Language The Rapa Nui currently speak Spanish and the traditional Rapa Nui language. The Rapa Nui language, also known as Pascuan, is classified as an Eastern Polynesian language and is currently written in the Latin script. Rapa Nui is a minority language, as most Rapa Nui people speak Spanish as their first language. Spanish is the most widely spoken language on Easter Island and the primary language of education and administration. It is believed that Rapa Nui is currently undergoing a shift toward more Spanish-like sentence structure.
Rongorongo, a system of glyphs discovered in the 1800s, is believed to represent an older version of the Rapa Nui language. However, the
decipherment of rongorongo is an ongoing process and it is not yet clear whether Rongorongo is a form of writing or some other form of cultural expression.
Mythology The main stories of
Rapa Nui mythology are that of
Hotu Matu'a, believed to be the first settler of Easter Island, and the Tangata manu. The
Tangata manu is the mythology of the Birdman religion and cult which had creator god
Makemake and competition with eggs to choose the
birdman who would remain sacred for five months. More recent Rapa Nui mythology includes the story of the epic battle between the
Hanau Epe and the Hanau Momoko. The
trans-Neptunian dwarf planet Makemake is named after this creator deity.
Moai The best-known aspect of the Rapa Nui culture is the
moai, the 887 human figures carved from rock between 1250 and 1500 CE and transported throughout Easter Island. The moai were believed to be the living faces of ancestors and had all been toppled by 1868. The moai rest on large stone platforms called
ahu, the most famous of which are
Ahu Tongariki, the largest ahu, and
Ahu Vinapu. Some moai have hats of red volcanic stone known as
Pukao. Currently, the Rapa Nui and the
Chilean government are focused on preserving and restoring the statues.
Rapa Nui National Park, which includes many of the statues, is a
World Heritage site.
Art The Rapa Nui have historically made feather headdresses, bark cloth, wood carvings, and stone carvings. Adzes, blunt round stones, were used to complete stone images and wood carvings. A distinguishing characteristic of Rapa Nui statues is the use of shell or coral inlaid with obsidian to represent eyes.
Music Rapa Nui traditional music consists of choral singing and chanting accompanied by instruments including conch shell trumpets, percussive dancers, accordions, and kauaha, a percussion instrument created from the jaw bone of a horse. Modern Rapanui music has had Latin American influences creating new genres such as the Rapa Nui style of tango.
Matato'a, one of the most famous musical groups on the island, promotes traditional styles of dance and music.
Tattoos Like in other Polynesian islands, tattoos and body paintings had a fundamentally spiritual connotation. In some cases the tattoos were considered a receptor for divine strength or mana. They were manifestations of the Rapa Nui culture. Priests, warriors and chiefs had more tattoos than the rest of the population, as a symbol of their hierarchy. Both men and women were tattooed to represent their social class. Tattoos, as well as other forms of art in Rapa Nui, blends anthropomorphic and zoomorphic imagery.
Cuisine Pascuense cuisine, otherwise known as Easter Island cuisine or Rapa Nui cuisine incorporates the influences of the Indigenous Rapa Nui people and Latin America. Notable ingredients include seafood such as fish, octopus (heke), eel, sea snails (pipi) and crustaceans (lobster), as well as sweet potato, taro, banana, pineapple, coconut, pumpkin, and poultry, pork and lamb meat. Traditional foods include umu, meat, fish, vegetables and fruit wrapped in banana leaves and roasted in umu pae – an earth oven. Po'e, pudding made of mashed bananas, pumpkin and flour is baked in the umu pae as well. Other favorite dishes are tunu ahi, fish grilled on hot stones, or ceviche. Pascuense cuisine also includes meat dishes, such as pork or mutton ribs. ==Interaction with the environment==