1 91 8.] Recently published OrnitholugicalJVoi'ks. 499 



XXVI. — Notices of recent Ornithological Publications. 



Balfour on Bird- Cult in Easter Island. 



[Some Ethnological Suggestions in regard to Easter Island, or 

 Hapanui. By Henry Balfour. Folk-Lore, 1917, pp. 356-381.] 



The main object of Mr. Balfour's paper is to throw some 

 light on the relationship of the inhabitants of Easter Island 

 in the south-eastern Pacific to other peoples, and he believes 

 that some of their curious cults and implements show them 

 to be connected with some of the Melanesian races of the 

 extreme west of the Pacific, Incidentally he alludes to 

 the interesting fact that the Sooty Tern {Sterna fuliginosa) 

 is the object of an important " cult.^' 



One of the regular breeding-places of this bird is the small 

 rocky island of Moto Nui, lying off the south-west end of 

 Easter Island itself. Mrs. Routledge, whose observations 

 during a recent stay in Easter Island form the basis of 

 Mr. Balfour's remarks, has described the great annual cere- 

 mony which is observed by the Easter Islanders, in which the 

 main feature is a competition to secure the first egg of the 

 season after the arrival of the Terns at their nesting-site. 

 The lucky winner of the race becomes the " Bird-man '' of 

 the year and enjoys certain privileges, combined with some 

 discomfort due to his being placed under a rigid tabu. Tlie 

 sacred egg is preserved in his house until the next season. 



A somewhat similar cult is known in the Solomon Islands, 

 where, however, the object is not the Sooty Tern but the 

 Frigate-bird ; and Mr. Balfour believes that the Easter 

 Islanders' cult is derived from that of the Solomons, but 

 that the bird was changed owing to the fact that the Frigate- 

 bird does not breed in Easter Island. 



The whole subject is one of considerable interest to the 

 ornithologist as well as to the ethnologist, and for this reason 

 we have drawn attention to the matter. 



