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EASTER ISLAND ended on May 5th.
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TOUR DESCRIPTION
According to the indigenous record keepers of Easter Island or Rapa
Nui (its ancient name) this Pacific island was once part of a much larger
island called Hiva. This truth is apparently corroborated by the ancient
roads of Rapa Nui that seem to suddenly disappear into the surrounding
ocean waves. The ancient inhabitants of Rapa Nui left behind their
mysteries in the form of towering statues or moai that they covered
their island with. What is the story told by the moai? Can they tell
us about the ancients who made them? Will they provide information
regarding ancient Hiva? Will you be the one they share their secrets
with?
Few places have captured the imaginations of world travelers like
Easter Island.
Imagine having the opportunity to walk among the towering moai statues on Easter Island.
For many of us such an event is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream!
During our Sacred
Sites Journey to Easter Island we will not only walk among these guardians of the past,
but
seek to unlock their most hidden mysteries through meditation and ritual.
We will also
learn the most current and esoteric theories regarding Rapa Nuis past,
as well as
its function in the new era
.while at the same time creating a few of our own!
THE MOAI
During our time on Easter Island we'll see numerous Moai
or moai, the monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people from
the native rock on the island. Conventional history gives the years of their carving as
between 1250CE and 1500CE. The moai were either carved by a
distinguished class of professional carvers who were comparable in status
to high-ranking members of other Polynesian craft guilds, or, alternatively, by members
of each clan. The oral histories show that the Rano Raraku
quarry was subdivided into different territories for each clan.
Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main
moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms
called ahu around the island's perimeter. Almost all
moai have overly large heads three-eighths the size
of the whole statue. The moai are chiefly the living faces
(aringa ora) of deified ancestors (aringa ora ata tepuna). The statues
still gazed inland across their clan lands when Europeans first visited
the island, but most were cast down during later conflicts between clans.
The production and transportation of the 887 statues are considered remarkable
creative and physical feats. The tallest moai erected, called Paro,
was almost 33 ft. high and weighed 82 tons. The heaviest erected was a shorter but
squatter moai at Ahu Tongariki, weighing 86 tons. And one unfinished sculpture, if
completed, would have been approximately 69 ft. tall with a weight of about 270 tons.
After civilization collapsed on Rapa Nui, the islanders themselves tore down the standing
moai.
Characteristics: The moai are monolithic statues,
their minimalist style related to forms found throughout Polynesia. Moai are carved in
relatively flat planes, the faces bearing proud but enigmatic expressions. The over-large
heads (a three-to-five ratio between the head and the trunk, a sculptural trait that
demonstrates the Polynesian belief in the sanctity of the chiefly head) have heavy
brows and elongated noses with a distinctive
fish-hook-shaped curl of the nostrils. The lips protrude in a
thin pout. Like the nose, the ears are elongated and oblong
in form. The jaw lines stand out against the truncated neck. The torsos are heavy,
and, sometimes, the clavicles are subtly outlined in stone. The arms are
carved in bas relief and rest against the body in various positions, hands
and long slender fingers resting along the crests of the hips, meeting at
the hami (loincloth), with the thumbs sometimes pointing towards the navel.
Generally, the anatomical features of the backs are not detailed, but sometimes bear a
ring and girdle motif on the buttocks and lower back. Except for one kneeling moai, the
statues do not have clearly visible legs.
Though moai are whole-body statues, they are commonly referred to as
"Easter Island heads". This is partly because of the
disproportionate size of most moai heads and partly because, from the invention of
photography until the 1950s, the only moai standing on the island were the statues on the
slopes of Rano Raraku, many of which are buried to their shoulders. Some of the
"heads" at Rano Raraku have been excavated and their bodies seen, and observed
to have markings that had been protected from erosion by their burial.
The average height of the Moai is about 13 ft 1 inch high, with the average width at the
base around 5 ft 3 inches across. These massive creations usually weigh in at around 13.8
tons a piece.
All but 53 of the 887 moai known to date were carved from tuff (a
compressed volcanic ash) from Rano Raraku, where 394 moai and incomplete moai are still
visible today. There are also 13 moai carved from basalt, 22 from trachyte
and 17 from fragile red scoria. At the end of carving, the builders would
rub the statue with pumice.
With the
exception of the seven at Ahu Akivi, the statues always had their backs facing the ocean.
Eyes: In 1979, Sergio Rapu Haoa and a team of archaeologists discovered
that the hemispherical or deep elliptical eye sockets were designed to
hold coral eyes with either black obsidian or red scoria pupils. The
discovery was made by collecting and reassembling broken fragments of white coral that
were found at the various sites. Subsequently, previously uncategorized finds in the
Easter Island museum were re-examined and recategorized as eye fragments. It is thought
that the moai with carved eye sockets were probably allocated to the ahu and ceremonial
sites, suggesting that a selective Rapa Nui hierarchy was attributed to the moai design
until its demise with the advent of the Birdman religion, Tangata Manu.
Markings (post stone working): When first carved, the
surface of the moai was polished smooth by rubbing with pumice.
Unfortunately, the easily worked tuff from which most moai were carved is also easily
eroded, and, today, the best place to see the surface detail is on the few moai carved
from basalt or in photographs and other archaeological records of moai surfaces protected
by burial.
Those moai that are less eroded typically have designs carved on their backs and
posteriors. The Routledge expedition of 1914 established a cultural link between
these designs and the island's traditional tattooing, which had been
repressed by missionaries a half-century earlier. Until modern DNA analysis of the
islanders and their ancestors, this was key scientific evidence that the moai had been
carved by the Rapa Nui and not by a separate group from South America.
At least some of the moai were painted; Hoa Hakananai'a (left) was
decorated with maroon and white paint until 1868, when it was removed from the island. It
is now housed in the British Museum, London.
TOUR PERSONNEL
Featured
Speaker: Mark Amaru Pinkham
Author,
Researcher of Ancient Megalithic History, Visionary and Shamanic Practitioner
Co-Founder of Sacred Sites Journeys Founder Director of The Order &
Mystery School of the Seven Rays
Mark Amaru Pinkham has been traveling the globe
for nearly 40 years while studying the secret mysteries of the ancient lands and
civilizations of ages past, including Easter Island. Mark's research has been published in
his six books: Sedona: City of the Star People,
The Return of the Serpents of
Wisdom, Conversations with the Goddess, The
Truth Behind the Christ Myth, Guardians of the Holy
Grail: The Knights Templar, John the Baptist and the Water of Life and World Gnosis: The Coming Gnostic Civilization.
Mark is also a guide and shaman trained in helping people access altered
states of intuitive and visionary consciousness.
Throughout
our spiritual pilgrimage Mark will lead the group in shamanic rites, as
well as share his in-depth knowledge of esoteric history of Easter Island.
For more information about Mark, Click here
Tour
Director/Featured Speaker/Meditation Facilitator: Andrea Mikana-Pinkham
Shamanic
Practitioner and Researcher of Ancient Megalithic History
Co-Founder and Director of Sacred Sites Journeys
Andrea
Mikana-Pinkham is an avid researcher of the world's
ancient megalithic sites. She is also a trained shamanic practitioner, Reiki
Grand Master of Ichi Sekai (One World) Reiki, and a spiritual counselor.
Andrea has over 23 years of experience in the sacred travel field. Her journey began in 1993, with the founding of Sacred Sites Journeys.
She is familiar with the operations of sacred programs on all levels.
Andrea is the Tour Director as well as the Speaker
and Meditation/Sacred Ceremony Facilitator on Sacred Sites Journeys
to the worlds most important sacred sites.
In addition, Andrea is an
Initiate of and Teacher
in the The Seven Rays Order and Mystery School
and
The Sisterhood of Sophia.
She is a trained shamanic practitioner, Reiki Grand Master of Ichi Sekai (One World) Reiki, and a
spiritual counselor.
During our spiritual pilgrimage Andrea will facilitate meditations and shamanic
rites to assist you in reaching altered states of consciousness where you may tap
into the ancient energies and history of Easter Island.
A Message from Andrea: I invite you to join our smaller group
of spiritual pilgrims as we explore mystical sacred sites on Easter Island. The ancient
energies are still palpable today and are inviting you to come and engage them! During our
week on Rapa Nui we'll explore the most important sites, examine both the mainstream and
alternative history for them, and access the powerful energies through meditation and
shamanic ritual. Mark and I will be honored to support you to make your perhaps lifelong
dream of traveling to this distant island a reality!
For more information about Andrea, Click here
TOUR ITINERARY
April 29 May 5, 2018
(B
= Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner)
Day 1. Sunday, April 29. Arrive; Group Meeting; Welcome Dinner (D)
ARRIVAL: Please arrive on
Sunday, April 29, 2018 at
Easter Island,
Chile Mataveri International Airport (IPC). For those coming from
North and South America, Lan Airlines
operates flights from Lima, Peru (LIM) through Santiago, Chile (SCL) that arrives
on Easter Island at 1:10PM.
Upon arrival meet our local tour representative for our group transfer to the
hotel. Check in. Take some time to rest.
Welcome Dinner with the group at the hotel.
Overnight
Taha Tai Hotel.
The Taha Tai is one of the long-established hotels on Easter Island. The name of
the hotel means "next to the sea", which explains its location by the ocean.
Located a short distance from Hanga Roa, the main village on the island, it's centrally
located.
Services: Reception, lobby, restaurant, bar, room service, swimming pool, wifi in public
areas, phone, shop
Room Amenities: Ensuite bathroom with shower and tub, toilietries, air-conditioning, safe
deposit, television (local programming), telephone, desk area
Day
2. Monday, April 30. Group Meeting; Rano Kau, Orongo, Vinapu and Ana Kai Tangata (B)
Have a leisurely breakfast. Our first Group Meeting will be
this morning. Our Featured Speaker Mark Amaru Pinkham will present "The
Secret History of Easter Island and the Continent of MU".
Afterwards you have free time. Lunch is on your own.
In the afternoon we set off to visit several different sites. Our first stop is
at Rano Kau and Orongo, a
1,063 ft tall extinct volcano that forms the southwestern headland of Easter Island. It
was formed of basaltic lava flows in the Pleistocene with its youngest rocks dated at
between 150,000 and 210,000 years ago.
Rano Kau has a crater lake which is one of the island's
only three natural bodies of fresh water. Most of the volcano is on the coast and has been
eroded back to form high sea cliffs which at one point have started to bite into the
crater wall. On its northern side, the volcano slopes down to Mataveri International
Airport.
Rano Kau is in the world heritage site of Rapa Nui National Park and
gives its name to one of the seven sections of the park. The principal archaeological site
on Rano Kau is the ruined ceremonial village of Orongo which is located at the point where
the sea cliff and inner crater wall converge. One ahu with several moai was recorded on
the cliffs at Rano Kau in the 1880s, but had fallen to the beach by the time of the
Routledge expedition in 1914.
The crater is almost a mile across and has its own micro climate. Sheltered from the winds
that wet most of the rest of the island, figs and vines flourish at Rano Kau. The inner
slope was the site of the last toromiro tree in the wild until the
specimen was chopped down for firewood in 1960.
We then visit Orongo, a World Heritage site and part of Rapa Nui National Park. Until the
mid-nineteenth century, Orongo was the center of the birdman cult, which
hosted an annual race to bring the first manutara (Sooty Tern) egg from the islet of Motu
Nui to Orongo. The site has numerous petroglyphs, mainly of tangata manu
(birdmen).
This stone village and ceremonial center is at the southwestern tip of the Island. The
first half of the ceremonial village's 53 stone masonry houses were investigated and
restored in 1974 by American archaeologist William Mulloy. In 1976 Mulloy assisted by
Chilean archaeologists Claudio Cristino and Patricia Vargas completed the restoration of
the whole complex which was subsequently investigated by Cristino in 1985 and 1995. Orongo
enjoys a dramatic location on the crater lip of Rano Kau at the point where a 250 meter
sea cliff converges with the inner wall of the crater of Rano Kau.
In the Rapa Nui mythology, the deity Make-make
was the chief god of the birdman cult, the other three gods associated
with it being Hawa-tuu-take-take (the Chief of the eggs) his wife Vie Hoa and Vie Kanatea.
Birdman religion: Contestants were revealed in dreams by ivi-attuas, or
prophets. The contestants would each appoint a Hopu who would swim to Motu Nui and fetch
them the Egg, whilst the contestants waited at Orongo. The race was very dangerous and
many Hopu were killed by sharks, drowning or by falling.
Once the first egg was collected, the final task would be for the unsuccessful contestants
to return to Orongo, the winner allowed to remain in Motu Nui until he felt spiritually
prepared to return. On his return he would present the egg to his patron, who had already
shaved his head and painted it either white or red. The successful man would be declared
Tangata-Manu, would take the egg in his hand and lead a procession down the slope of Rano
Kau and on either to Anakena if he was from the western clans or Rano Raraku if he was
from the eastern clans. Once in residence there he was tapu (sacred) for the next five
months of his year-long status, and allowed his nails to grow and wore a headdress of
human hair. The new Tangata-Manu was given a new name, entitled to gifts of food and other
tributes (including his clan having sole rights to collect that season's harvest of wild
bird eggs and fledglings from Motu Nui), and went into seclusion for a year in a special
ceremonial house.
The Birdman cult was suppressed by Christian missionaries in the 1860s.
The origin of the cult and the time thereof are uncertain, as it is unknown whether the
cult replaced the preceding Moai-based religion or had co-existed with it. Katherine
Routledge was, however, able to collect the names of 86 Tangata manu.
Our next stop is at Vinapu,
which is part of the Rapa Nui National Park, which
UNESCO has declared a World Heritage Site. The
ceremonial center of Vinapu includes one of the larger ahu on Rapa Nui. The
ahu exhibits extraordinary stonemasonry consisting of
large, carefully fitted slabs of basalt. One of the polished basalt slabs
measures 8 by 5.5 ft and weighs 6 or 7 tons. Thor Heyerdahl
wrote in Easter Island: The Mystery Solved that he
believed that the accurately fitted stonework showed contact with Peru. The
cyclopean masonry of Ahu Vinapu and certain other platforms is reminiscent
of the pre-Incan construction that we see in Cuzco, Sacsayhuaman,
Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu. The stone wall faces towards sunrise at
Winter Solstice.
John Macmillan Brown writes in
Riddle of the Pacific: The colossal blocks are
tooled and cut so as to fit each other. In the Ahu Vinapu and in the
fragment of the ahu near Hangaroa beach the stones are as colossal as in the
old Temple of the Sun in Cuzco. They are as carefully tooled, and the
irregularities of their sides that have to come together are so cut that the
two faces exactly fit into each other. These blocks are too huge to have
been shifted frequently to let the mason find out whether they fitted or
not. They must have been cut and tooled to exact measurement or plan. There
is no evidence of chipping after they have been laid. Every angle and
projection must have been measured with scientific precision before the
stones were nearing their finish.
Next we visit Ana
Kai Tangata, a cave on the outskirts of Hanga Roa. Here are the
paintings of manutara or sooty tern, the bird closely associated with the birdman
cult that centered in nearby Orongo. The Rapanui may have created the red, white
and black pigments by mixing volcanic dust and powdered coral with shark oil. You can see
the layers of the flakes of rock in the cave. Unfortunately, they are unstable, salt spray
aggrevates erosion, and chunks fall off from time to time. There used to be more paintings
and over time there will be fewer and fewer.
This is also known as the cannibal cave. However, the name of the cave is
ambiguous and it could mean the cave where men eat as well as the cave where men are
eaten. It has even been suggested it means the cave that eats men because they disappear
into its black mouth. There are many locations in Polynesia where cannibalism occurred to
at least some extent; it is possible that cannibalism occurred on Easter Island and in
this cave. There are also some references to cannibalism in some Easter Island legends.
However, there is no archaeological evidence that cannibalism occurred on the island.
Return to hotel. Evening free. Dinner on your own.
Overnight
Taha Tai Hotel.
Day 3. Tuesday, May 1.
Free Day; Group Meeting (B)
Today is Chile's,
and thus Easter Island's national Labor Day holiday. So we're honoring it by
taking a free day
to rest and relax
ourselves. You could stay at the hotel and lay out by the pool. Or walk
along the beach. Or stroll into nearby Hanga Roa, the main town, harbor and
capital of Easter Island, for some shopping and sightseeing. Or
perhaps you'd
like to
explore more of the island that
we'll not
be visiting during our daily tour activities.
The concierge at the hotel will be happy to
arrange this for you.
Lunch on your own.
Later in the afternoon we'll have a Group Meeting
to share about our experiences.
Take time to enjoy the evening on this island paradise. Dinner on your own.
Overnight
Taha Tai Hotel.
Day 4. Wednesday, May 2. Vaihu, Akahanga, Rano Raraku, Ahu Tongariki,
Te Pito Kura, Ahu Nau Nau and Anekena Beach (B/Box Lunch)
This is a full day of exploration! Our first stop this morning is at Vaihu
a platform of well-worked stone.
There are eight statues lying where
they fell and eight pukao scattered about nearby. In front of the ahu there is a circle of
stones for the paina ceremonies in which dead were honored.
Next we visit Ahu Akahanga where there is a ceremonial center consisting of several ahu. This settlement
is one with the most numerous moai. It is an expanse of about 60 ft. long in which there
are a dozen statues with sizes ranging from 16 to 22 ft, although some have
been unable to maintain balance throughout the centuries and are lying the edge of the
sea. The area is decorated with red rocks, giving shelter to the statues. A little further
away from the others, along the coast, is a solitary figure, the smallest of all, with
only two feet high. In addition to the statues, there are vestiges of ancient
civilization, such as caves or primitive buildings.
Ahu Akahanga is popularly known as the Platform of the King.
According to one popular legend, in this exact point in the southeast coast of the island
are the remains of Hotu Matua, the first king of the Rapanui, who came to govern the
island by the fourth century AD. Apparently, the place chosen by Hotu Matua for his final
rest is not accidental, since by its situation, Ahu Akahanga the deceased monarch allowed
to continue spreading their good vibes equally to both sides of the island, to favor crops
alike of the inhabitants of each side.
Onward to the Rano Raraku Moai Factory,
the quarry that supplied the stone for almost all of the Moai on the island for over 500
years. It's commonly known as the Moai Factory as you can see the different
stages of how the Moai were carved directly out of the rock. There are 397 moai in this
area, some half buried, some just abandoned over time. Thats about 45% of all the
Moai ever created.
The Largest Moai:
What was going to be the largest Moai ever carved can still be found at Rano Raruku at the
top of the trail that leads up the hill. It was going to be twice the size of any other
completed Moai, being 72 ft high. It was never completed and is still attached
to the rock of the volcanic crater.
Our next stop is Ahu Tongariki, the
largest ahu on Easter Island. Its moai were toppled during the island's civil wars and in
the 20th century the ahu was swept inland by a tsunami. It has since been restored and has
fifteen moai including an 86 ton moai that was the heaviest ever erected on the island.
All the moai here face sunset during Summer Solstice. Ahu Tongariki was the main
center and capital of the Hotu Iti, the eastern confederation of the Rapanui.Its moai were
toppled during the island's civil wars. Ahu Tongariki was substantially restored in the
1990s by a multidisciplinary team headed by archaeologists Claudio Cristino (Director) and
Patricia Vargas (Co-director, in a five year project carried out under an official
agreement of the Chilean Government with Tadano Limited and the University of Chile.
Te Pito Kura is a rock structure along the north coast is called The Navel of the
World. According to legend, the large central stone was brought to the island by
King Hotu Matua with the first settlers around 450CE. It emits mana (spiritual enery) to
those who sit on the small rocks and place their hands on it. The large rock is said to be
weakly magnetised: if you move a compass around its surface, the needle goes crazy.
Inland from the Navel is the Ahu Te Pito Kura platform, with the largest moai ever
transported from the quarry and erected on a platform. The moai, almost ten metres tall,
has toppled and now lies on its face with its topknot next to it. Inland from the Navel is
the Ahu Te Pito Kura platform, with the largest moai ever transported from the quarry and
erected on a platform. The moai, almost 32 ft tall, has toppled and now lies on its face
with its topknot next to it.
Ahu
Nau-Nau is located in the north coast, in front of
Anakena beach. It was restored in 1980 by Rapa Nui archaeologist Sergio Rapu Haoa. It is one of the best preserved ahu, since it was formerly buried in the
sand, accumulated by the wind erosion. It has seven moai, four of them in big size, two
medium size (one with no head) and the seventh with less than half body. The four big moai
are outstanding because of their special pukao (topknots) made of rocky red material. They
are completely weil preserved and have a fine polishing; the piece fixes perfectly on the
statues' heads. The platform of ahu Nau-Nau is one of the most beautiful ones on the
island. It is decorated perfectly along its forehead. According to scientific research
this ahu was erected on two former ahu. One of the moai characteristic is their calm
attitude, with their thin hands resting on their womb. Between their hands is
"hami" or loincloth that was worn under the navel. Behind the moai are several
petroglyphs that represent fishes and the tangata moko, the lizard man. This last
mentioned figure suggests a personage from another world. A moai head can also be observed
in the stone platform of ahu (paenga).
We end the day at
Anekena Beach, a white coral sand beach which has two ahus. Ahu-Ature has single
moai and Ahu Nao-Nao has seven, two of which are deteriorated. It also has a palm grove
and a car park. Anakena is unusual for Easter Island in that it is one of only two small
sandy beaches in an otherwise rocky coastline.
Legend and History: According to island oral
traditions, Anakena was the landing place of Hotu Matu'a, a Polynesian chief who led a
two-canoe settlement party here and founded the first settlement on Rapa Nui. It was later
a ceremonial centre where islanders read from Rongorongo boards. Anakena featured in the
Tangata manu or Birdman cult as in years when the new Birdman was from the western clans,
he would end his celebrations at Anakena.
Archaeology: Modern archaeology has found signs of human settlement at
Anakena as early as 1200 CE, though linguistic and other analysis indicates a range of
dates for first settlement of Rapa Nui between 300 and 1200 CE. Anakena has been the site
of several archaeological digs including those of Katherine Routledge in 1914 and both
William Mulloy and Thor Heyerdahl in the 1950s, and both of its ahus have been restored.|
Popular culture: Anakena was used as one of the film locations for the
1994 Kevin Reynolds film Rapa Nui, starring Jason Scott Lee, Esai Morales, Sandrine Holt,
George Henare and Cliff Curtis and produced by Kevin Costner.
We
return to the hotel. You have the evening free. Dinner on your own.
Overnight
Taha Tai Hotel.
Day
5. Thursday, May 3. Group Meeting; Free Time; Cultural Performance/Dinner (B/D)
After a leisurely breakfast we will gather for a Group
Meeting. Mark Amaru Pinkham will present "Easter
Island and the World Grid." And we'll also take time to discuss the still-unsolved
mysteries of Rapa Nui.
Afterwards you have free time. Lunch on your own.
In the later afternoon we depart for a Cultural Performance and Dinner at
the Te Ra'i Restaurant, including the option to participate in a Polynesian dance
class and ancestral Polynesian body painting. Before dinner
there will be a Food Blessing Ceremony. Dinner is a buffet of meat, local
fish, salad and dessert, with a drink and one glass of wine included. After dinner,
well enjoy a cultural dance performance.
Return to the hotel.
Overnight Taha Tai Hotel.
Day
6. Friday, May 4.
Ahu Akivi;
Ahu Huri a Urenga and Puna Pau Quarry;
Free Time; Group Meeting (B/D)
After breakfast we leave to visit the Ahu Akivi, an ahu
with seven moai. These were restored in 1960 by the American archaeologist William Mulloy
and his Chilean colleague, Gonzalo Figueroa García-Huidobro. Mulloy's work on the
Akivi-Vaiteka Complex was supported by the Fulbright Foundation and by grants from the
University of Wyoming, the University of Chile and the International Fund for Monuments.
Ahu Akivi also gives its name to one of the seven regions of the Rapa Nui National Park.
The Moai face sunset during Spring and Autumn Equinox; and have their backs to the sunrise
during Spring and Autumn Equinox. Unlike other ahus, the Akivi-Vaiteka Complex is not
located on the coast. In contrast to the monumental statuary at other sites on the island,
the moai at Ahu Akivi face the ocean.
Next we stop at one of the island's hidden gems -
Ahu Huri a Urenga, a
solitary moai with 4 hands. What could that mean? As an
ancient solar observatory, it's built on a 20° angle to its platform
so that on the winter solstice it's precisely
aligned to face the sunrise.
The last
stop for the morning is at the Puna Pau (Top Knot) Quarry,
a quarry in a small crater or cinder cone on the outskirts of Hanga Roa. It was the sole
source of the red scoria that the Rapanui used to carve the pukao (topknots) that they put
on the heads of some of their iconic moai statues. The stone from Puna Pau was also used
for a few non-standard moai including Tukuturi and also for some petroglyphs.
British scientists discover the origin of the crowns worn by
the enigmatic statues: British scientists have finally explained part of
the mystery of the red crowns worn by the moai of the Puna Pau quarry in Easter Island
(Chile), thanks to the discovery of a road that was used to transport them. Today,
Professors Sue Hamilton of the University College in London and Colin Richards of
Manchester University said the crowns were made of volcanic rock from an ancient volcano
in the area, and that they were manufactured by the Polynesian inhabitants of the island
between the years 1250 and 1500.
According to a press release from Manchester University, the way in which the inhabitants
carried these rocks of several tons in order to place them on the moai remains an enigma.
Hamilton and Richards directed the first British team to visit the island since 1914, and
they were the first archeologists allowed to conduct an excavation in Puna Pau. "We
now know that the crowns were rolled along a road built with a cement of compressed red
slag dust with an elevated side", explained Richards, who said that probably,
they were pushed by hand, although it is also possible that wooden logs were used.
Hamilton pointed out that Puna Pau lies inside the crater of an extinguished volcano, and
that one third of the crater was used to produce these crowns. Until
now, we have located over 70 crowns in the ceremonial platforms and along the road. Many
more may have been broken and incorporated to the platforms, he added. They also
discovered an obsidian ax with a 17 centimeter blade, possibly owned by one of the workers
in charge of transporting the crowns. Allegedly, he abandoned the blade as an offering to
the gods.
According to the British researchers, the ax and the way in which the broken crowns are
aligned along one of the sides of the road suggest the road was a ceremonial avenue that
led to the quarry. It is clear that the quarry was sacred, but also
industrial, said Professor Richards, who recalled that the Polynesians saw the
landscape as something alive, and considered that after sculpting the stone, the spirits
became part of the statues.
Richards said that, initially, the inhabitants of the most remote place in the
planet (the island lies almost 2500 miles away from the Chilean coast) built the
moai with different types of local stone, and that it wasnt until the years 1200 and
1300 that they stopped making the statues and started manufacturing crowns. The
investigation set to last 5 more years also offers details about life in Easter Island 500
years ago, where people "lived in a successful and well organized society, in a well
managed vital context."
"70% of the island was transformed into open gardens and agricultural land, where a
complex system was used in order to keep the surface moistened, he said. As for Puna
Pau, they concluded that it was a secret place that could not be
seen from other parts of the island and where the production could not be heard, since it
took place within the crater. Everything seems to also point out that different teams
worked in the quarry and competed in order to have their own areas of production within
Puna Pau", says Richards.
Return to hotel. Lunch on your own. Free time.
We'll gather in the later afternoon for our final
Group Meeting, a
time for sharing. Andrea will lead a closing meditation to
assist you to carry home the power transformative energies that you've engaged during our
spiritual pilgrimage.
We'll enjoy our
Farewell Dinner tonight at the hotel, a time for more sharing and
saying our fond Good-byes to Easter Island and our fellow travelers.
Overnight
Taha Tai Hotel.
Day 7. Saturday, May
5. Depart Easter Island (B)
After breakfast we we check out of the hotel. Group transfer to the airport for
our departure from Easter Island.
DEPARTURE:
For those
departing to North and South America,
for your departure on Saturday, May
5, 2018 Lan
Airlines operates a flight departing Easter Island at 2:10PM,
which connects through Santiago, Chile to Lima, Peru and points
onward.
We invite
you to join us for our Sacred Sites Journey to PERU, which will begin
immediately after the EASTER ISLAND trip, on May 7 -
13, 2018.
For more information, visit
www.SacredSitesJourneys.com
Note:
This itinerary is subject to change due to conditions beyond our control.
TOUR INCLUSIONS
Your Sacred Sites
Journey to EASTER ISLAND Includes:
- Roundtrip group transfers between the airport and hotel on Easter
Island
- Accommodations at Taha Tai Hotel, including daily breakfast
(vegetarian available)
- Welcome and Farewell Dinners (vegetarian available)
- Sightseeing tours with local English-speaking guide, including
entrance fees
- Escorted on arrival at Easter Island, Chile
Mataveri International Airport by Sacred Sites Journeys Director Andrea
Mikana-Pinkham
- Pre-Paid Gratuities for driver, guide, waiters at group meals, etc.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Travel in a smaller group of other spirit-centered people with author Mark
Amaru Pinkham and SSJ's Director Andrea Mikana-Pinkham - Presentations by
Featured Speaker author Mark Amaru Pinkham
- Meditations at sacred sites facilitated by Andrea Mikana-Pinkham and Mark Amaru Pinkham
- Cultural Performance and Dinner at the Te Ra'ai Restaurant, including the option to
participate in a Polynesian dance class and ancestral Polynesian body painting
- Welcome and Farewell Dinners
NOT INCLUDED:
- Roundtrip international air to Easter Island, Chile
Mataveri International Airport (IPC)
-
Meals not included, as indicated in the itinerary
- Cost to obtain valid passport
- Any items of a personal nature such as laundry, drinks, internet access and telephone
calls. Any item that is not specifically detailed on the Sacred Sites Journeys website or
final trip itinerary
TOUR PRICING
This
tour is LAND ONLY. You are responsible to book your international flights to and from
Easter Island, Chile Mataveri International Airport (IPC).
ARRIVAL: Please arrive on
Sunday, April 29, 2018 at
Easter Island,
Chile (IPC). For those coming from
North and South America, Lan Airlines
operates flights from Lima, Peru (LIM) through Santiago, Chile (SCL) that arrives
on Easter Island at 1:10PM.
DEPARTURE:
For those
departing to North and South America,
for your departure on Saturday, May
5, 2018 Lan
Airlines operates a flight departing Easter Island at 2:10PM,
which connects through Santiago, Chile to Lima, Peru and points
onward.
Per Person, double occupancy, land only:
$1,989.00 for payments via check or
bank wire
If
you'd like to use your credit card to pay for this journey, please contact
Andrea Mikana-Pinkham at
info@SacredSitesJourneys.com for more information.
ROOMMATES:
Would you like to meet and make a new friend on your journey? If you're not
traveling on the journey with anyone you know, and would like for SSJ to try to match you
up with a suitable roommate, we'll be happy to try to do so. Over the last
24 years we've
been operating these spiritual pilgrimages we've seen many people become friends for life.
(As well, we've had several marriages result from people meeting on our journeys.) Be
open! Be flexible! It will be a rich and wonderful experience!
Per
our Terms and Conditions, we will hold the registration for the trip open until
60 days
before the departure date (or later if possible) in order to try to match you with
someone. If by that date we have not been able to match you with a roommate, you will be
responsible to pay the single supplement. If you would like to be matched with a
roommate, please register early.
SINGLE
SUPPLEMENT: This is the additional price you will pay to have your own private room
throughout the journey.
$439.00 for payments via check or
bank wire
TOUR REGISTRATION
Our 2018 Sacred Sites Journey to
EASTER ISLAND ended on May 5th.
To receive
information about our upcoming Sacred Sites Journeys in 2018 visit our
Homepage OR email
info@SacredSitesJourneys.com
If you're new to Sacred Sites
Journeys and would like to receive our free monthly e-newsletter and a
Travel Discount Coupon that you can use to save $$ on an upcoming spiritual
journey with us, please sign up
Here.
Questions? Email info@SacredSitesJourneys.com
Or
call our office at 928 284-1429 and leave a message.
If you'd like to receive our Monthly Sacred Sites
Journeys E-Newsletters, please Sign Up Here!
Newsletters are sent out about once a month.
Occasionally you may also receive an e-news bulletin about a specific journey or event.
We will not sell or share your
information with any other company or individuals.
You can easily un-subscribe at any time.
IMPORTANT
ANNOUNCEMENT!
Sacred Sites Journeys are smoke-free sacred travel experiences.
All forms of tobacco, as well as e-cigarettes are not allowed at any time.
Thanks for your cooperation.
NOTE: All text on this webpage are the Copyright of
Sacred Sites Journeys/ Heartlight Fellowship.
Sacred Sites Journeys is NOT
affiliated with any other sacred travel company.
Other sacred travel companies offering
spiritual pilgrimages similar to ours
are using our text and photos. We did not give them permission to do so.
We believe that karma is very efficient, and that those who are not in integrity
will swiftly reap the negative benefits of such actions.
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