Hanau epe Totally Explained

Everything about The Hanau Epe totally explained

The Hanau epe or Long-ears were a group of semi-legendary people who are said to have arrived at Easter Island. According to some theories (particularly the one popularised by Thor Heyerdahl), they were a South American indigenous people; but most evidence suggests that the original Easter Islanders were Polynesian in origin. Sebastian Englert states that "Long-Ear" is a misinterpretation of Hanau ‘E‘epe "stout race".

The Legend

There are two legends about how the Hanau epe reached Easter Island. The first is that they arrived sometime after the local Polynesians and tried to enslave them. However, some earlier accounts place the Hanau epe as the original inhabitants and the Polynesians as later immigrants from Oparo or Rapa Iti. According to this story, after the arrival of both groups, mutual suspicions led to a violent clash, and the Hanau epe were exterminated, except for one. In 1772, a description of the islands demographics by Jacob Roggeveen claimed that there were two distinctive ethnic groups: Polynesians and 'White' people, whose earlobes were lengthened a great amount. This suggests that the Hanau epe were not exterminated, but still lived peacefully alongside the Polynesians.

South American/Easter Island links

   The fact that many of the staple vegetables of the Rapanui diet are of South American origin, suggests there must have been some contact between Easter Island and the South American continent. Possibly the Polynesians sailed to South America and back, or South American balsa rafts drifted to Easter Island, and were then unable to return due to their inferior naval skills - or both. The small island of Sala y Gomez, east of Easter Island bears the Polynesian name Manu Motu Motiro Hiva ("Bird's islet on the way to a far away land"), suggests that Polynesians may have known of South America. Also, the word for "far away land" (Hiva) is the word for the islanders legendary home country.
   There is also evidence that the Mapuche peoples in Chile have Polynesian connections dating back to prehispanic times.
   In June 2007, a group of Chilean and New Zealand archaeologists analysed a single chicken bone recovered from the archaeological site of El Arenal-1, on the Arauco Peninsula, Chile. From radiocarbon dating and DNA analysis, they provide firm evidence for the pre-Columbian (and probably Polynesian) introduction of chickens to the Americas.

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