The Bird Cult of Easter Island. 347
another carving, a small design which is also very frequent, still survives and corroborates this by analogy ; within living memory it was the custom for women of the island to come up here and be immortalized by having one of these representations cut on the rock by a professional expert. We know therefore that conventional forms were used as memorials of certain definite persons.^
The bird-man, having obtained the egg, took it in his hand, palm upwards, on a piece of tappa and danced with a rejoicing company down the slope of Rano Kao and along the southern coast. This procedure, which is known as " haka epa," or " make shelf," from the position of the hand with regard to the egg, was continued till the party reached Rano Raraku, the mountain especially connected with the images. This mountain is at the south-east end of the island, some ten miles distant from Rano Kao ; it resembles the latter in being an extinct volcano with a crater lake, but stands back a mile from the coast and is only about 500 feet in height ; its shape is that of a shallow vessel of which the base is larger than the brim.- On the south side of the mountain, towards the summit, are extensive workings in which lie scores of images in every stage of evolution. These quarries are both within the crater and outside, and below them, on the debris and detritus, a large number of the figures have been set up. Amongst the statues thus placed on the exterior slope, most of which are still standing, there is shown at the south-west corner the foundations of a house. This is the point which would first be approached from the southern coast, and in this house the bird-man remained
^ This figure with that of the bird-man and the ao are all roughly carved on the back of the statue at the British Museum. They appear to be later workmanship than the raised ring and girdle to which allusion is made below. Unfortunately, the light in the portico is bad.
- The word ",Rano " signifies a crater lake. It is, according to Turner, Malagasy for water, but is only used in Easter Island in the restricted sense.
