Hotu Matu'a
Encyclopedia
Hotu Matu'a was the legendary first settler and ariki mau ("supreme chief" or "king") of Easter Island
. Hotu Matu'a and his two canoe (or one double hulled canoe) colonising party were Polynesians
from the now unknown land of Hiva (probably the Marquesas). They landed at Anakena
beach and his people spread out across the island, sub-divided it between clans claiming descent from his sons, and lived for more than a thousand years in their isolated island home at the southeastern tip of the Polynesian Triangle
.
first came to Rapa Nui (later renamed Easter Island
) sometime between 300 CE
and 800 CE
. These are the common elements of oral history that have been extracted from island legends. Linguistic, DNA and Pollen analysis all point to a Polynesian
first settlement of the island at that time, but it is unlikely that other details can be verified. During this era the Polynesians were colonising islands across a vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean
. Hotu Matuʻa led his people from Hiva; linguistic analysis comparing Rapanui to other Polynesian languages suggests this was the Marquesas Islands
.
.
When Hau-Maka woke, he told the King. The King then ordered seven men to travel to the island from Hiva (a mythical land
) to investigate. After they found the land, they returned to Hiva. The King and many more travelled to this new island.
n founder god Atu Motua ("Father Lord") has made some historians suspect that Hotu Matuʻa was added to Easter Island mythology only in the 1860s, along with adopting the Mangarevan language. The "real" founder would have been Tuʻu ko Iho, who became just a supporting character in the Hotu Matuʻa centric legends.
, or at about the time of the arrival of the earliest settlers in Hawaii
. Some scientists say that Easter Island was not inhabited until 700-800 CE. This date range is based on glottochronological
calculations and on three radiocarbon dates
from charcoal that appears to have been produced during forest clearance activities, while a recent study, with radiocarbon dates from what is thought to be very early material, proves the island was settled by 1200 CE. This seems to be supported by the latest information on island's deforestation that could have started around the same time. Any earlier human activity seems to be insignificant or low impact.
pointed out many cultural similarities between Easter Island and South American Indian cultures which he suggested might have resulted from some settlers arriving also from the continent. According to local legends, a group of long-eared unknown men called as hanau eepe had arrived on the island sometime after Polynesians, introducing the stone carving technology and attempting to enslave the local Polynesians. Some early accounts of the legend place hanau epe as the original residents and Polynesians as later immigrants coming from Oparo. After mutual suspicions erupted in a violent clash, the hanau eepe were overthrown and exterminated, leaving only one survivor. The first description of island's demographics by Jacob Roggeveen in 1722 still claimed that the population consisted of two distinctive ethnic groups, one being clearly Polynesian and the other "white" with so lengthened earlobes that they could tie them behind their necks. Roggeveen also noted how some of the islanders were "generally large in stature". Islanders' tallness was also witnessed by the Spanish who visited the island in 1770, measuring heights of 196 and 199 cm.
The fact that sweet potatoes, a staple of the Polynesian diet, and several other domestic plants - up to 12 in Easter Island - are of South American origin indicates that there may have been some contact between the two cultures. Either Polynesians have traveled to South America and back, or Indian balsa rafts have drifted to Polynesia, possibly unable to make a return trip because of their less developed navigational skills and more fragile boats, or both. Polynesian connections in South America have been noticed among the Mapuche
Indians in central and southern Chile. The Polynesian name for the small islet of Sala y Gómez
(Manu Motu Motiro Hiva, "Bird's islet on the way to a far away land") east of Easter Island has also been seen as a hint that South America was known before European contacts. Further complicating the situation is that the word Hiva ("far away land") was also the name of the islanders' legendary home country. Inexplicable insistence on an eastern origin for the first inhabitants was unanimous among the islanders in all early accounts.
Mainstream archeology is skeptical about any non-Polynesian influence on the island's prehistory, although the discussion has become political. DNA sequence analysis of Easter Island's current inhabitants (a tool not available in Heyerdahl's time) offers strong evidence of Polynesian origins. However, since few islanders survived the 19th century slave raids, epidemics and deportations (perhaps only 0.25% of the peak population), this evidence depends on how representative the survivors were of the general Rapanui population.
Easter Island
Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
. Hotu Matu'a and his two canoe (or one double hulled canoe) colonising party were Polynesians
Polynesians
The Polynesian peoples is a grouping of various ethnic groups that speak Polynesian languages, a branch of the Oceanic languages within the Austronesian languages, and inhabit Polynesia. They number approximately 1,500,000 people...
from the now unknown land of Hiva (probably the Marquesas). They landed at Anakena
Anakena
Anakena is a white coral sand beach in Rapa Nui National Park on Rapa Nui , a Chilean island in the Pacific Ocean. Anakena has two ahus, one with a single moai and the other with six...
beach and his people spread out across the island, sub-divided it between clans claiming descent from his sons, and lived for more than a thousand years in their isolated island home at the southeastern tip of the Polynesian Triangle
Polynesian Triangle
The Polynesian Triangle is a region of the Pacific Ocean with three island groups at its corners: Hawaii, Easter Island and New Zealand. It is often used as a simple way to define Polynesia....
.
History
PolynesiansPolynesians
The Polynesian peoples is a grouping of various ethnic groups that speak Polynesian languages, a branch of the Oceanic languages within the Austronesian languages, and inhabit Polynesia. They number approximately 1,500,000 people...
first came to Rapa Nui (later renamed Easter Island
Easter Island
Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
) sometime between 300 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
and 800 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
. These are the common elements of oral history that have been extracted from island legends. Linguistic, DNA and Pollen analysis all point to a Polynesian
Polynesians
The Polynesian peoples is a grouping of various ethnic groups that speak Polynesian languages, a branch of the Oceanic languages within the Austronesian languages, and inhabit Polynesia. They number approximately 1,500,000 people...
first settlement of the island at that time, but it is unlikely that other details can be verified. During this era the Polynesians were colonising islands across a vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. Hotu Matuʻa led his people from Hiva; linguistic analysis comparing Rapanui to other Polynesian languages suggests this was the Marquesas Islands
Marquesas Islands
The Marquesas Islands enana and Te Fenua `Enata , both meaning "The Land of Men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. The Marquesas are located at 9° 00S, 139° 30W...
.
Legend
It is said that Hau-Maka had a dream in which his spirit travelled to a far country, to help look for new land for King Hotu Matu'a. In the dream, his spirit travelled to the Mata ki te rangi (Eyes that look to the Sky). The island has also been called "Te pito o te henua", which means "the Center of the Earth." Both islands are commonly said to be Easter IslandEaster Island
Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
.
When Hau-Maka woke, he told the King. The King then ordered seven men to travel to the island from Hiva (a mythical land
Mythical place
Places which appear in mythology, folklore or religious texts or tradition, but which are not probably genuine places, include:...
) to investigate. After they found the land, they returned to Hiva. The King and many more travelled to this new island.
Tuʻu ko Iho
Resemblance of the name to an early MangarevaMangareva
Mangareva is the central and most important island of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. It is surrounded by smaller islands: Taravai in the southwest, Aukena and Akamaru in the southeast, and islands in the north...
n founder god Atu Motua ("Father Lord") has made some historians suspect that Hotu Matuʻa was added to Easter Island mythology only in the 1860s, along with adopting the Mangarevan language. The "real" founder would have been Tuʻu ko Iho, who became just a supporting character in the Hotu Matuʻa centric legends.
Dates of the first settlements
There is considerable uncertainty about the accuracy of this legend as well as the date of settlement. Published literature suggests the island was settled around 300-400 CECommon Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
, or at about the time of the arrival of the earliest settlers in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. Some scientists say that Easter Island was not inhabited until 700-800 CE. This date range is based on glottochronological
Glottochronology
Glottochronology is that part of lexicostatistics dealing with the chronological relationship between languages....
calculations and on three radiocarbon dates
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...
from charcoal that appears to have been produced during forest clearance activities, while a recent study, with radiocarbon dates from what is thought to be very early material, proves the island was settled by 1200 CE. This seems to be supported by the latest information on island's deforestation that could have started around the same time. Any earlier human activity seems to be insignificant or low impact.
South America or Polynesia
The Norwegian ethnographer Thor HeyerdahlThor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl was a Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer with a background in zoology and geography. He became notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition, in which he sailed by raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands...
pointed out many cultural similarities between Easter Island and South American Indian cultures which he suggested might have resulted from some settlers arriving also from the continent. According to local legends, a group of long-eared unknown men called as hanau eepe had arrived on the island sometime after Polynesians, introducing the stone carving technology and attempting to enslave the local Polynesians. Some early accounts of the legend place hanau epe as the original residents and Polynesians as later immigrants coming from Oparo. After mutual suspicions erupted in a violent clash, the hanau eepe were overthrown and exterminated, leaving only one survivor. The first description of island's demographics by Jacob Roggeveen in 1722 still claimed that the population consisted of two distinctive ethnic groups, one being clearly Polynesian and the other "white" with so lengthened earlobes that they could tie them behind their necks. Roggeveen also noted how some of the islanders were "generally large in stature". Islanders' tallness was also witnessed by the Spanish who visited the island in 1770, measuring heights of 196 and 199 cm.
The fact that sweet potatoes, a staple of the Polynesian diet, and several other domestic plants - up to 12 in Easter Island - are of South American origin indicates that there may have been some contact between the two cultures. Either Polynesians have traveled to South America and back, or Indian balsa rafts have drifted to Polynesia, possibly unable to make a return trip because of their less developed navigational skills and more fragile boats, or both. Polynesian connections in South America have been noticed among the Mapuche
Mapuche
The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...
Indians in central and southern Chile. The Polynesian name for the small islet of Sala y Gómez
Sala y Gómez
Isla Salas y Gómez, also known as Isla Sala y Gómez, is a small uninhabited Chilean island in the Pacific Ocean. It is the easternmost point in the Polynesian Triangle...
(Manu Motu Motiro Hiva, "Bird's islet on the way to a far away land") east of Easter Island has also been seen as a hint that South America was known before European contacts. Further complicating the situation is that the word Hiva ("far away land") was also the name of the islanders' legendary home country. Inexplicable insistence on an eastern origin for the first inhabitants was unanimous among the islanders in all early accounts.
Mainstream archeology is skeptical about any non-Polynesian influence on the island's prehistory, although the discussion has become political. DNA sequence analysis of Easter Island's current inhabitants (a tool not available in Heyerdahl's time) offers strong evidence of Polynesian origins. However, since few islanders survived the 19th century slave raids, epidemics and deportations (perhaps only 0.25% of the peak population), this evidence depends on how representative the survivors were of the general Rapanui population.
See also
- Chiefs of Easter Island - more information on the arrival of the Paramount Chief and his people
- Rapa Nui mythologyRapa Nui mythologyThe Rapa Nui mythology, also known as Pascuense mythology or Easter Island mythology, is the name given to the myths, legends and beliefs of the native Rapanui people of the island of Rapa Nui , located in the south eastern Pacific Ocean, almost four thousand kilometers from continental...
- Rapa Nui
- Easter Island History