Over a quarter of a million Pacific Islanders call NZ home. I'm a bit embarrassed to say it, but I know very little about the country and the cultures they come from, which is why I'm off on a voyage of discovery across the Pacific. Captions by Shelley Upchurch Edited by Pippa Jefferies. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2014 When I said I was going to Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, people would invariably say, 'Oh Jeez, I've always wanted to go there.' It's one of those places that captures people's imaginations, possibly because it's the home of the moai, the island's ancient statues and the basis of one of the world's last great unsolved mysteries. The original Polynesian settlers called this tiny little blip in the ocean Te Pito O Te Henua ` the Navel of the World ` and it certainly is a very long way from anywhere. Its nearest neighbour's some 2075km to the north-west, the not-so-salubrious Pitcairn. 3500km this way is Chile, and if you head about 7000km that way, you get to NZ. All of which leads me to think, 'How on earth did they manage to find it in the first place?' And not only how did they find it, but how did they find it again after they'd found it the first time and decided to go and tell someone they'd found it so they could turn back up here again with some ladies? Easter Island is governed by Chile, and roughly half of the 5000 people who live here are ethnic Chileans. The other half are indigenous Rapa Nui, and there has been a call from many of them for more autonomy. There is only one settlement ` the little seaside town of Hanga Roa, which has a surprisingly good surf break. I haven't got time for that, though, because I'm off to meet local guide Alvaro Atan, who's going to introduce me to Rapa Nui's star attraction, the moai. EERIE MUSIC Who are these gentlemen? I'm assuming they're men? Who are these gentlemen? I'm assuming they're men? Yes, they're men. They were the most important people of the community and, uh, had the right to be buried on the ahu. Because that's the name of it ` ahu. The belief was that that person came back to life again while, you know, when the statue the topknot and the eyes went on. And there was the spirit of this, uh, ancestor coming alive and projecting mana. There's something about seeing them on postcards or on television, but when you're standing here, there's something sort of... quite powerful about them. Had they been standing like that the whole time? Or did some of them fall down? No. Before 1956, all the statues were down. In 1956, Thor Heyerdahl came on a Norwegian archaeological expedition. My grandfather was the mayor back then. You know, Thor Heyerdahl asked my grandfather. He said, 'Pedro, would you be able to stand up the statue as they did in the old times?' And he said, 'OK, give me 18 days,' and he did it. So this is the one that your grandfather stood up? So this is the one that your grandfather stood up? That's right. That's the one. Not really much to see. Not really much to see. Well, not for now. They're actually working on it. Over the years, the erosion, you know, being near the sea, you know, the humidity ` it's eating it away. They seem so permanent, yet obviously strangely fragile. They seem so permanent, yet obviously strangely fragile. Yeah, very very fragile. Do you think they must get a bit frustrated because they never get to see the beach? They just have to look inland and hear the beach and there's these people here in swimsuits, and they have to stare resolutely back inland. Well, that was their mission ` to look after the people, not to have fun. REFLECTIVE MUSIC There are a staggering 887 moai. The mystery of how these megaliths were transported across the island is still fiercely debated. Many of them, though, remain here at Rano Raruku, the quarry where they were carved out of tuff, a soft rock of compressed volcanic ash. I definitely recognise these two. I definitely recognise these two. Yeah, they are the most famous statues, I think. They are in the cover of magazines, they are in the cover of books and in a lot of commercials. Yeah. Yeah. And this is only the top of it. You know, only` Now, if you could imagine the whole body underneath ` it's buried. It's probably 7m or 8m further down. Incredibly audacious even to contemplate moving something like that. No one really knows why the Rapa Nui suddenly stopped their statue building, leaving moai half carved or abandoned where they lay. What we do know is the tall trees that once covered the island disappeared during this period. One theory is those trees were felled to transport the statues. With the big trees gone, there was no ability to build big canoes and thus they couldn't go out and catch big fish. This led to a lack of food and civil unrest. But that's just one theory. Maybe they just got really sick of carving them. In many ways it is one of the last great mysteries of the world. It'd be a shame if everyone figured it out, wouldn't it? It'd take away some of the magic. That's right. SOFT GUITAR MUSIC One thing Rapa Nui is certainly not short of are horses. There are apparently as many as 8000. MUSIC CONTINUES In the 1800s, Peruvian slave traders and European diseases devastated the population of Easter Island. At one stage there were only 111 Rapa Nui left alive. Of them, only 35 had any descendants. Incredibly, the population recovered, and the island's annual Tapati festival is evidence of the society's continued revival. This rehearsal in the school hall is for one of the festival's bigger dance numbers. Tapati features ancient cultural and sporting events and seems to occupy most of the island's residents. With this many people involved in performing, you have to wonder if anyone will be left in the audience. PEOPLE SING, DRUM MUSIC PLAYS One of the Tapati festival's main events is a competition of male skill, strength and stamina. Who competes? People like Terai Atan. Kia orana. Kia orana. Kia orana. BOTH TALK TOGETHER Heavy? Heavy? Yes, very heavy. You try. You try. Yeah. You try. Yeah. Oh! (LAUGHS) That is slightly heavier than I anticipated. (GRUNTS) Right. God. Now run. Now run. Si. This is for training. It's actually a triathlon where he had to go around the Rano Raruku crater, and then he had to swim across the lake. You know, then he has to pick up two banana, uh, heads. So he'll have to put that on his neck and run around the volcano ` one lap. Right. Then he's going to drop it, and then he's going to go one more lap. The first one is the winner. Right. How many events will you compete in? Right. How many events will you compete in? Veintiuno. < 22. < 22. 22. < 22. 22. 22? > 22. 22. Far out. So, uh, triathlon,... Triathlon. Triathlon. ...rafting. Triathlon. ...rafting. (SPEAKS SPANISH) Waka ama. With the contest including events such as paper making, sculpting, swimming, dancing and ritual chanting, the winner has to be a real all-rounder. In some ways, you're competing to become like the superman, a man who can do everything. MEN LAUGH And with the competition beginning tomorrow, one thing Terai still has to do is finish his raft. So I should probably leave him to it. RELAXED GUITAR MUSIC In the early 1990s, the movie Rapa-Nui was filmed here on Rapa Nui, or Easter Island. They still screen it here on a regular basis, but the best thing about it won't be found in the cinema. I'm off with Michel to look for one of its lasting legacies. When people ask, 'Where are you from? and you say, 'Easter Island,' what do they say? First, 'Where is that?' (LAUGHS) 'Where do you live?' So we say, 'South Pacific Ocean,' so, 'Oh, so it's near Tahiti?' 'Ah, near Tahiti.' 'Yeah, OK. But those people say, 'Oh, what do you do here? Nothing to do.' Yeah. Yeah. 'Yeah, good. Stay where you are. I stay where I am.' What are we gonna see down here? What are we gonna see down here? Ah, something special from Easter Island. In the Pacific Ocean, this is the best visibility. That's because it's a low density of plankton. He's not wrong. The water is so ridiculously clear that I feel like I'm soaring through the air above the surface of an alien world. LILTING MUSIC Even though I knew it was here, it was still a little startling to come across this statue, a replica from the film, nestled on the seabed. Happening upon it makes me feel a little bit like an underwater Indiana Jones. MUSIC CONTINUES RESPIRATORS WHIRR MUSIC FADES And I thought I was too cynical to be caught by the mystery of Rapa Nui. Nah, even me. Well, after that excitement, it's time to go lend a hand in the banana plantation of NZer Marc Shields. Kia orana, Marc. Kia orana. How's things? How's things? Good, mate. Yourself? How's things? Good, mate. Yourself? Good. Busy in the garden? Yeah, yeah. Just trying to get rid of some of this, uh` this grass here. So, what you want to do is get your hand like this. Put it` LAUGHS: I've pulled out weeds before, Marc. I didn't want to pull out anything that was some precious Rapa Nuian crop. (GRUNTS) I don't even know what that is. (GRUNTS) I don't even know what that is. BOTH LAUGH What was it that brought a young guy from West Auckland all the way here to Rapa Nui? I met my wife at university in NZ and she, sort of, brought me over here. When I arrived here, I knew nothing about the place. Had no idea they spoke Spanish here. I didn't even know it was part of Polynesia. It's embarrassing. But now I'm a guide on the island, so hopefully I know a little bit more. Any criticism, I guess of, you know, here's an outsider coming through, showing people around? The marriage into the culture is the crucial part. You know, if you were a Chilean or just someone from outside who came and just started up a business, I think there'd be, you know, a little bit of unhappiness. And fair enough. I mean, the Rapa Nui have got to do work as well. When you say you're coming here, almost invariably someone goes, 'Oh, I've always wanted to go there.' Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. > You know? You know? The moai really were made to, sort of, watch over the people, to give blessing to the people. And, ultimately, they did in the end, uh, through tourism. If those moai hadn't been built, why would anyone come here? Exactly. Exactly. You know, so in a` Exactly. They really saved the people, in a way. Exactly. They really saved the people, in a way. They've got this incredible legacy. Yeah. Yeah. < Yeah. Yeah. < Yeah. No, they have. < So whoever's idea it was` < So whoever's idea it was` Good on them! I want to shake his hand. Certainly gave me a job. Yeah, exactly. And then not only to go, 'Hey, I've got an idea,' but then to convince everyone else that it was an awesome idea. but then to convince everyone else that it was an awesome idea. Yeah, yeah, yeah. REFLECTIVE MUSIC Marc's wife, Tuhiira, is also a guide, and she's showing me around Orongo, another revered site in Rapa Nui culture. So, what are we looking at down here with this island? These islands are where a very important, uh, competing ancient people do over there in the time of the Birdman Cult. So you have the runners ` they have to run... down the cliff and swim, get this egg and straight away have to come back. Right. Right. Yeah. Not only is it quite a long way across the sea, but it's also down quite a steep cliff. Yes, indeed. You have something like 300m of, uh, cliff that you have to go down. What was the point of the Birdman competition? The whole idea is to really elect a new Birdman for... ruling the power in the island. He has to be in meditation for a whole year and think about new ways of bringing back harmony and abundance into the island. Right. I heard that the winner has to go away and be by themselves for a whole year? Exactly, yes. He would` Funny kind of prize. > Funny kind of prize. > BOTH LAUGH Well, the good prize is that he had a virgin girl. Oh, right. > Oh, right. > Bet you didn't know that. Oh, right. > Bet you didn't know that. BOTH LAUGH After studying in NZ, Tuhiira returned to Rapa Nui, the face of which was changing fast, due to an increase in tourists and Chilean migrants. It seems this strange thing that's happened in the last few years where you had all of these Rapa Nui people and then suddenly now there's a whole lot of Chileans and that things are getting a little bit out of balance? Yes, you are right. It's a good observation. Well, you know, the thing is that the island itself is very small and the resources are very limited, so at the time that's why the Rapa Nui people are saying that, you know, we are asking to the government to start controlling immigration. It's not because we want to be racist or whatever. It's just because on the island there's already young people that went to studies, and when they come back, there's no jobs because they're all occupied by these people from the mainland. When you were in NZ and people said, 'Where are you from?' and you said, 'I'm from Rapa Nui,' did it amaze you that a lot of people would know about it? When I meet with Maori people, I tell them that I'm Rapa Nui and it's just arms that open. That's how it is, because we feel this bond very deep, and it's the same when they come here. We are all fighting who is going to be with the Maori people. We are all fighting who is going to be with the Maori people. BOTH LAUGH RELAXED CHORAL MUSIC In the 1970s, a compound was discovered in the soil here which they called rapamycin ` proved useful as an anti-fungal but particularly effective at preventing the rejection of organ transplants. But recently some bright spark decided to feed it to some middle-aged mice, who went on to live an unusually long time. So it seems it may have quite effective anti-ageing properties. So I suppose you could say that while the island doesn't contain the mythical fountain of youth, it may well contain a mountain of youth. MUSIC CONTINUES Oh, look at that. I feel younger already. PEOPLE CHATTER RELAXED GUITAR MUSIC Most of Easter Island's population and a lot Chilean tourists have turned out today to see the first event of the Tapati competition, the triathlon. And my man Terai looks in fine form. PEOPLE CHATTER, APPLAUD (SPEAKS SPANISH) (SPEAKS SPANISH) PEOPLE CHEER Today has started what will be gruelling ordeal ` a bit of a paddle, then a run around what is quite an awkward distance ` about 1500m, like a middle distance. I always thought middle-distance runners were masochistic. This is even worse because not only do you have to run 1500m, you've got to do it with bananas and wearing what appears to be quite a chafe-y rope thong. Make a great Olympic sport. Better than beach volleyball. Then once they've done that, they've got to paddle all the way across the lake again. Awesome. Little wonder they're so buff. I'm exhausted just standing here in the heat, watching. Very hard? Very hard? Yes, very hard. Very hard, yeah. What point was the hardest? Over there. Over there. Running up the hill? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that looked pretty hard. But now very popular with the ladies? BOTH LAUGH BOTH LAUGH Makes it all worthwhile. Awesome. After a bit of a raft malfunction, Terai finished at the rear of the field, but he does have 21 other events to go. REFLECTIVE MUSIC Other than a few sheep, this derelict wool shed and yard are the last real evidence that Easter Island was once a sheep station. Chile claimed Easter Island in 1888 and promptly leased it out to a Scottish wool company. GUITAR MUSIC So, for the people who were living here, what happened to them? They got shifted to town, to Hanga Roa. Right. Right. Yeah. (LAUGHS) So that the sheep could live here? So that the sheep could live here? Yeah. This is it for the sheep. The owners of the station built a fence to keep sheep in and the Rapa Nui out of their traditional land. And to make sure they stayed out, the fence was patrolled by armed guards. And held guns and we're not allowed to go anywhere else. That was it ` put in Hanga Roa, and, boy, that's it. That's you. You're not allowed to come across. And then people start asking, 'But I want to go fishing on that side.' 'No, you're not allowed to go any more. You have to ask permission.' And sometimes during the summer season, we have to come all the way from Hanga Roa down here to get water, you know, and wash the clothing and so on. Or the people of Moeroa go to the volcano ` you know, up the top there. There was no water anywhere, because the area where they used to get water, it's been taken over by this, uh, sheep farm. So there was, you know, water for sheep but not for people? It's very Scottish, isn't it? BOTH LAUGH BOTH LAUGH Yes. It wasn't until the 1960s that Rapa Nui were once more free to access their former land. These magnificent stone structures are some of the only buildings left on the island, and you think they must have been very special, perhaps a burial place or a treasure house, but, no, they're chicken coops. And as a chicken fancier, well, frankly, I'm astounded. Little chicken hole there for them to go in and out of. But it begs the question, once the chickens are in, how do you get the eggs out? Another of the mysteries of Rapa Nui. Awesome. Another of the mysteries is why we don't have pineapples as sweet and as succulent as theirs. I mean, look at this ` you can just eat them like an ice cream. Fantastic. This afternoon Alvaro is taking me to meet Isabel, who's going to initiate me into the Rapa Nui art of Kai Kai ` storytelling with string. (CHANTS IN RAPA NUI) Where did the tradition of this begin? Where did it come from? Where did the tradition of this begin? Where did it come from? (SPEAKS SPANISH) > (SPEAKS SPANISH) INTERPRETS: This has been something that has been passed from generations to generations. Some of them, for example, are for women to seduce men and others for men to seduce women. Oh, I see. Oh, I see. So there's different types depending on what would you like to. Yeah. And they work? Yeah. And they work? Si, si! String is the universal language of love? String is the universal language of love? Yeah, si. And so in some ways were they used` like instead of writing a story down, you would have the story here and you would follow it through the string and the chant? (SPEAKS SPANISH) (SPEAKS SPANISH) (SPEAKS SPANISH) < INTERPRETS: So, they're all stories, like this one, for example, < about the children playing with each other, and the figures that you see there are actually characters ` the children. So then the stories were everything. Is it, um, competitive? Are there competitions for it? Is it, um, competitive? Are there competitions for it? Si. (SPEAKS SPANISH) Yeah, especially now for the festival of the island ` Tapati Rapa Nui ` there's going to be a competition. there's going to be a competition. Have you won many times? < She always wins. < She always wins. Always wins? (LAUGHS) < She always wins. Always wins? (LAUGHS) (SPEAKS SPANISH) INTERPRETS: Now she's not allowed to compete, because she's a master. INTERPRETS: Now she's not allowed to compete, because she's a master. (CHANTS IN RAPA NUI) (REPEATS CHANT) Right. I'll have to practise that a lot in order to remember. My fingers are a bit short. Not important. Not important. That's not important? That is excellent. So, I'm not very good at the piano, but I'll be very good at... telling stories. Marvellous. Thank you. Marvellous. Thank you. OK. Bravo. Now I'll see if I can get out. Look at that. And, oh... (LAUGHS) ALL LAUGH Tied it into a knot! RELAXED MUSIC Back at the Tapati festival, the contestants are turning their hands to stone carving, Terai's specialty event. RELAXED MUSIC CONTINUES Terai. And it's a victory this time. And after all 22 events, Terai ended up coming second overall. Although the island is administered by Chile, Rapa Nui feels distinctly Polynesian. In many ways, I think it's best summed up as being a cross between Rarotonga and Ruatoria. Ah, Rapa Nui, land of mystery. For many people, the mystery lies in the past, but I think, for me, leaving now, the real mystery is the future. Will the people of Rapa Nui get their autonomy to be able to say who comes here for how long, how much growth can we tolerate? I guess only time will tell. For me, my time here, though, has been absolutely intriguing. Maururu, Rapa Nui. Ia orana. Ia orana ` that means 'hello, welcome, goodbye.' JAUNTY MUSIC All right. (GRUNTS) MEN CHEER All those people that pay all that money for gymnasiums when you could just do this. (GRUNTS, PANTS) Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air.