Rongorongo script
Origin
The people of Easter Island were possibly inspired to invent the
Rongorongo script after seeing the writing used by the Spanish
when they annexed the island in 1770. The Easter Islanders were
apparently impressed by the mana or power of the Spaniards’
writing.
Rongorongo was used until the 1860s, after which knowledge of
the script was lost. Nowadays most Easter Islanders write in
Spanish using the Latin alphabet though a few try to write their
own language, Rapanui, also with the Latin alphabet.
Since missionaries started visiting Easter Island in the 1860s,
they have taken an interest in the mysterious Rongorongo symbols. A number
of attempts have been made to decipher them, none of which have been
completely successful, though in his book Rongorongo: The Easter Island
Script, Steven Roger Fischer, Director of the
Institute of Polynesian Languages and Literatures in Auckland, New Zealand,
claims to have unlocked its mysteries.
Two other scripts were once used on Easter Island: Ta’u
and Mama, but little is known about them as very few
inscriptions have been found.
Notable features
- The Rongorongo script consists of about 120 symbols, mainly
representations of birds, fish, gods, plants and a variety of
geometric shapes. - Some of the symbols represent whole words, some represent
sounds and others represent abstract concepts. - Rongorongo was used be priests to write a limited range of
rhetorical statements and helped to reassert their authority.
Used to write
Rapanui, a Polynesian language spoken by about 2,500 people
on Easter Island and also in Chile, Tahiti and the USA.
Some of the symbols used in the Rongorongo script
Links
Further information about the Rongorongo script and decipherment efforts
http://www.netaxs.com/~trance/rongo.html
The Rongorongo of Easter Island – includes many samples of Rongorongo inscriptions
http://www.rongorongo.org
An introduction to the language of Easter Island – includes English <> Rapa Nui dictionary
http://www.rongorongo.org/vanaga/
Easter Island Home Page
http://www.netaxs.com/~trance/rapanui.html
Information about Easter Island (in Spanish and English)
http://www.rapanui.cl