December 3, 2013
At some point in the island’s history, food became scarce.
There may have been a severe drought that affected the crops. Fish were
considered sacred; this abundant source of protein was considered to be taboo.
The different tribes on the island began fighting and there was great
disappointment in the lack of power of the moais to protect the villagers.
To bring order to the island an athletic/survival event was
developed at Orongo, called the bird man competition. Can you spot the figure with the head of a bird and body of a human that was carved into the rock below?
Each village sent its
strongest man out on a swim to the distal island shown in the picture.
There
the men lived, awaiting the annual arrival of the sooty tern and her nest. The first man
to swim back with an intact egg from the tern won
the right for the chief of
his tribe to rule the island for a year. In return for his efforts the athlete
was given his choice of virgins who were waiting in a nearby cave!
In this photo Gina was telling us the story of the competition.
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