Imagining Polynesia
Heritage, Identity Politics and the Evolution of a New Rapa Nui architecture
Keywords:
architecture, Easter Island, identity politics, heritage, Polynesia, Rapa Nui, tourismAbstract
Rapa Nui’s prehistoric Polynesian heritage is iconic. From the later twentieth century the island’s economy has been dependent on the tourism its prehistory attracts. However, until recently there has been little link between the modern built environment of Rapa Nui and its prehistoric past. This article tracks how during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the island’s traditional domestic architecture was supplanted first by colonial then early modern Chilean architecture. The remains of this transformation are fast disappearing through contemporary demolition and an associated rejection of the past that the introduced architecture represents. We highlight how contemporary Rapa Nui architecture instead actively references its iconic prehistoric Polynesian past and positions Rapa Nui in a Polynesian context, for the first time detailing this trajectory and identifying how elements of past artistic and architectural traditions have become incorporated into the architecture of the present. Instead of presenting the intervening period as one of loss of traditional identity, this in fact emphasises a subtle continuity of Rapanui (indigenous Rapa Nui islander) identity. The study is relevant to exploring how the interacting demands and expectations of identity politics and heritage tourism (here in a Polynesian context) can impact on contemporary local architecture and the visitor milieu, reflecting modern concepts which promote the preservation of some architectures and cultural attributes over others.
References
Amoamo, M. and A. Thompson. 2010. “(re)Imagining Maori Tourism: Representation and Cultural Hybridity in Postcolonial New Zealand.” Tourist Studies 10 (1): 35–55. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468797610390989
Angas, G. 1847. Savage Life and Scenes in Australia and New Zealand, Volume 2. London: Smith Elder and Co.
Apple, R. 1971. The Hawaiian Thatched House. Washington, DC: National Park Service, US Department of the Interior.
Armstrong, F., T. Astete, S. Hamilton, I. Hey Gonzales and M. Seager Thomas. 2019. Contextual Survey on Poike. UCL Rapa Nui Landscapes of Construction Project Interim Reports 15. [London]: [UCL Institute of Archaeology,] Rapa Nui Landscapes of Construction Project. Online: https://archive.org/details/LOC15_Poike_2019
Armstrong, F., S. Hamilton, S. Haoa, R. Scaife, M. Seager Thomas and P. Tepano. 2016. Survey on Poike 2016. UCL Rapa Nui Landscapes of Construction Project Interim Reports 13. [London]: [UCL Institute of Archaeology,] Rapa Nui Landscapes of Construction Project. Online: https://archive.org/details/LOC13Poike2016English
Austin, M. 2001a. “Pacific Island Architecture.” Fabrications 11 (2): 13–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/10331867.2001.10525150
____. 2001b. “Polynesian Influences in New Zealand Architecture.” In Oriental Occidental: Geography, Identity, Space. Proceedings 2001 ACSA International Conference, June 15-19, 2001, Istanbul, Turkey, edited by M. Rinehart, 94–97. Washington, DC: ACSA Press. Online: https://www.acsa-arch.org/proceedings/International%20Proceedings/ACSA.Intl.2001/ACSA.Intl.2001.18.pdf
Belhassen, Y. and K. Caton. 2006. “Authenticity Matters.” Annals of Tourism Research 33 (3): 253–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2006.03.009
Boorstin, D. 1964. The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America. New York: Harper and Row.
Borofsky, A. H. 2014. “It Takes a Village to Build a House.” Cook Islands News, 16 June. Online: https://www.cookislandsnews.com/return-to-pukapuka/it-takes-a-village-to-build-a-house/
Buck, P. 1971 [1944]. Arts and Crafts of the Cook Islands. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 179. Honolulu: Bernice P. Bishop Museum.
Budgett, J. and R. Dixon. 2015. Staging Change: Collectivism in the Cook Islands. Paper presented at Oceanic Performance Biennial, Fluidstates, Rarotonga. Online: https://hdl.handle.net/10652/3289
Camus Gundian, D. 1951. “Biografia humana en la Isla de Pascua.” Geochile 1: 24–38.
Casey, R. 1932. Easter Island: Home of the Scornful Gods. London: Elkin Mathews and Marrot.
Cristino, C. and M. Fuentes, eds. 2011. La Compañia Explotadora de Isla de Pascua – Patrimonio, Memoria e identidad en Rapa Nui. Concepción: Ediciones Escaparate.
Curson, P. 1972. Cook Islanders in Town. A Study of Cook Island Urbanisation. PhD diss., University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.
Delsing, M. R. 2015. Articulating Rapa Nui: Polynesian Cultural Politics in a Latin American Nation-State. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. https://doi.org/10.21313/hawaii/9780824851682.001.0001
de Estella, Bienvenido. 1920. Los Misterios de la Isla de Pascua. Santiago de Chile: Imprenta Cervantes.
Explora Hotels. n.d. explora Rapa Nui: 27º8'30.89"S 109º21'26.91"W. Online: https://www.explora.com/easter-island-chile/easter-island-hotel
Eyraud, E. 2004 [1866]. “The Sojourn of the First Missionary on Rapa Nui; Eugène Eyraud among the Kanacs.” In Early Visitors to Easter Island 1864–1877: The Reports of Eugene Eyraud, Hippolyte Roussel, Pierre Loti and Alphonse Pinart, translated by A. Altman, 1–33. Los Ossos, CA: Bearsville Press.
Fischer, S. 2005. Island at the End of the World: The Turbulent History of Easter Island. London: Reaktion Books.
Geiseler, W. 1995 [1883]. Geiseler’s Easter Island Report. An 1880s Anthropological Account, edited by W. Ayres and G. Ayres. Asian and Pacific Archaeology Series 12. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Gonschor, L. 2011. “Facing Land Challenges in Rapa Nui (Easter Island).” Pacific Studies 34 (2–3): 175–194.
Hamilton, S. 2008. “Rapa Nui Landscapes of Construction.” Archaeology International 10: 49–53. https://doi.org/10.5334/ai.1011
____. 2013. “Rapa Nui (Easter Island)’s Stone Worlds.” Archaeology International 16: 96–109. https://doi.org/10.5334/ai.1613
____., J. Haoa Avaka, A. Keir, M. Seager Thomas, A. Stanford, C. Steele, K. Welham and R. Whitehouse. 2014. Multi-Scalar Survey of the Southwestern Ara Moai between Ahu Hanga Tetenga and Ahu Hoa Anga Vaka A Tua Poi. Rapa Nui Landscapes of Construction Interim Reports 9. [London]: [UCL Institute of Archaeology,] Rapa Nui Landscapes of Construction Project. Online: https://archive.org/details/LOC9AraMoai2014English
Hamilton, S., F. Pakomio, M. Seager Thomas, L. Shaw, A. Stanford, K. Welham and R. Whitehouse. 2013. Preliminary Multi-Scalar Survey of the Southwest Section of the Ara Moai 2013. Rapa Nui Landscapes of Construction Interim Reports. 7. [London]: [UCL Institute of Archaeology,] Rapa Nui Landscapes of Construction Project. Online: https://archive.org/details/LOC7AraMoai2013Ingles
Hamilton, S., C. Richards and K. Welham. 2012. Paisajes de Construcción en Rapa Nui 2008-10. Rapa Nui Landscapes of Construction Interim Reports 5. [London]: [UCL Institute of Archaeology,] Rapa Nui Landscapes of Construction Project. Online: https://archive.org/details/LOC5LibroProyecto12espanol/mode/2up
Hamilton, S. and M. Seager Thomas. 2018. “Eroding Heritage: An Island Context.” Archaeology International 21 (1): 64–74. https://doi.org/10.5334/ai-382
Hamilton, S., M. Seager Thomas and R. Whitehouse. 2009. Ahu Landscapes – Preliminary Research Assessment of Phenomenological Walkover Surveys (PWSs) Conducted along Selected Sections of the Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Coastline. Rapa Nui Landscapes of Construction Project Interim Reports 2. [London]: [UCL Institute of Archaeology,] Rapa Nui Landscapes of Construction Project. Online: https://archive.org/details/LOC2AhuLandscapes2009english
____. 2011. “Say it with Stone: Constructing with Stones on Easter Island.” World Archaeology 43 (2): 167–190. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2011.586273
Hangaroa Hotel. n.d. A Unique Hotel. Online: https://www.hangaroa.cl/en/a-unique-hotel/
Heyerdahl, T. 1958. Aku Aku: The Secret of Easter Island. London: George Allen and Unwin.
____. and E. Ferdon, Jr. 1961. Reports from the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and the South Pacific, Volume 1: The Archaeology of Easter Island. Monographs of the School of American Research and Museum of New Mexico 24 (1). Stockholm: Forum.
Hildebrandt Gruppe. n.d. “Hospital Intercultural de Hanga Roa.” Online: http://www.hildebrandt.cl/casosestudio/hospital-intercultural-hanga-roa/
Hill, C. 2016. The Cook Islands Christian Churches of Rarotonga. Living Conservation in Cultural Landscapes. MA diss., University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Hunt, T. 2016. “Return of the Hale.” Hana Hou! 19 (1). Online: https://hanahou.com/19.1/return-of-the-hale
Intertect. 1982. Improvement of Low-Cost Housing in the Cook Islands to Withstand Tropical Cyclones. Dallas: Intertect.
Keesing, R. 1989. “Creating the Past: Custom and Identity in the Contemporary Pacific.” Contemporary Pacific 1 (2): 19–42.
Kirch, P. 2011. On the Road of the Winds. An Archaeological History of the Pacific Islands before European Contact. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.
Knoche, W. 1925. Die Osterinsel. Concepcion: Verlag des Wiss.
Küchler, S. 2014. “Relational Maps in the Cook Islands Transnational Communities.” Transnational Memory: Circulation, Articulation, Scales, edited by C. De Cesari and A. Rigley, 99–123. Berlin: De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110359107.99
La Pérouse, J.-F. G. 1969 [1789]. Voyages and Adventures of La Pérouse. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Le Corbusier [Jeanneret, C.-É.]. 1931. Towards a New Architecture. Translated by F. Etchells. London: John Rodker.
Leong, L. 2007. “Island Architecture: Celebrating 150 Years of the American Institute of Architecture.” Honolulu Magazine, April. Online: https://web.archive.org/web/20161029082626/http://www.honolulumagazine.com/Honolulu-Magazine/Resources/Island-Architecture/index.php
Loti, P. 1873. “Expedition der fregatte ‘La Flore’ nach der Osterinsel.” Globus 23 (5): 65–68.
____. 2004 [1872]. “Diary of a Cadet on the Warship La Flore – 1872.” In Early Visitors to Easter Island 1864–1877: The Reports of Eugene Eyraud, Hippolyte Roussel, Pierre Loti and Alphonse Pinart, translated by A. Altman, 63–103. Los Ossos, CA: Bearsville Press.
MAPSE [Museo Antropológico P. Sebastián Englert]. n.d. Historia. Online: https://www.museorapanui.gob.cl/sitio/Secciones/Quienes-Somos/Historia/
Martinsson-Wallin, H. and S. Crockford. 2001. “Early Settlement of Rapa Nui (Easter Island).” Asian Perspectives 40 (2): 244–278. https://doi.org/10.1353/asi.2001.0016
McCall, G. 1976. Reaction to Disaster: Continuity and Change in Rapanui Social Organisation. PhD diss., Australian National University, Canberra.
McCall, G. 1981 Rapanui: Tradition and Survival on Easter Island. Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii.
____. 1997. “Riro, Rapu and Rapanui: Refoundations in Easter Island Colonial History.” Rapa Nui Journal 11 (3): 112–122.
McKay, B. 2016. Book review of Cook Islands Art and Architecture, edited by R. Dixon, L. Crowl and M. T. Crocombe (Suva: University of the South Pacific Press, 2015). Fabrications 26 (3): 399–401. https://doi.org/10.1080/10331867.2016.1245127
Métraux, A. 1971 [1940]. The Ethnology of Easter Island. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 160. Honolulu: Bernice P. Bishop Museum.
Mulloy, B. 2011. “Letters from the Island: The Mulloy Family’s Year on Rapa Nui, 1960–1961.” Rapa Nui Journal 25 (1): 49–53.
____. 2013. “Letters from the Island.” Rapa Nui Related, 13 March. Online: https://brigidmulloy.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/48/
Mulloy, W. 1970. Preliminary Report of the Restoration of Ahu Vai Uri, Easter Island. Bulletin 2. Washington, DC: Easter Island Committee International Fund for Monuments
____. 1975. Investigation and Restoration of the Ceremonial Center of Orono, Easter Island, Part 1. Bulletin 4. Washington, DC: Easter Island Committee International Fund for Monuments
Neil, J. M. 1975. “The Architecture of C. W. Dickey in Hawaii.” Hawaiian Journal of History 9: 101–113.
Nia, E. 2010. Are Korero. Auckland: Auckland University of Technology. Online: https://hdl.handle.net/10292/932
OECD. 2011. Designing for Education: Compendium of Exemplary Educational Facilities 2011. Paris: OECD.
Oliver, D. 2002. Polynesia in Early Historic Times. Honolulu: Bess Press.
Palmer, J. L. 1869–1870. “A Visit to Easter Island, or Rapa-Nui.” Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London 14 (2): 108–120. https://doi.org/10.2307/1799553
Pinart, A. 2004 [1878]. “Voyage to Easter Island 1877.” In Early Visitors to Easter Island 1864–1877: The Reports of Eugene Eyraud, Hippolyte Roussel, Pierre Loti and Alphonse Pinart, translated by A. Altman, 107–136. Los Ossos, CA: Bearsville Press.
Porteous, J. D. 1981. The Modernization of Easter Island. Western Geographical Series 19. Victoria, NSW: University of Victoria Press.
Powell, B. 2002. “Berkeley Student and Former Governor Sergio Rapu Grapples with Taking Easter Island into the 21st Century.” Portraits of Peacemakers, 6 November. Online: https://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2002/11/peace/mahanta.html
Rapoport, A. 1969. House Form and Culture. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
Refiti, A. 2005. “Imaginary Tradition: Pacific Architecture and the New Zealand Context.” In Exquisite Apart: 100 Years of Architecture in New Zealand, edited by C. Walker, 172–181. Auckland: Balasoglou Books.
Reisinger, Y. and C. Steiner. 2006. “Reconceptualizing Object Authenticity.” Annals of Tourism Research 33 (1): 65–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2005.04.003
Rocuant, E. 1916. La Isla de Pascua: Estudio de los Títulos de Dominio, de los Derechos y de los Contratos de Don Enrique Merlet y de la Compañía Explotadora de la Isla de Pascua. Valparaíso: Sociedad Imprenta y Litografia Universo.
Routledge, [K]. S. 1919. The Mystery of Easter Island: The Story of an Expedition. London: Hazell, Watson and Viney.
Sandler, R. and J. Mehta. 1993. Architecture in Hawai’i. Honolulu: Mutual Publishing.
Schnoor, C. 2016. “Imagery or Principles of the Pacific? An Investigation into Architecture in Samoa.” Fabrications 26: 286–311. https://doi.org/10.1080/10331867.2016.1233603
Seager Thomas, M. 2014. “Stone Use and Avoidance on Easter Island: Red Scoria from the Topknot Quarry at Puna Pau and Other Sources.” Archaeology in Oceania 47 (2): 95–109. https://doi.org/10.1002/arco.5031
Segunda. 2013. “Inauguran primera ‘casa ecológica’ en Isla de Pascua hecha con latas y botellas de bebidas La Segunda, 17 April. Online: http://www.lasegunda.com/Noticias/Nacional/2013/04/839574/Inauguran-primera-casa-ecologica-en-Isla-de-Pascua-hecha-con-latas-y-botellas-de-bebidas
Skottsberg, C. 1956 [1920]. The Natural History of Juan Fernandez and Easter Island. Uppsala: Almqvist and Wiksells Boktryckeri.
Thomson, W. 1891. Te Pita a te Henua, or Easter Island: Report of the US National Museum for the Year ending June 30th, 1889, 447–552. Washington, DC: National Museum of Natural History.
Toki. n.d. “Sustainability.” Online: https://tokirapanui.org/en/sustentabily.html
Trachtman, P. 2002. “Who Owns the Past? Rapanui Points of View.” Rapa Nui Journal 16 (1): 5–9.
UHM [University of Hawai'i at Manoa]. 2020. “Rapa Nui: The Edmunds and Bryan Photograph Collection – Henry Percy Edmunds.” UHM Library Digital Image Collections. Online: https://digital.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/rapanui/edmunds
UNESCO. 1992. The Samoan Fale. Apia: UNESCO Office for the Pacific States. Online: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000139897
Urry, J. 2002. The Tourist Gaze (2nd edition). London: Sage.
Van der Ryn, M. 2008. “The Measina of Architecture in Samoa: An Examination of the Va in Samoan Architecture and Sociocultural Implications of Architectural Changes.” In Measina a Samoa vol. 3 edited by A. So'o, 73–89. Apia: National University of Samoa.
Van Tilburg, J.-A. 1986. Power and Symbol. The Stylistic Analysis of Easter Island Monolithic Sculpture. PhD diss., University of California, Los Angeles.
Vargas, P., C. Cristino and R. Izaurieta. 2006. 100 años en Rapa Nui. Arqueología del Asentamiento. Santiago de Chile: Editorial Universitaria.
von Osten, M. 2011. “Architectures of Decolonisation.” Les Laboratoires d’Aubervilliers. January–April. Online: http://www.leslaboratoires.org/en/article/architectures-decolonization/architectures-de-la-decolonisation
Wilmshurst, J., T. Hunt, C. Lipo and A. Anderson. 2011. “High-Precision Radiocarbon Dating Shows Recent and Rapid Initial Human Colonization of East Polynesia.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108 (5): 1815–1820. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1015876108
