Volume 51, No. 1
Volumes > 38 (2010-->)
- Volume 52, No. 1, 2024
- Volume 51, No. 2, 2023
- Volume 51, No. 1, 2023
- Volume 50, No. 2, 2022
- Volume 50, No. 1, 2022
- Volume 49, No. 2, 2021
- Volume 49, No. 1, 2021
- Volume 48, No. 2, 2020
- Volume 48, No. 1, 2020
- Volume 47, No. 2, 2019
- Volume 47, No. 1, 2019
- Volume 46, No. 2, 2018
- Volume 46, No. 1, 2018
- Volume 45, No. 2, 2017
- Volume 45, No. 1, 2017
- Volume 44, No. 2, 2016
- Volume 44, No. 1, 2016
- Volume 43, No. 2, 2015
- Volume 43, No. 1, 2015
- Volume 42, No. 2, 2014
- Volume 42, No. 1, 2014
- Volume 41, No. 2, 2013
- Volume 41, No. 1, 2013
- Volume 41, Special Issue, 2013
- Volume 40, No. 2, 2012
- Volume 40, No. 1, 2012
- Volume 39, No. 2, 2011
- Volume 39, No. 1, 2011
- Volume 38, No. 2, 2010
- Volume 38, No. 1, 2010
Volumes 28-37 (2000-09)
- Volume 37, No. 3, 2009
- Volume 37, No. 2, 2009
- Volume 37, No. 1, 2009
- Volume 36, No. 2, 2008
- Volume 36, No. 1, 2008
- Volume 35, No. 2, 2007
- Volume 35, No. 1, 2007
- Volume 34, No. 2, 2006
- Volume 34, No. 1, 2006
- Volume 33, No. 2, 2005
- Volume 33, No. 1, 2005
- Volume 32, No. 2, 2004
- Volume 32, No. 1, 2004
- Volume 31, No. 2, 2003
- Volume 31, No. 1, 2003
- Volume 30, No. 2, 2002
- Volume 30, No. 1, 2002
- Volume 29, No. 2, 2001
- Volume 29, No. 1, 2001
- Volume 28, No. 2, 2000
- Volume 28, No. 1, 2000
Volumes 18-27 (1990-99)
- Volume 27, No. 1 & 2, 1999
- Volume 26, No. 1 & 2, 1998
- Volume 24, No. 1 & 2, 1996
- Volume 25, No. 1 & 2, 1997
- Volume 23, No. 2, 1995
- Volume 23, No. 1, 1995
- Volume 22, No. 2, 1994
- Volume 22, No. 1, 1994
- Volume 21, No. 1 & 2, 1993
- Volume 20, No. 1 & 2, 1992
- Volume 19, No. 1, 1991
- Volume 18, No. 1 & 2, 1990
Volumes 5-17 (1978-89) a.k.a 'Cormorant'
- Volume 17, No. 1 & 2, 1989
- Volume 16, No. 1, 1988
- Volume 16, No. 2, 1988
- Volume 15, No. 1 & 2, 1987
- Volume 14, No. 1 & 2, 1987
- Volume 13, No. 2, 1986
- Volume 13, No. 1, 1986
- Volume 12, No. 2, 1985
- Volume 12, No. 1, 1985
- Volume 11, No. 1 & 2, 1984
- Volume 10, No. 2, 1983
- Volume 10, No. 1, 1983
- Volume 9, No. 2, 1982
- Volume 9, No. 1, 1982
- Volume 8, No. 2, 1981
- Volume 8, No. 1, 1981
- Volume 7, 1980
- Volume 5, 1978
Search by author or title:
When ornithology meets ethnology and archeology: the birds of the bird-cult at Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and their demise
Citation
MARÍN, M. 2023. When ornithology meets ethnology and archeology: the birds of the bird-cult at Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and their demise. Marine Ornithology 51: 33 - 40
Received 14 August 2022, accepted 16 November 2022
Date Published: 2023/04/15
Date Online: 2023/04/10
Key words: bird-cult, Rapa Nui, Easter Island, Chile, Great Frigatebird Fregata minor, Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscatus, Chimango Caracara Milvago chimango
Abstract
The disappearance of the bird species involved in the bird-cult of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) was examined. The cult was a contest in which the winner gathered the first seabird egg of the year from a near-shore islet, allowing the winner to become the Tangata Manu, or Birdman. This title provided a heightened status, bringing social and economic benefits and a way of being closer to their gods. Three seabird species were involved in the bird-cult: Great Frigatebird Fregata minor, Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscatus, and the Spectacled Tern Onychoprion lunatus, none of which currently breed in the area. Rock art suggests that frigatebird eggs were initially used in the bird-cult. However, when frigatebirds ceased to nest due to overexploitation of eggs and feathers, there was a switch to more numerous Sooty Tern eggs to satisfy the bird-cult. Spectacled Terns have probably never bred at Rapa Nui, though they do visit, and any relationship to the bird-cult is due to confusion with the Sooty Tern. The bird-cult itself was diminished by a decrease in seabird numbers, but also by two sociological factors: (1) enslavement of the islanders by Peruvian raiders, including the King and the most educated members of society; and (2) by the imposition of a new religion in which there was no need to idolatrize the old gods. The bird species involved in the bird-cult disappeared due to a combination of factors: (1) the restriction (tapu) on the number of eggs and birds that could be collected for feathers and food—which was in place when the ritual was active—was removed as the cult diminished; (2) modernization brought better tools that facilitated gathering of eggs and feathers (e.g., canoes and then outboards motors in a land without trees); and (3) the introduction of a hunter-scavenger hawk, the Chimango Caracara Milvago chimango, put further pressure on the seabird species that were already in decline. There is currently an urgent need to eradicate the hawk from the island because it continues to depredate large numbers of nestling seabirds.
References
AGUIRRE, J.E., JOHOW, F., SEEGER, H., JOHOW, J.C., & RUBIO, M. 2009. Nuevos registros de aves nidificantes en islas Desventuradas, Chile insular. Boletín Chileno de Ornitología 15: 44-55.
BAHAMONDE, N. 1965. Islas Desventuradas. Noticiario Mensual Museo Nacional de Historia Natural 112: 1-3.
BARROS, R. 1960. El Tiuque Milvago chimango chimango (Vieillot). Revista Universitaria 44-45: 31-37.
CABEZAS, V. & SCHLATTER, R. 1987. Habitos y comportamiento alimentario de Milvago chimango Vieillot, 1816 (Aves, Falconidae). Anales Museo Historia Natural Valparaíso 18: 131-141.
CHAPIN, J.P. 1935. Unpublished, field journal and notes from the Zaca cruise, Croker Expedition 1934-1935. New York, USA: American Museum of Natural History.
CRISTINO, C. 2011. Colonialismo y neocolonialism en Rapa Nui: una reseña histórica. In: CRISTINO, C & FUENTES, M. (Eds.). La compañía explotadora de Isla de Pascua- patrimonio, memoria e identidad en RapaNui. Concepción, Chile: Ediciones Escaparate.
DEVILLERS, P. 1972. A small collection of sea-birds from Easter Island. Gerfaut 62: 273-275.
DINSMORE, J.J. 1972. Sooty Tern behavior. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological Sciences 16: 129-179.
DUPONT, J.E. 1976. South Pacific Birds. Delaware Museum of Natural History, Monographs series No 3. Cinnaminson, USA: Weidner Associates, Inc.
FEARE, C.J. 1976. The exploitation of Sooty Tern eggs in the Seychelles. Biological Conservation 10: 169-181.
FEARE, C.J. 1984. Human exploitation. In: CROXALL, J.P., EVANS, P.G.H. & SCHREIBER, R.W. (Eds.) Status and Conservation of the World´s Seabirds. ICBP Technical Publication No 2. Cambridge, England: International Council for Bird Preservation.
FUENTES, F. 1914. Contribución al estudio de la fauna de Isla de Pascua. Boletín Museo Nacional de Historia Natural 7: 285-318.
HARRISON, C.S. 1990. Seabirds of Hawaii, Natural History and Conservation. Ithaca, USA: Cornell University Press.
HARRISON, P., PERROW, M. & LARSSON, H. 2021. Seabirds: The New Identification Guide. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions.
HARRISON, T. 1971. Eastern Island: a last outpost. Oryx 11: 111-116.
JARAMILLO, A., JOHNSON, M.T., ROTHFELS C.J. & JOHNSON, R. A. 2008. The native and exotic avifauna of Eastern Island: then and now. Boletín Chileno de Ornitología 14: 8-21.
JOHNSON, A.W., MILLIE, W.R. & MOFFETT, G. 1970. Notes on the birds of Easter Island. Ibis 112: 532-538.
JOHOW, F. 2005. Nidificación de la Fardela de Fénix (Pterodroma alba) y Fardela Heraldica (Pterodroma arminjoniana) en los Motus de Isla de Pascua. In: Resúmenes del VIII Congreso Chileno de Ornitología. p. 35. Santiago, Chile
LAZO, P. 2010. Censo de avifauna en el parque nacional Rapa Nui, informe final. Isla de Pascua, Chile: Oficina provincial CONAF.
LAZO, P. 2011. Censo y monitoreo de aves PNRN, año 2011, informe final. Isla de Pascua: Oficina provincial CONAF.
LEE, G. 1992. The Rock Art of Easter Island, Symbols of Power, Prayers to the Gods. Los Angeles, USA: University of California Los Angeles, Institute of Archeology.
LEE, G. 2000. The birds of paradise. Rapa Nui Journal 14: 111-114.
LӦNNBERG, E. 1921. Notes on the birds of Easter Island, pages 19-24. In: C. SKOTTSBERG (ed.) The Natural History of Juan Fernandez and Easter Island, Volume 3: Zoology. Uppsala, Sweden: Almqvist & Wiksells.
LUNA, N., VARELA, A.I., BROKORDT, K. & LUNA-JORQUERA, G. 2018. Assessing potential predation risk by introduced predators on unattended eggs in the Red-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda, on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Tropical Conservation Science 11: 1-8.
MACFARLANE, J.R.H. 1887. Notes on birds in the western Pacific, made in H.M.S. ‘Constance' 1883-85. Ibis 5: 201-215.
MARÍN, M. & CACERES, P. 2010. Sobre las aves de Isla de Pascua. Boletín del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Chile 59: 75-95.
MARÍN, M. & GONZÁLEZ, R. 2022. Breeding distribution and status of the Great Frigatebird Fregata minor in Chile. Bulletin of the British Ornithologist's Club 142: 226-232.
MARÍN, M., OEHLER, D. & KUSCH, A. 2013. Distribution, status and natural history notes on Rockhopper penguins (Eudyptes crysocome) in Chile. Anales Instituto de la Patagonia 41: 123-130.
MCCOY, P. 1978. The place of near-shore islets in Easter Island prehistory. Journal of the Polynesian Society 87: 193-214.
MÉTRAUX, A. 1940. The Ethnology of Easter Island (Reprinted 1970). Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 160. Honolulu, HI: The Museum.
MILLIE, W.R., JOHNSON, A.W. & MOFFET, G. 1969. Seabirds of Easter Island. Boletín Ornitólogico 1: 1-3.
MURPHY, R.C. 1936. Oceanic Birds of South America, Vol. 1 & 2. New York, USA: The American Museum of Natural History.
NELSON, J.B. 1976. The breeding biology of frigatebirds - a comparative review. Living Bird 14: 113-155.
NELSON, J.B. 2005. Pelicans, Cormorants, and Their Relatives: The Pelecaniformes. Bird Families of the World, Vol. 17. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
NICOLL, M. J. 1904. Ornithological journal of a voyage around the world in the ‘Valhalla' (November 1902 to August 1903). Ibis 46: 32-67.
NUÑEZ, H. & YÁÑEZ, J. 1981. Alimentación del Tiuque Milvago chimango (Vieillot) (Aves: Falconiformes. Noticiario Mensual Museo Nacional Historia Natural, Santiago Chile 295: 5-9.
NUÑEZ, H., SALLABERRY, M., VERGARA, R. & YAÑEZ, J. 1982. Alimentación anual del Milvago chimango (Vieillot, 1816) Aves: Falconiformes. Boletín Museo Nacional Historia Natural, Santiago, Chile 39: 125-130.
PHILIPPI, R.A. 1873. Jeografía: La Isla de Pascua i sus Habitantes. Santiago, Chile: Imprenta Nacional.
ROUTLEDGE, K. 1917. The bird cult of Easter Island. Folk-lore 28: 337-355.
ROUTLEDGE, S. 1920. The Mystery of Easter Island, 2nd Edition. London and Aylesbury, UK: Hazell, Watson & Viney, LD.
SCHREIBER, E.A, FEARE, C.J., HARRINGTON, B.A. ET. AL. 2002. Sooty Tern Sterna fuscata. In: POOLE, A. & GILL, F. (Eds.) The Birds of North America, No 665. Philadelphia, USA: The Academy of Sciences; Washington, USA: The American Ornithologist's Union.
VERMEER, K. & RANKIN, L. 1984. Influence of habitat destruction and disturbance on nesting seabirds. In: CROXALL, J.P., EVANS, P.G.H. & SCHREIBER, R.W. (Eds.) Status and Conservation of the World's Seabirds. ICBP Technical Publication No 2. Cambridge, England: International Council for Bird Preservation.
VILINA, Y.A. & GAZITUA, F.J. 1999. The Birds of Sala y Gómez Island, Chile. Waterbirds 22: 459-462.