Exploring ancestral island wisdom and practices on Rapa Nui

Tavake with ocean legend Nainoa Thompson of the Polynesian Voyaging Society at Parley’s Ocean Uprise summit. Photo by Tahnei Roy

Parley cleanup coordinator Tavake Pakomio was born and raised on the island of Rapa Nui – still known to most of the world as Easter Island. Growing up beside the famous Mo’ai stone figures that gaze out to sea, she was continually reminded of the heritage and traditions of this remote island.

Earlier this month, she and nine other women joined mission leader Emily Penn to set sail on a journey across the South Pacific with eXXpedition — an all-female voyage circling the world over the next two years to research plastic pollution and connect woman working on solutions. Before setting off on Leg 8 for Tahiti, she and fellow crewmate Ky Delaney explored ancestral island wisdom and practices in a blog post, excerpted below.

Me`e ta`e `aga he ara no te haka `ara me`e he poreko e mai te hui tupana`ana

(We don’t have to build a road for the future generation, but we have to rebirth it from our ancestors)

– Kio Teao, Rapa Nuian Musician

When an island allocates its prime oceanfront land for its children and dead, even the casual tourist can tell what they value. On Rapa Nui, the oceanfront cemetery offers one of the best views on the island. Similarly, the playgrounds lay claim to gorgeous ocean views. In many industrial societies, developers would have built condos and resorts on these prime properties, but in Rapa Nui, the people value one another over profits. While many indigenous cultures practiced sustainable lifestyles, it’s difficult to find one that retained their ancestral wisdom, post colonisation and industrialisation. Rapa Nui provides a rare exception.

The Rapa Nuian ancestoral ways were developed from an intimate knowledge of their island. The volcanic formation of the island created underwater tunnels and cave systems, creating an aquifer. The islanders used the water collected there, and also created puna vai, or water containers, to have access to fresh water. Other examples of sustainable practices of Rapa Nui ancestors were categories of fishing restrictions, protecting prime areas from over-fishing. These three categories are Rahui, the most restrictive, when no fish could be taken so that fish could grow or migrate. Mo`a, was a more temporary restriction. Tapu was a restriction for a spiritual reason. One example is that Rapa Nuians believed when a person passed away, their soul needed access to the sea so their soul could pass from the ocean to the sky.

In recent years, fishing competitions celebrate historical fishing practices that sometimes require the participant to swim and involve spears and volcanic rocks. Strict limitations on fishing are being enforced to maintain fish populations. Similarly, some modern day Rapa Nuians are not using pesticides. They are willing to compromise their yields and earn less money, because they are motivated by their love of the land, and they don’t want to contaminate it. They are looking to their ancestors, who used a lunar calendar for planting, for sustainable gardening practices. Rapa Nui offers an ideal climate for growing sweet potatoes, corn, bananas, avocadoes, mangoes, bananas, and modern day farmers grow a variety of crops to allow the soil to replenish.

One of the gardening practices was using the volcanic rock as mulch, known as rock gardens. Another is manavai, building circles of rock up to three meters tall around gardens to create humid conditions for the crops and reduce the times that they needed to be watered and being protected from the wind and sea salt. Modern day Rapa Nuians remind us that while we are creating practices and technologies to remedy some of the problems of industrialisation, we will be well to also look to the past. Rapa Nuians are leading the way, if only we are mindful enough to watch.