![Makemake](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Makemake.jpeg)
Makemake (also written as Make-make; pronounced in
Rapa Nui) in the
Rapa Nui mythology
Rapa Nui mythology, also known as Pascuense mythology or Easter Island mythology, refers to the native myths, legends, and beliefs of the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island in the south eastern Pacific Ocean.
Origin myth
According to Rapa Nui myt ...
of
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 ...
, is the creator of
human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
ity, the god of fertility and the chief god of the "
Tangata manu" or ''bird-man'' sect (this sect succeeded the island's more famous
Moai
Moai or moʻai ( ; es, moái; rap, moʻai, , statue) are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island, Rapa Nui in eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main mo ...
era). He appeared to be the local form, or name, of the old Polynesian god
Tane. He had no wife.
Makemake, as a face with large eyes or perhaps a skull with large eye sockets and a phallic nose, is a frequent subject of the
Rapa Nui petroglyphs
A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
.
The Birdman sect
Métraux states that Easter Island's "greatest religious festival, the only one concerning which circumstantial details survive, was that of the bird-man, intimately linked with the cult of the god Makemake."
Makemake drove the birds to nest on the islet of
Motu Nui
Motu Nui (''large island'' in the Rapa Nui language) is the largest of three islets just south of Easter Island and is the List of extreme points of Chile, most westerly place in Chile and all of South America. All three islets have seabirds, ...
('big islet'), the center of the ''tangata-manu'' (bird-man) sect. Four gods were associated with it: Makemake,
Haua-tuꞌu-take-take ('Chief of the eggs', usually simply called 'Haua'), ''vîꞌe'' Hoa (Haua's wife) and ''vîꞌe'' Kenatea. Each of the four gods had a supernatural servant, whose "names were given" in the ceremonies.
The ''ivi atua'' was the 'seer' who has the vision to select who swam to Motu Nui. A ''hopu'' was one of those who make the swim to the islet. Per Englert, the ''hopu manu'' were "those who served the ''tagata manu'' and, upon finding the first ''manutara'' egg, took it to Orongo
n the mainland"
The ''manu tara'', or sooty tern, was the bird that the ceremony centred on; it was the first ''manu tara'' egg that was the goal of the ceremony.
Companions
Makemake's principal companion was
Haua
Haua () or Haua tuꞌu taketake, also known as the 'Chief of the eggs', was the companion of the creator god Makemake of Easter Island. Little is known of him, or of any aspects of indigenous religion on the island, but prayers said before eating ...
. "The formula which accompanies an offering to Makemake always includes Haua who appears in the myth as the god's companion."
Makemake's offspring were Tive, Rorai, Hova and "the noblewoman Arangi-kote-kote".
Media coverage
Makemake is featured in the 2000 BBC documentary ''
The Lost Gods of Easter Island'' hosted by
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...
, where he embarks on a personal quest to uncover the history of a strange wooden figurine carving which turned up in an auction room in New York during the 1980s.
In astronomy
The
trans-Neptunian dwarf planet Makemake is so named because both the planet and the island are connected to
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
; the planet was discovered shortly after Easter 2005, and the first European contact with Easter Island was on Easter Sunday 1722.
The dwarf planet's code name was "Easterbunny".
References
*
Alfred Métraux
Alfred Métraux (5 November 1902 – 12 April 1963) was a Swiss and Argentine anthropologist, ethnologist and human rights leader.
Early life
Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, Métraux spent much of his childhood in Argentina where his father was a ...
.
940
Year 940 ( CMXL) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* The tribe of the Polans begins the construction of the following fortified settlements (Gie ...
1971. ''Ethnology of Easter Island.'' Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 160.
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
: Bishop Museum Press.
*
Katherine Routledge The Mystery of Easter Island 1919
*
External link
{{Commonscatinline
Creator gods
Fertility gods
Polynesian gods
Mythological hybrids
Rapa Nui gods
Easter Island
Deity
A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...
Harvest gods