Rapa Nui Journal Volume 14 Issue 4

In Memoriam

DON RAMIRO ESTEVEZ 1928-1996

OVER THE PAST 200 YEARS the Hancock Museum in Newcastle, England, has slowly built up an ethnographic collection that now includes some 4500 items. Although there has never been a curator specializing in ethnography, it is interesting to look back and see how a succession of geologists and biologists (of which I am the latest in the series!) have fallen under the spell of these artworks. My own interest came about when I decided to spend an afternoon determining how much of the founding 18th century collection still survives. Five years later, and an Anthropology Ph.D. almost within sight, I am still burrowing into the material.

This is a personal tribute to Sam Elbert, who was my chief mentor in the field of diachronic Austronesian linguistics (along with my father, who taught me Indo-European diachronics when I was thirteen). I could never have done it without Sam's inspiration, his brilliant example, and his unflagging encouragement.

Letters to the Editor

Moai Sightings

What's New in the Pacific

What's New in Hangaroa

Nova has created a special presentation: Secrets of Lost Empires, to illustrate Jo Anne Van Tilburg's evolving theories on how the ancient Easter Islanders may have moved the giant statues. Almost 10 years of computerized models, and "would be' experiments have now been finally tested by the realm of reality. While this might have been the public purpose, NOVA's presentation is a classic combination of multiple conflicting motivations, a sort of "too many cooks spoil the broth" situation. One has to carefully sift through the mix of this program to separate NOVA's choreography, genuinely good and new ideas, good science, the politics of Easter Island life, and the combination of many old ideas.

Whilst the fleet of canoes o'er the ocean are paddled The flocks of gods are above in the heavens flying. -Maori song; Beckwith 1970:90

In the ocean world of Polynesia, birds-especially seabirds- played an important symbolic role, and had enormous influence on the ancient seafarers of the Pacific. In both myth and cult, the bird theme is the most widespread, but least understood, of the symbolic elements found throughout Polynesia (Handy 1940:323). Many studies in the past have connected birds with visual images found throughout Oceania.