Part 4, Discovering Hanga Roa

[urbpan]

With the morning free, we decided to walk into town.





I saw some familiar faces...



And many new ones.



The volcanic rock of the island is hospitable to several lichen species. omphalina, any guesses? (Oh she's on her way to Burning Man--I'll ask later.)



Loose domestic animals are encountered frequently. This hen deftly lept onto the stone fence in a single hop.





This apparently abandoned house was actually occupied by an American or possibly Australian guy who went by the name "The Gypsy." I was impressed with the variety of found materials that made it into the walls.





This piece contains reproductions of petroglyphs. (I suppose since they're carved into stone they are real petroglyphs, but they are new, not ancient artifacts.) On the left is the birdman image (you'll see that a lot and I'll eventually explain it) and the other two are versions of Makemake (mah-kay mah-kay), a progenitor god and phallic/fertility symbol.



Down by the harbor near our hotel, we found this contemporary sculpture of a ship.



To the right of the ship (North) the sea was violent and the rocks jagged.



To the left of the sculpture (South) was the small gentle harbor, Hanga Piko, where fishermen kept their boats and set out at night to catch tuna and other fish.



As we went into the town of Hanga Roa, I noticed a familiar plant--it was used for landscaping, but had also escaped as a wild weed in many places. It's interesting to me that a place whose history has much to do with running out of things to eat should be overrun with an edible flower. Not that you can subsist a culture on Nasturtiums.



In the center of Hanga Roa is the Catholic Church. Most Rapanui people are Catholic, and most Chilenos are as well. This church features carvings of Catholic figures done in the style of traditional Rapanui art. These statues date from the 1980's mostly.



I thought this was Saint Sebastian, done as a birdman, but this is what my book says: "The'Espiritu Sanctu' was made by Juan Haoa, whose dream it was to fill the church with Rapa Nui santos. This amazing figure is based on the form of a frigate bird (Fregata minor) with wood dowels radiating outward from the bird's abdomen, each of which represents an Earhly gift: fortitude, wisdom, learning, council, intelligence, fear of god, and piety." (Shawn McLaughlin, Complete Guide to Easter Island, Easter Island Foundation, Los Osos California, 2004. p77)



Even friendly old St. Francis has the eerie eyes of the Moai.




Mary seems normal enough. But what's that on her head?





Jesus' fine robe is festooned with traditional Rapanui images, including the birdman and the Makemake.





Next: "Where are the 'stone heads' already!?"

Comments

[ms-cantrell.livejournal.com]

thanks for all these wonderful pictures, urbpan. it's all making me want to go get a book on easter island- or (gasp) maybe even go there some day.

where the bitches at?

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

Those are some seriously freaky holy statues. Did you get a picture of the Easter Island Jesus? I assume it's a seperate statue as I can't imagine that the tiny Christ child perched like a parrot on Mary has a " fine robe.. festooned with traditional Rapanui images," that we just can't make out from that angle. I'm guessing that's some stylized bird on MM's head, but with your other descriptions, I'd say all bets were off. If Lovecraft had seen these, he would have clawed his eyes out. Of course, he wasn't a real big fan of diversity. Finally, are either of the dogs in the pictures the bitch that adopted you?

Re: where the bitches at?

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I fogot to put the Jeebus picture in. He's there now.

"In 1978, Benedicto Tuki Tepano carved the 'Sagrado Corazon' ('Sacred Heart'). His robe is decorated with supernatural Rapa Nui symols and he wears a bird-shaped crown." (McLaughlin, p77)

Re: where the bitches at?

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

No, no it isn't. I think you left a couple letters off your HTML code.