- Tangata manu
The "Tangata manu" ("bird-man"), was the winner of a traditional competition on
Rapa Nui (Easter Island ). The ritual was an annual competition to collect the firstSooty Tern "(manu tara)" egg of the season from the islet ofMotu Nui , swim back toRapa Nui and climb the sea cliff ofRano Kau to the clifftop village ofOrongo .Contestants were revealed in dreams by
ivi-attua s (individuals with the gift of prophecy). The contestants would each appoint aHopu who would swim toMotu Nui and fetch them the Egg; whilst the contestants waited atOrongo . The race was very dangerous and manyHopu were killed byshark s, drowning or by falling.Once the hopu had presented the egg to the contestant a fire would be lit on the landward side of the rim of
Rano Kau ; the location of the fire would announce to the whole island whether the newTangata manu were from the western or eastern clans.The winner was given a new name and the title "Tangata manu", and great power on the island, including his clan's having sole rights to collect that season's harvest of wild bird eggs and fledglings from
Motu Nui .The "Tangata manu" would then lead a dance down the slope of
Rano Kau and on either toAnakena if he was from the western clans orRano Raraku if he was from the eastern clans.Make-make was the chief god of the birdman cult, the other three Gods associated with it being
Hawa-tuu-take-take (the Chief of the eggs) his wifeVie Hoa andVie Kanatea .The Birdman cult was suppressed by
Christian missionaries in the 1860s. The origin of the cult and the time thereof are uncertain, as it is unknown whether the cult replaced the precedingMoai -based religion or had co-existed with it, thoughKatherine Routledge was able to collect the names of 86 "Tangata manu".Trivia
*The band
Rasputina 's song "Oh Bring Back the Egg Unbroken" on their 2007 album, "Oh Perilous World ", is about these traditions.
*The Hollywood film "Rapa Nui" has a version of the race, though in the wrong historic context.References
* The Mystery of Easter Island 1919 -
Katherine Routledge ISBN 0-9328 1 3-48-8
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