Easter Island Hand Carved BIRDMAN FERTILITY Rapa Nui Tangata Manu Bone Eyes

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Easter Island Hand Carved BIRDMAN FERTILITY Rapa Nui Tangata Manu Bone Eyes:
$375.00

THE FERTILITY BIRDMAN of Easter ISLAND

The Tangata manu (\"bird-man,\" from tangata \"person, human being\" + manu \"bird\") was the winner of a traditional competition on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The ritual was an annual competition to collect the first sooty tern (manu tara) egg of the season from the islet of Motu Nui, swim back to Rapa Nui and climb the sea cliff of Rano Kau to the clifftop village of Orongo.

The Impressive Birdman Ceremony

Opposite the cliffs on which Orongo Village is located, is a cluster of islets home to some of the last remaining birds nesting at Easter Island. The Birdman Ceremony took place every year, with each clan chief nominating a young champion to try and win the crown of the coveted new Birdman. Competitors would have to descend the formidable cliff before plunging into the raging Pacific Ocean and swimming for their lives for approximately 1 mile out to the largest of the 3 islets, Motu Nui. Here they would await the arrival of the Sooty Tern birds, with the champion’s mission to be the first one to grab the first Sooty Tern egg to be laid. When the first egg was laid, the champion would place it into a small woven basket on their head to protect it. The Ceremony had just reached over the halfway point as the competitor would have to plunge back into the water which to add insult to injury are full of sharks most of the time, and swim back to the mainland before ascending the cliff and presenting the egg to the Chief of the tribe that had sponsored him.

This solid hard wood Birdman was hand carved in the the early 1970\'s. The Birdman is approximately 13 inches in height. His eyes are White/Black Bone. I traded 5 pairs of Levis Jeans for The Birdman while I was working there in the 80\'s. This is truly one-of a- kind as I have not seen another like it sold on or Amazon. A true conversation piece and collector\'s item. I filmed a documentary for Discovery Channel and brought back these pieces. The last pictures are of the carver from whom I obtained the pieces. Shipping includes insurance.

See the extra photos for imagery on the Fertility Birdman

Note: The feet were reglued by carver, however slight the imperfection.

A bit about Easter Island
EasterIsland (Rapa Nui: Rapa Nui, Spanish: Isla de Pascua) is a Polynesian island inthe southEastern Pacific Ocean, at the southEastern most point of thePolynesian Triangle. Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumentalstatues, called moai, created by the early Rapa Nui people.

Please see the other Easter Island Hand Carved pieces. Feel free to make an offer on all three.
152025790091,
152025790344,
152034483038