Eugène Eyraud (1820 – 23 August 1868) was a lay friar of the

Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary () abbreviated SS.CC., is a Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men priests and brothers. The congregation is also known as the Picpus because their firs ...

and the first Westerner to live on

Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...

Early life

Eyraud was born in

Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur is a Communes of France, commune in the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in southeastern France. It was expanded in January 2013, following the merger of the former communes of Bénévent-et-Charbillac and L ...

, France, in 1820. He became a mechanic by profession. He went to

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, and acquired mining interests there.

Arrival on Easter Island

Eyraud entered the

Holy Ghost Fathers , image = Holy Ghost Fathers seal.png , size = 175px , caption = The seal of the Congregation depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Trinity. , abbreviation ...

as a novice. Influenced by his brother

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

, a missionary in China, he left Chile for

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

in 1862 and arrived at

Hanga Roa Hanga Roa (; rap, Haŋa Roa, Rapa Nui pronunciation: �ha.ŋa ˈɾo.a (Spanish: ''Bahía Larga'') is the main town, harbour and seat of Easter Island, a municipality of Chile. It is located in the southern part of the island's west coast, in th ...

on 2 January 1864. He was harassed by the islanders, and only stayed nine months before being repatriated to Chile on 11 October 1864. A year and a half later, on 27 March 1866, he settled on the island as a full priest, accompanied by

Hippolyte Roussel Hippolyte Roussel (22 March 1824 in La Ferté-Macé – 22 January 1898 in Gambier Islands) was a French priest and missionary to Polynesia, a member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. In 1854 he was sent to evangelize i ...

and three

Mangareva Mangareva is the central and largest island of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. It is surrounded by smaller islands: Taravai in the southwest, Aukena and Akamaru in the southeast, and islands in the north. Mangareva has a permanent pop ...

n converts.

Activities

Although fiercely opposed at first, Eyraud eventually came to be highly popular and influential among the islanders. In October 1866, Gaspar Zumbohm and Théodule Escolan joined Eyraud and Roussel in their mission, and set up schools at Hanga Roa and Vaihū. On 22 December 1866 Eyraud wrote He assisted that year in what would be the last ceremony of the Birdman cult. Tuberculosis came to the island in 1867, which led to the death of a quarter of the island's population, and Eyraud died of it on 23 August 1868, nine days after the last islanders had been baptized. He was buried at the

Holy Cross Church, Hanga Roa The Holy Cross Church ( es, link=no, Iglesia de la Santa Cruz), also known as Hanga Roa Church or simply Catholic Church of Hanga Roa is the name of the religious building affiliated with the Catholic Church in the "Te Pito Te Henua" Street in the ...

Rongorongo

During his first stay, Eyraud remarked that in each house there were wooden tablets covered with "hieroglyphs", now known as

rongorongo Rongorongo (Rapa Nui: ) is a system of glyphs discovered in the 19th century on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) that appears to be writing or proto-writing. Numerous attempts at decipherment have been made, with none being successful. Although some c ...

, but that the islanders no longer knew how to read them and paid them scant attention. He didn't think of informing Roussel or Zumbohm, and never wrote of them again. In wasn't until 1869, when Zumbohm presented a gift which, unknown to him included a tablet, to Bishop Jaussen in Tahiti, that rongorongo was noticed by the outside world.

Traditional beliefs

Eyraud wrote of the islanders and their carved wooden statues, known as '' mo‘ai kavakava''

Bibliography

* Orliac, Catherine; Orliac, Michel. ''L'île de Pâques : Des dieux regardent les étoiles'', collection "

Découvertes Gallimard (, ; in United Kingdom: ''New Horizons'', in United States: ''Abrams Discoveries'') is an editorial collection of illustrated monographic books published by the Éditions Gallimard in pocket format. The books are concise introductions to pa ...

" (nº 38), série Histoire. Gallimard, 2004. (new edition; originally published in 1988 under the title ''Des dieux regardent les étoiles : Les derniers secrets de l'Île de Pâques'', translated into English in 1995 as ''Easter Island: Mystery of the Stone Giants'' .S.and ''The Silent Gods: Mysteries of Easter Island'' K. * E. Eyraud, « Lettres au T.R.P, Congrégation du sacré-cœur de Jésus et de Marie », ''Annales Association de la propagation de la foi'', vol.38, Lyon 1866 : 52-61 et 124-138.

References

External links

Correspondence of Eugène Eyraud

sells an English translation of Eyraud's report, along with those of

Pierre Loti Pierre Loti (; pseudonym of Louis Marie-Julien Viaud ; 14 January 1850 – 10 June 1923) was a French naval officer and novelist, known for his exotic novels and short stories.This article is derived largely from the ''Encyclopædia Britannica El ...

and

Alphonse Pinart Alphonse Louis Pinart (26 February 1852 — 13 February 1911) was a French scholar, linguist, ethnologist and collector, specialist on the American continent. He studied the civilizations of the New World in the manner of the pioneers of the time ...

, under the title ''Early Visitors to Easter Island 1864-1877.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Eyraud, Eugene Roman Catholic missionaries in Easter Island French Roman Catholic missionaries Picpus Fathers 1868 deaths 1820 births French expatriates in Ecuador Rongorongo