What does the Rock Art of Easter Island mean?
One of the most frequently-asked questions about rock art is "what does it mean?" As with most other areas of the world, there is no simple (or single) answer for the motifs on the rocks of Easter Island. Some appear to refer to status, some to clan identification; others were offerings or supplications; and some marked the location of special rites and ceremonies. We have connected a few Easter Island petroglyphs to ancient myths. In other words, in one way or the other, the motifs related to the esoteric and religious aspects of the society.
The purpose of the birdman contest was to obtain the first egg of the season from an offshore islet, Motu Nui. Contestants descended the sheer cliffs of Orongo and swam to Motu Nui where they awaited the coming of the birds. The first to procure an egg became the winner. He swam back and presented it to his sponsor, who then was declared birdman for that year, an important status position. At Orongo we documented 1,274 petroglyphs, nearly all of them of birdmen.
| These birdmen designs from Orongo show how the figure developed from an elongated form into the highly stylized "developed" design. Two earlier birdmen, carved in linear form, were superimposed and over-cut by the large birdman created in bas relief.
|
|
That the birdman carvings predated the stone houses erected in prehistoric times is clear from this drawing that shows the figures disappearing beneath the walls of a house (left side). Traces of an earlier birdman can be seen in the body of the central figure.
|
Horizontal boulders in the "court" area at Orongo are very eroded from visitors walking on them. However, birdmen, faces and komari (vulva) designs still can be seen clearly. Note how the komari are incised on the bodies of the birdmen. This tells us that the birdman figures came first, the komari later.
 |
|
A horizontal boulder in the "court" at Orongo has been heavily impacted by people walking on it, and some figures are nearly erased by this action. Tiny birdmen are placed around the larger figures. This panel has komari also, plus an unknown carving (far right) that may be intended as a feathered tail.
|
On the far left are to birdman, facing each other and attached. This motif is called "tumu" on the island and refers to family connections, family tree.
