flat on its back.

Down the coast at Vaihu, five colossi lie face down, side by side, like gigantic bowling pins, undisturbed since they were pulled from their ahu during the wars.

Since the mid-1950s archeologists and the Chilean government have restored some moai and returned them to their original positions on their ahus.

On the north coast the sandy beach of Ana Kena is thought to be the site where the first king, Hotu Matua, and his followers landed in two great canoes around AD 400.

On a rise above the beach, seven inferior moai , reconstructed in modern times, share an ahu . Far more impressive is one nearby, restored to its altar in 1956 by the mayor of Hanga Roa, the island’s only town, and 10 islanders.

Under the direction of explorer-archeologist Thor Heyerdahl, they used the ancient method of logs and rock piles as lever and wedge.

Seven Giants

One of the most photographed groups on the island is a lineup of seven giants, Akivi, resting on their long, low ahu , which was restored in 1960. Said to represent the sons or scouts of Hoto Matua, they are the only statues on the island that face the sea.

A stunning example of an earlier style of construction, Ahu Tahina , is at Vinapu. Its massive square stones are perfectly fitted together by meticulous cutting and polishing. This distinctive structure supports one of the theories of Heyerdahl, who believes that early inhabitants of the island floated west on rafts from Peru’s arid coast.

Three miles from town at the end of a rutted trail barely wide enough to accommodate a vehicle, the small crater of Puna Pau served as another quarry.

There cylinders, weighing as much as 10 tons each, were fashioned from red volcanic scoria and rolled down the grassy slopes. A few remain scattered, abandoned.

On a grassy bluff above Hanga Roa, the showpiece of the island, a 30-ton moai , stands on its ahu . Its eyes restored with white and black stones, it surveys the wind-swept hills as the sun descends in a Titian glory of orange and gold. Eyes, believed to project supernatural power, were the finishing touch, set in the sockets only after the statue had been placed on its altar.

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The only airline serving Easter Island is Lan Chile. It makes three flights weekly out of Santiago, on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, with returns to Santiago on Monday, Thursday and Saturday.

Lan Chile offers an economy round trip to Easter Island from Miami via Santiago for $1,370. The airline also flies from Santiago to Easter Island for $369 round trip, and has a package within Chile’s northern or southern areas plus Easter Island for $520.

All of these flights are good for 21 days, and must be bought in the United States. From Los Angeles, Pan Am and Eastern have round-trip economy flights to Santiago via Miami for $1,050. Other airlines providing direct flights to Santiago from Miami are Ladeco and Viasa.

The attractive 60-room Hotel Hanga Roa is the only first-class hotel on the island. It’s by the sea; rates are $75-$95 a night double.

Amenities include a pool, shops and bar. The 12-room Topara’s Inn, overlooking the sea, charges $25-$60 a night double. Less expensive are Hotu Matua Hotel and Te Rangui Motel. Guest houses are listed in three categories at the airport, with prices from about $25-$55 per person a night, including meals.

Sports Tour (Teatinos 304, P.O. Box 3300, Santiago, Chile), offers 3- to 10-day tours. Prices are $250 to $1,300 for transfers, accommodations, breakfast, half or full board and sightseeing.

Independent tours can be arranged at the airport, hotels or guest houses. Group rates are about $25 per person a day. One can also hire a Jeep, motorcycle or horse. There is no public transportation and no paved roads.

But there are camping facilities, picnic areas, two good beaches, facilities for aquatic sports and fishing boats for rent. Inquire at the air terminal or the national park administration office in town.

Wood carving is the specialty of the island. Prices are high.

For further information contact Chilean National Tourist Board, 510 West 6th St., Suite 1210, Los Angeles 90014.