THE RAPA NUIThe Rapa NuiIn this article I will talk about the Rapa Nui and their arrival on Easter Island. I will cover the basic history of the Rapa Nui and their discovery and inhabitation of Easter Island. Additionally, I will look at topics such as culture, marriage and family, religion, traditions, and more. Rapa Nui is more commonly known as Easter Island, a province of Chile. Its official Spanish name is Isla de Pascua. It is one of the most isolated inhabited islands on earth, located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. The island is triangular in shape, with three volcanic peaks, each of which is located in one corner of the island. Covered mainly by barren rock, grass and shrubs, the island was once covered in dense forests. The only indigenous animals are flocks of seabirds and the Polynesian rat. Cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens and dogs were introduced from other islands or by European visitors. The island is located in a tropical climate zone, with water obtained from one of three springs, or by collecting rainwater. The first settlers, also known as Rapa Nui, arrived around 300-400 AD and are believed to be of Polynesian origin. According to legend, these first settlers were a small colony of men, women and children who braved the ocean aboard nothing more than a catamaran. Their leader, Hotu Matu'a, led them to the island after fleeing their homeland of Marae Renga following a defeat in war. Easter Island's population ranged from 7 to 17,000 before the arrival of settlers from Europe. Years of famine, visitor-introduced diseases, internal tribal warfare, and slave raiding led to severe population fluctuations. Easter Island is world famous for its giant statues known as moai. There is a…paper world…, yet many of their customs are similar to others around the world, from marriage and family to gender roles and religion. They also have many differences, some still based on a more primitive purpose such as still believing in curses. Sources • William H. Swatos, Jr., ed. The world religious movements of the 20th century in a neo-Weberian perspective. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1992.• Dr. Grant McCall, “RapaNui (Easter Island),” ALS Independence 2003-11. March 15, 2012• Deborah Underwood, “The Statues of Easter Island,” KidHaven Press, circa 2005• “Easter Island.” Encyclopedia of world cultures. 1996. Enciclopedia.com. 11 March 2012• Peggy Mann, “Easter Island: Land of Mysteries”, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, c.1976• J. Douglas Porteus, “The Modernization of Easter Island”, Department of Geography, University of Victoria, 1981