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The village
Orongo is a stone village on the clifftop of the Rano Kau caldera
Orongo is a stone village and ceremonial center at the southwestern tip of Rapa Nui. Its buildings are low, sod-covered, windowless and round-walled, with very low doors. Below, a 300-meter cliff face drops to the ocean.
The birdman
Orongo was the centre of a birdman cult from the 18th century
Between the 18th and mid-19th centuries Orongo was the centre of a birdman cult. Its defining ritual was an annual race to bring the first sooty tern egg back undamaged from the islet of Motu Nui.
The race
Chosen men swam to Motu Nui and waited for the first egg
Each contestant, a man of importance, appointed a hopu to swim to Motu Nui and wait for the first sooty terns. The finder called to the shore, naming his benefactor, and the cry was passed up the cliffside to Orongo.
Restored
UNESCO sponsored the restoration of the village in 1974
In 1974 UNESCO sponsored a project to restore Orongo under William Mulloy, with Sonia Haoa Cardinali. The first half of the 53 stone masonry houses was restored that year. Orongo now has World Heritage status.
Silence
In the 1860s most islanders died or were enslaved and Orongo fell into disuse
In the 1860s most of the Rapa Nui islanders died of disease or were enslaved, and Orongo fell into disuse. In 1868 the crew of HMS Topaze removed the moai Hoa Hakananai'a, which is now in the British Museum.
Day 4, midday
It comes after Rano Kau. Then Ahu Vinapu.
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The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Orongo and the Wikipedia article Tangata manu, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.