The Mysterious Easter Island
Source: Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0.
Easter Island, the most isolated of the Polynesian islands, is considered to have been regarded as the navel of the mystical world. According to popular legend, it was discovered as the result of a dream. Far away, to the west, Haumaka dreamed that he crossed the sea and arrived at a land with white sandy beaches. He told the dream to his lord, Hotu Matua (one of the figures contending for the throne in his country), who sent six men to find it. The men set out, taking with them breadfruit, yams, coconuts and other species to plant. After a long voyage, they arrived at Easter Island, a land covered in grasses that swayed like the sea. They explored the land but found it uninhabitable without fresh water to drink. As they were returning to the beach, they saw two canoes: one belonging to Hotu Matua and the other to Tu’u ko Ihu, the priest. Hotu Matua disembarked first, and his son, Tu’u ma Heke, was born on the beach. The priest cut the child’s umbilical cord with his teeth, placed it in a gourd and cast it into the sea. Hundreds of people would later arrive to settle on the island and proclaimed Hotu Matua king.