Motu Nui

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Motu Nui, in front of it the Motu Iti and the rock needle of Motu Kau Kau. Photographed from the Rano Kao on Easter Island, about 250 meters above sea level.

The Motu Nui ( "Big Island" on Rapanui ) is the largest of the uninhabited side islands of Easter Island with an area of ​​3.9 hectares . It is located about 1.3 kilometers southwest of the main island and is the westernmost point of the state of Chile . Motu Nui was previously connected to the main island, but then broke off and partially sank into the sea. The Motu Nui is preceded by two smaller motus : the Motu Kau Kau , a rock needle almost 600 meters away that rises about 20 meters above sea level, and the Motu Iti , which is only separated from the Motu Nui by a few meters wide flooded section . They were also created by breaking off Easter Island.

The island was a central place in the cult of the bird man: every spring, young men (so-called Hopu ) swam from the Orongo cult site to the Motu Nui to find the sooty tern's first egg ( Sterna fuscata ). Whoever was the first to bring back an undamaged egg was declared a bird man for a year, presided over ritual sacrifices and enjoyed special privileges. The winner's clan also received the right to collect eggs and young birds on the islands. The cult formed the religion of Easter Island from around 1500 AD between the era of Moai and the era of Christianity from the 1860s. The last known competition of this kind took place in 1888.

The island was first scientifically explored by the Routledge Expedition in 1914 . It was found that in addition to the sooty tern, six other species of birds nest on the island. Two caves were also explored. One of them was used by the Hopu to wait for the first sooty tern egg of the year, in the other one found a moai only 60 centimeters tall, which is now in the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford . A total of 21 caves with 68 petroglyphs have been discovered so far .

The Motu Nui can be visited with fishing boats that depart from the main town of Hanga Roa . The sea between Motu Nui and Motu Kau Kau is also a popular diving area.

The island of Motu Nui appears in the 2016 Disney film " Vaiana ". The film is the 56th production by Walt Disney Animation Studios.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Motu Nui - The first sooty tern egg for the bird man. From: Osterinsel.de, accessed on November 4, 2015.

Coordinates: 27 ° 12 ′  S , 109 ° 27 ′  W