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Polynesia. The Hidden Paradise
Sezione 1
Sezione 2
Easter Island, Moai Statues
James Cook. 1774
PLAY ME
We were sailing from New Zealand
to Easter Island to discover the inland.
As we approached the coast of the island, we discovered, to our amazement, gigantic statues. We landed on the sandy beach, where several hundred natives were gathered, happy and eager to meet us. None of them had sticks or weapons in their hands; I was struck by their friendly manner. After offering them trinkets,
they brought us some potatoes, plantains, sugar cane in exchange for pieces of cloth. Over the next few days, we only examined two or three of these statues, located near where we docked; they were made of grey stone, apparently of the same material that pavements are made of.
Some of the men of the crew, who had observed many of these statues, considered that the stone of which they were made was different from any other on the island, and appeared to be fictitious. We could not understand how these islanders, who had no knowledge of technology whatsoever,
could have erected such magnificent figures. They gave different names to each of them, such as Gotomoara and Marapate, to some of them they sometimes added the prefix Moi in front of the name, the word Areeke, which means "rest in peace", and, at the same time, "chief", as we understood.
Sezione 3
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