Birdman cult

E292562

The Birdman cult was a religious and political tradition on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) centered on an annual competition to retrieve the first sooty tern egg, which conferred sacred status and leadership on the victor.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Birdman cult canonical 2

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (44)

Predicate Object
instanceOf political tradition
religious tradition
ritual competition
associatedArt petroglyphs of birdmen
rock carvings at Orongo
associatedBird Onychoprion fuscatus
linked to: Onychoprion

sooty tern
associatedIsland Motu Iti
Motu Nui
linked to: Motu Nui islet
associatedWith Tangata manu
centeredOn annual competition
retrieval of first sooty tern egg
competitionOutcome conferral of leadership
conferral of sacred status
country Chile
culturalContext Polynesian religious traditions
Rapa Nui religion
linked to: Rapa Nui mythology
declineCause Christianization of Rapa Nui
Peruvian slave raids
epidemic diseases
documentedBy 19th-century explorers
European missionaries
flourishedUntil late 19th century
heritageStatus part of Rapa Nui National Park
languageOfName Rapa Nui language
locatedIn Easter Island
Rapa Nui
linked to: Easter Island
mainDeity Makemake
politicalRole selection of temporal leader
religiousConcept fertility and renewal
sacred kingship
religiousRole selection of sacred leader
ritualPractice cliff descent from Orongo
dangerous sea swim to Motu Nui
presentation of first egg to patron chief
ritualSite Orongo
Rano Kau crater rim
socialStructure competition among clan champions
successorReligion Roman Catholicism on Rapa Nui
timePeriod early historic period
late prehistoric period
titleOfVictor birdman
tangata manu
linked to: Tangata manu
UNESCOStatus associated with UNESCO World Heritage Site Rapa Nui National Park

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.