Why is Rapa Nui more commonly known as Easter Island?

Why is Rapa Nui more commonly known as Easter Island?

Etymology. The name “Easter Island” was given by the island’s first recorded European visitor, the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who encountered it on Easter Sunday (5 April) in 1722, while searching for “Davis Land”. Roggeveen named it Paasch-Eyland (18th-century Dutch for “Easter Island”).

Why is Easter Island Important?

Easter Island is famous for its stone statues of human figures, known as moai (meaning “statue”). The island is known to its inhabitants as Rapa Nui. The moai were probably carved to commemorate important ancestors and were made from around 1000 C.E. until the second half of the seventeenth century.

What type of value does Rapa Nui National Park have?

Outstanding Universal Value. Rapa Nui National Park is a protected Chilean wildlife area located in Easter Island, which concentrates the legacy of the Rapa Nui culture. This culture displayed extraordinary characteristics that are expressed in singular architecture and sculpture within the Polynesian context.

What happened to the culture of the people on Rapa Nui — Easter Island?

A common hypothesis is held that the apparent decline of Rapa Nui culture and society before European arrival in 1722 was caused by the over-exploitation of the island’s environment, most notably through deforestation of almost all the island’s trees.

How did the Rapa Nui get to Easter Island?

Known as Rapa Nui to its earliest inhabitants, the island was christened Paaseiland, or Easter Island, by Dutch explorers in honor of the day of their arrival in 1722. It was annexed by Chile in the late 19th century and now maintains an economy based largely on tourism.

What is Rapa Nui?

Easter Island, Spanish Isla de Pascua, also called Rapa Nui, Chilean dependency in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is the easternmost outpost of the Polynesian island world. To its original inhabitants the island is known as Rapa Nui (“Great Rapa”) or Te Pito te Henua (“Navel of the World”).

Why is Easter Island so important to Chilean culture?

Famous for the towering stone statues known as moai, the island of Rapa Nui holds immense cultural value to its native Rapa Nui clans, a society of Polynesian origin who arrived on the island around 400 A.D. With more than 100,000 visitors annually, tourism sustains the “Easter Island” economy—but management of tourism …

What is the Rapa Nui religion and beliefs?

Rapa Nui Religion Their beliefs evolve mainly around Make-Make, the creator god, supreme god and he who is omnipotent. However, the most important religious demonstration is the worship to the birdman, also known as the bird of luck. In the language of the islanders, it is called Manutara.

When did the Rapanui arrive on Easter Island?

The first human inhabitants of Rapa Nui (the Polynesian name for Easter Island; its Spanish name is Isla de Pascua) are believed to have arrived in an organized party of emigrants. Archaeology dates their arrival at between 700-800 A.D., while linguists estimate it was around the year 400.

What is Rapanui?

What did the Rapa Nui people do?

The Rapa Nui people brought their agricultural skills with them from Polynesia. They planted crops of potato, yams, and bananas throughout the island and built complex irrigation systems as well as stone walls to protect them from strong winds.

What is Rapa Nui famous for?

Easter Island, Spanish Isla de Pascua, also called Rapa Nui, Chilean dependency in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is the easternmost outpost of the Polynesian island world. It is famous for its giant stone statues.

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