EASTER ISLAND— LAV ACHERY 393 



But how can one account for the achievement of such a long 

 journey? The Polynesians possessed vessels that could face the open 

 sea; they were capable of taking sometimes more than 100 oarsmen 

 and passengers. Further, they put to sea in squadrons. The canoes 

 kept just as far apart as was possible without losing sight of each 

 other. At night they came together. By thus distributing them- 

 selves over the surface of the sea they were able to discover even the 

 smallest islands. Some canoes were lost, but there were enough to 

 ensure that some should reach their objective. Navigation was by the 

 stars, according to the direction of ocean currents and as the wind 

 allowed. But in the Pacific there are regular winds m each season. 



Whence came the Pascuans ? Every indication points to the Gam- 

 bier Islands. The similarity of the Mangarevian and Pascuan 

 languages is a valuable clue. Then the Gambler Islands contain 

 ancient monuments which call to mind the ahus more than do any of 

 the other marae of Polynesia. Father Honore Laval, in an unpub- 

 lished account ° giving valuable information about the ancient culture 

 of the Gambler Islands, speaks of statues resembling those of Easter 

 Island. Finally, the Gambler Islands are those which are nearest 

 to it on the west. The Polynesians probably found Easter Island 

 devoid of monuments and uninhabited; but this statement lacks 

 proof. 



The present Pascuans would appear, then, to be the direct descend- 

 ants of the architects and sculptors of the ancient monuments. 

 Proof of this is to be found in a comparison of these monuments 

 with those of other Polynesian islands. One must also cite the 

 traditions current at the time of the first contact with white men, in 

 which the names of sculptors and of their direct descendants were 

 mentioned. 



But there are also certain obvious facts of a common-sense kind. 

 Many of the traditions relate to the construction of ahus at a very 

 recent date. Now the statues were merely accessory to these burials — 

 the images of ancestors set up there. If the monument is of recent 

 date, that which adorns it will naturally be so too. Then again, the 

 evidence of the first foreigners to arrive is in agreement; the ahus 

 were in living use at the end of the eighteenth century and were seen 

 by Gonzales and La Perouse. We collected traditions reporting that 

 ceremonies were held there still during the nineteenth century. 



There is no evidence of the existence of two cultures. Up to quite 

 modern times, when the ahus were being made and used, the rites and 

 ceremonies centering round Motunui and Orongo ^ and the great 



•This wlU shortly be published, through the agency of my Swiss colleague Alfred 

 Metraux, by the Bishop Museum, Honolulu. 



^ An islet and village situated to the west of Easter Island. 



