As I promised in my previous post, here are some photos of Orongo – the birdman ceremonial village. The 54 houses based on stone slabs were only used for a couple weeks out of the year for the tangata-manu (birdman) competition – a race to find the first egg of manutara in the Motu Nui islet. Chiefs, or hopu (their representatives) from different tribes came to Orongo and prepared for competition. The participants went down through the cliff and swam to the islet waiting on the annual migration of seabirds and staying until the lucky one found the first egg. This person was then endowed as the sacred birdman until the next spring. The importance of this competition and it’s role in the ancient society is evident by petroglyphs and cave paintings around the island.