Easter Island has a visible side, as described by explorers. She also has a hidden side: the mysterious legends shared by the caves, tunnels and local residents. The history of that island is lost in the fog of time; The island has also been described by scientists, artists and travelers. Easter Island in the middle of the ocean is a triangular rock with an area of 118 square kilometers.
Easter Island is the only Polynesian island where ancient characters have been found so far, and the meaning of these characters is still a mystery.
Although limited to such a small area of the earth and only used by a few local residents, these words are evidence of a highly developed civilization. who the hell are all these people？ When did they come to this island? From where? Did they bring their own civilization and their own writing? What kind of feelings, thoughts and values were these abstruse symbols intended to express? Easter Island was discovered by Jacob Rogwin, captain of Dutch merchant ship, in 1772, and bad luck began. At that time, the population of the island was 4,, which was reduced to 1,8 in 1863, only 6 in 187, and only 2 five years later, and only a little more in 1911. The only resources on Easter Island are manpower and a few farmland.
in p>1862, a pirate fleet of slaves set out from Peru to look for workers digging bird droppings. They have taken away more than 1, islanders, including their king Kemokou, his son Morata and the old people who can read the tablets called "rongo—rongo".
The French consul in Lima eventually repatriated more than 1 trafficked islanders to the island. But by then, they were all infected with smallpox, and when they returned, they infected other islanders. Perhaps the secret of Easter Island writing was buried with the victims of this catastrophic infectious disease. People first began to study these writing remains in 1864-1886, when they tried to classify these symbols or compare them with other unbroken characters, such as ancient Indian characters. These deciphering attempts are divided into three stages, each of which is related to a figure symbolizing a history of Easter Island and a specific wooden slip.
When the French merchant ship tampico docked off Easter Island in 1866, there were about 1, residents on the island. The captain of this ship is Dutrou Bornier, accompanied by the missionary God, Gaspar Zambo. Two years later, Dutrou Bornier settled down on the island, married the island's queen, Coretto Kuaplun-or, more accurately, kidnapped the queen-and formed a group with an Anglo-Tahitian mixed-race named John Brand.
in p>1868, Dr. zambo decided to return to Valparaiso. As he will pass through Tahiti, the islanders asked him to bring a gift to Bishop Depano Josan as a token of his respect. This gift is a huge ball made of a 1-meter-long braid. When the gift was unwrapped, it was a wooden slip with strange symbols that was displayed in front of the bishop.
One of the elderly islanders in the mission explained that it was "rongo—rongo", a wooden slip that recorded the oldest tradition on the island. But since the death of the old man who kept these symbols secret, no one has been able to explain them. The Bishop wrote to Father Shipo Park Jung Su Russell, a missionary who remained on the island, asking him to do his best to find these wooden slips and give them to him. Russell sent him six pieces, with a note saying that the symbols on them probably don't mean anything, and the islanders don't know what they mean, and those who claim to know their meaning are liars.
But the bishop was convinced that this was an important discovery, and he finally found a man who could understand these wooden slips in a plantation in Tahiti, Metrau Tao Orr. As soon as the Bishop gave him one of the wooden slips with geometric, human and animal patterns, he began to sing religious hymns. Obviously, he was reading the symbols, from bottom to top, from left to right, and turned the wooden slips over at the end of each line, and then read the next line. This is a variation of "Niu Geng-style turn-around writing" (literally, change direction like Niu Gengdi), which is similar to some ancient Greek inscriptions, and lines are written in reverse. Unfortunately, no matter which wooden tube is "read" to him, this man sings the same thing.
A crutch wandering in history. In 187, when ignacio Ghana, the captain of Chile's "Vo Ekins" arrived at Easter Island, Dutrou Bornier gave him a crutch engraved with a symbol, which experts thought was the best existing example of "rongo—rongo".
Ghana gave this crutch, together with two wooden slips engraved with symbols, to Rudolf Filipi, a scholar at the Natural History Museum, and explained that Easter islanders were so awed by these symbols that it was obvious that they were extremely sacred to them.
Filipi immediately sent the plaster model of wooden slips to experts all over the world. But none of the experts consulted can find the answers to these mysterious symbols. William Thomson was the purser of the American ship Michigan, which called at Easter Island in 1885. The National Museum of the United States published his book on the history of Easter Island, which was the most detailed account of the island at that time.
Before reaching Easter Island, the Michigan docked in Tahiti. There, Thomson took photos of the Bishop's wooden slips. As soon as he arrived at Easter Island, he looked around for islanders who could translate these symbols. He met an old man named ur weike. as soon as he saw these pictures of wooden slips, the old man began to sing quickly. Just like Metrau Tao Orr, he doesn't seem to be "reading" these words, because whatever he shows him, he sings the same thing.
Finally, the old man confessed that no one on the island could read these symbols. According to Thomson's account, Ur Weiik's "poetic translation" of these symbols is as follows:
"My daughter's canoe has never been defeated by an enemy tribe. My daughter's canoe has never been destroyed by Honitib's trick. She triumphed in all the battles. Nothing can force my daughter to drink the poison in the obsidian cup. The powerful ocean separates us from each other. How can I console myself? Oh, my daughter! My daughter! Endless waterways stretch to the horizon. My daughter, oh my daughter. I'm going to swim across this unfathomable sea to find you, my daughter, oh my daughter "
Experts think that some of these symbols on Easter Island may be words, or maybe they are just symbols, which help to pass on the tradition of oral recitation, especially the family genealogy records from generation to generation. Today, they are still poems dedicated to the God of Silence.
It is reported that the new exploration project of Stonehenge on Easter Island in Chile has started to excavate two stone statues carefully.
American archaeologist Tilberg, who is in charge of the exploration project, said: "A large part of those stone statues are buried underground. At present, we have excavated two stone statues with a height of 7 meters, and their exposed trunks will surprise tourists."
Archaeologists also found traces of potholes left by piling on the ground during excavation, and also found traces of rope tightening on some stone statues, which can be seen when they were pulled upward.
The archaeological team also found more than 5 stone tools. These tools are used for carving in different parts, made of basalt or obsidian, and other tools are used for surface polishing and decoration. Archaeologists said that this once again confirmed that these stone statues were indeed made by humans.
In addition, the researchers also found that these giant stone statues are almost certainly related to some kind of ceremony. Tilberg said: "The most impressive thing is that we found a stone engraved with a crescent pattern under a stone statue, which may symbolize a canoe. This is very helpful for us to find the exact source of the island residents. "
Mystery of Stonehenge
Easter Island is an island in the South Pacific Ocean, 37 kilometers away from South America, and it is one of the most isolated islands in the world. The stone statues on the island were carved between 11 and the 19th century. Who built it has always been controversial, and some even think it is a relic left by aliens.
Stone statues on Easter Island are usually 7-1 meters high and weigh 3-9 tons. Stone statues are carved from a whole piece of dark red igneous rock. All the stone statues face the sea and look majestic, attracting tourists from all over the world.
how are giant stone statues built and transported? What is the purpose? It has always been a mystery.