May 8, 2026
Ahí vinapu-
There’s actually a number of sites like this around the island, where the moai have been toppled over and broken. Prior to sites being restored starting in the 1960s they had all been toppled over. There are multiple theories why. What is known is that when the Portuguese first discovered the island they were all standing. When the Spanish came 30 years later they were all standing. When the British came 4 years after that they had all been toppled. The old theory, and it’s the one still mentioned by locals here, is that there had been a civil war. Short ears vs long ears. And rival clans knocked over the others moai. Let’s put a maybe on that theory. A competing theory is that when the Portuguese showed up they killed several of the natives, and when the Spanish showed up they gave them the gift of small pox. When the British arrived they were greeted with open hostility. So it’s likely they had a massive population collapse due to European disease and decided their ancestors had forsaken them. We’ll never really know.
What we do know is there was a population collapse coinciding with the toppling of the moai, and along with that the power hierarchy on the island collapsed.
So, a new system of power emerged.
Orongro-
This was the infamous bird man cult. It was basically an annual triathalon to determine who got to be leader for the next year. All the men on the island would gather in little stone houses at the top of a volcanic crater, and when sea birds would come take up residence on the island off shore the men would scale down the crater cliff, swim out to the island, grab up all the eggs, swim back, climb the cliff, first one to succeeds wins the right to rule. This went on basically until Chile annexed the island, although prior to chiles annexation perus slave raiding of the island had reduced the population to around 30 people, only 10 of whom were adult males, so there wasn’t much left to rule.
Anywho. That’s some history in context.
Tomorrow I don’t have any tours or anything. I’m debating climbing the highest mountain on the island, but we’ll see. Whatever happens I’m sure I’ll come up with something to do.
