‘Visitors and conservation at a World Heritage Site’

Orongo Ceremonial Village,Rapa Nui (Easter Island) World Heritage Area, Chile.

Nicholas Hall

Stepwise Heritage and Tourism Pty. Ltd.

Rapa Nui

But is really about people

Conservation involves places

The Orongo Ceremonial Village is one of the most spectacular and intriguing cultural sites in the world.

Orongo is on the list of the world’s 100 most endangered heritage sites

- due to problems with structural stability and difficulties of managing visitors.

The site consists of a village of 35 interconnected stone houses and a ceremonial precinct situated on the edge of the cliff face.

The village was used once a year for a ceremony which focused on collecting the first bird egg of the Manutara (Sooty tern) which arrived and nested on the Motu (Islets) in spring.

The prominent lineages on the island would compete for their head to be proclaimed tangata manu for the year - the most powerful position of leadership.

Competitors representing the head of each lineage would wait on the motu for the first manutara egg of the season.

The first to return up the cliff and present the egg would earn for his employer the right to be tangata manu.

The tangata manu or birdman ‘cult’, was the last of a series of cultural traditions which evolved on Easter Island.

Tangata manu

The tangata manu tradition followed the period where clan lineages focussed a great deal of attention on constructing stone representions of their ancestors (Moai).

Ahu and Moai

Tangata manutradition

Inter-clan wars - toppling of the Moais

Settlement of Rapa Nui

300 - 1400 AD

300 AD

1500 - 1600 AD

1600 - 1887 AD

Christianity 1864 AD

The Orongo Ceremonial village is connected with other features which together make up the cultural landscape associated with tangata manu ceremonies.

The cultural landscape of Orongo consists of :

The village of 35 stone dwellings

Mata Ngarau ceremonial precinct

Other related cultural features such as Ahu and birthing rocks

The Motu

Related sites elsewhere on the island

Objects associated with the site

Songs and dances associated

with the tangata manu ceremonies

Oral history connected

to the site and the tradition

Hoa Hakananai’a - A key part of this site is now in the café of the British Museum

The area at the extreme end of the village - Mata Ngarau contains a precinct which was the center of ceremonial activity

Mata Ngarau

- a site within a site - is physically vulnerable and at risk

Other major issues at Orongo included:

• Soil erosion from visitor use and horses

• Collapse of stone houses

• Poor visitor circulation and on-site interpretation

• Inappropriate visitor behaviour

• Inconsistent interpretation by tour guides

• Poor facilities for visitors and guards

• Handling large numbers of visitors from cruise ships

Immediate needs:

• Urgent assessment of the stability of the site

• Monitoring to accurately gauge any boulder movement

• Training for site guards and tour operators

Orongo Site Management and Development Plan

• Inventory of site features

• Definition of significant elements and valuesincluding associated places, objects and intangible values

• Overview of management issues

• Site analysisvisitor use patterns and behaviour and physical characteristics of the site

• Specification of management objectives and guidelines

• Options and preferred proposal

• Implementation schedule

The next job:

• Using this model to work on the main Moai quarry at Ranu Raraku which contains major physical conservation and visitor management issues

‘Visitors and conservation at a World Heritage Site’

Orongo Ceremonial Village,Rapa Nui (Easter Island) World Heritage Area, Chile.

Nicholas Hall

Stepwise Heritage and Tourism Pty. Ltd.