Island at the End of the World: The Turbulent History of Easter Island

Graduate Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies
5:1 (2007) 94-96
REVIEW
Steven Roger Fischer, Island at the End of the World: The Turbulent History
of Easter Island, Reaktion Books: London, 2005, IBSN: 1-86189-245-4 WHENEVER EASTER Island is mentioned the foremost image that comes to mind is the magnificent and mysterious stone ‘heads’ that dot the island’s landscape. 1 Steven Roger Fischer’s Island at the End of the World unlocks not only the mystery of the island but also its people and their extraordinary history. Fischer has created a document that touches on nearly every aspect of the island that can or has been studied: he covers everything from the species of flora and fauna that have at one time or another inhabited Rapa Nui, to the various cultural practices of the indigenous people (the Rapanui), to the economic and political importance of the island to the outside world. Fischer maintains a reasonably unbiased viewpoint; the facts he presents tend to outweigh any emotive language he adopts. It may seem that at some points in the text the portrait that is painted of the colonial and neo‐
colonial settlers is excessively harsh, although Fischer does not neglect to mention the various missionaries and scientists who have supported Rapanui and its people over time. He also acknowledges that the Rapanui themselves were not completely at peace prior to the arrival of foreign interests. What is most interesting though is how he presents a parallel between the history of the stone ‘heads’ (known as mo‘ai) on Rapa Nui and that of their creators and their home. Fischer has divided his text into five parts that deal with different aspects of the history of Rapa Nui. The majority of the text is dedicated to the most active periods of European settlement in that history which occurred throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. However, the chapter titled ‘Polynesian Frontier’ looks closely at how pre‐colonial Rapa Nui was established. Fischer looks at how the island was possibly settled and provides some incredibly detailed information about the people and their culture, including the construction of the mo‘ai. This insightful section of the book allows the Rapanui to receive the worldwide recognition they and their culture deserve. What is also detailed here is the tragic decline in the island’s fragile ecosystem before European arrival, an aspect that Fischer reiterates throughout the book. ‘White Men and Birdmen’ deals with the arrival of the colonists or the second ‘discovery’ of Rapa Nui. This chapter illuminates the changes that occurred within Rapanui culture which led to the destruction of certain religious beliefs and the mo‘ai that signified them. While the Rapanui were active in the destruction of the mo‘ai themselves they were in no way responsible for the bloody history that was to follow. The sections ‘Pirates and Priests’ and ‘Rancho Isla de Pascua’ detail the great atrocities that the Rapanui suffered at the hands of the colonists and neo‐colonists. According to Fischer it was during: The period 1862‐88…approximately 94 per cent of the population perished or emigrated – one of the Pacific’s greatest human losses. 2 94
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The century that would follow was not much brighter either. These chapters provide sobering reading and it is commendable that Fischer has not shied away from detailing these dark years in Rapa Nui’s history. Finally ‘Museum Island’ looks at how Rapa Nui has transformed from a sheep and cattle ranch controlled by a greedy corporation to a tourist attraction desperate for self‐governance. Fischer refers to the island as a ‘museum’ due to increased measures in recent decades to preserve its historical sights and artefacts. It seems that the various scholars who have journeyed to Rapa Nui to study its culture and history are the first visitors to actually care about this isolated isle. Fischer notes that it is due to the (sometimes misguided) efforts of these outsiders that the majestic mo‘ai have been restored to their former glory. What is also clear in this concluding chapter is how the Rapanui have had some of their human rights restored. Fischer details here the ongoing struggle between the people of Rapa Nui and the government in Chile. It is detailed in the text that at present this relationship is not perfect, but it is not as volatile as it has been in the past. As Fischer notes, the greatest irony of this relationship’s history is the relative freedom the Rapanui had under Augusto Pinochet compared with Chilean nationals. The present situation in Rapa Nui with regards to land ownership and political power is also complicated by the people who call the island home. With many islanders of both Rapanui and Chilean descent, as well as other ethnicities, the determination of to whom Rapa Nui belongs is an ongoing issue and this is an aspect the text does pay attention to. Fischer’s text can be repetitive in places. Fischer has a tendency to discuss an event or fact only to repeat it again a few pages later. For example towards the end of the text he notes: …in November 1985 the last sheep was butchered…Beef production alone remained, although almost all beef and pork consumed on Easter Island would continue to come from Chile and elsewhere. 3
Yet within a short space he finds it necessary to repeat some of this material: SASIPA [Sociedad Agrícola y de Servicios Isla de Pascua] continues to raise cattle here: almost all the meat consumed on the island is still flown in from Chile…The cattle ranch – there are no sheep – occupies 40 per cent of the island. 4 The text moves forward chronologically, but sometimes repetitions of this kind result in jumping back and forth in time, and the effect can be frustrating and confusing for the reader. Island at the End of the World reveals a history of Rapa Nui where the mo‘ai are still powerful images, they are no longer symbols of a mysterious and forgotten culture instead they represent the Rapanui’s survival. The construction, destruction and subsequent restoration of the mo‘ai resembles the history of these people. It may be argued that restoration in the true sense has not yet occurred, as Rapa Nui is still part of Chile politically. However it is hoped that along with the continued preservation of these statues the Rapanui culture will continue to thrive. Island at the End of the World is an important text for anybody who has either a scholarly or general interest in Pacific history. Fischer’s text has engaged with many of the arguments surrounding colonial rule in the Pacific although unlike many other islands Rapa Nui is not politically independent. In Rapa Nui’s case to describe its Nickless/Review of Island at the End of the World
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history as turbulent is an understatement, but as Fischer points out, there is hope that the future for Rapa Nui and its people will be one of peace and true restoration. Island at the End of the World is a significant academic contribution to not only Rapa Nui but to the Pacific Islands as a whole. Adriana NICKLESS
University of Auckland
NOTES 1
Easter Island is otherwise known as Rapa Nui; this review will refer to ‘Rapa Nui’ the island, and the
‘Rapanui’, its people.
2
Steven Roger Fischer, Island at the End of the World: The Turbulent History of Easter Island, Reaktion Books, London, 2005, p.86. 3
ibid., p.234.
4
ibid., p.259.
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