Introduction

This introduction offers a social history of Rapa Nui that puts into relief the various forces that have effected change in Rapanui society, extending from precontact times to the 1960s—the point at which the Rapanui people were finally endowed with recognition of their basic human rights and the point at which tourism commenced in earnest. This history includes a short detour through the discourses of collapse and “ecocide” that permeate Rapanui scholarship. This is followed by a discussion of music and sustainability that provides a theoretical and disciplinary grounding for the study. Finally, the introduction provides an explanation of the structure of the book and the chapters that follow.

Chilean Culture

This chapter provides a discussion of Chile’s interactions with Rapa Nui before, during, and after the island’s annexation, and the impact of these interactions in Rapanui music culture. It considers both the effect of Chilean cultural imports on Rapanui musical practices and the ways in which Chile has acted as a conduit to influences from a broader pan-American cultural context. The chapter explains the role of Chilean folklore in inspiring a local ensemble (or conjunto) performance style that centers on the guitar. It also describes the emergence of Tapati Rapa Nui, the island’s annual cultural festival, which was originally inspired by Chilean “spring queen” festivals.

Religion and Renewal

This chapter considers developments in Rapanui music in relation to the seminal influence of the Catholic Church from the 1860s through to the present day. Sacred Heart missionaries arrived on Rapa Nui in the 1860s where they played an important role in the community’s cultural renewal, including fostering interactions with the outside world. The Church became a center for various aspects of Rapanui social life, as well as a context for protest against the island’s administration in the early twentieth century. The music of the Church, as well as secular songs performed by missionaries, had a generative influence in Rapanui music, providing new melodic and harmonic ideas that have been woven into Rapanui tradition. Meanwhile, the Rapa Nui Mass has been maintained into the twenty-first century, where it now features in cultural tourism. This chapter draws on historical sources provided by writers associated with the Church, complemented by participant observation of contemporary Church performance practices.

Singing and Survival

This chapter describes traditional Rapanui music as passed down from precontact times and preserved by Rapanui culture bearers in the 1870s. It draws on two main sources of information: descriptions provided by early explorers and ethnologists on the one hand, and knowledge collected through participant observation fieldwork on the other. The chapter describes the contexts for musical performances in precontact Rapa Nui, as well as the instruments, dances, adornments, and other items associated with performance. It then describes the musical characteristics and social function of precontact Rapanui songs and chants, with explanations of the various styles and categories that have been applied to Rapanui songs over time.

Epilogue

This epilogue recounts a personal interaction with Rapanui music master Kiko Pate on the occasion of his son’s wedding. It then presents Pate’s changing attitudes toward musical transmission, culminating in his efforts to reach out to a new generation of young Rapanui performers in the years leading up to his death. This biographical account serves as an allegory for the way in which Rapanui musicians have reached out to the world, and to their own futures, through song.

Commercial Connections

This chapter considers Rapanui music in relation to global commercial influences, especially those emanating from the United States from the 1960s onward. It reveals how Rapanui performers over two generations have made sense of global cultural influences, and how these have in turn been represented in Rapanui music. It considers the capacity for Rapanui performers to extend beyond the confines of Chilean folklore performance contexts and into mainstream global popular culture, providing key examples of groups and individuals who have achieved some level of national or international popularity. It also considers the impact of the development of a local recording industry on Rapa Nui and how Rapanui musicians have responded to sound recording opportunities.

Polynesian Pathways

This chapter considers interactions between the Rapanui and other Polynesians, and the impact of these interactions on Rapanui music. The relationship to Polynesia, especially Tahiti and, more recently, New Zealand and Hawaii, is central to contemporary Rapanui constructions of identity and provides a counterpoint to prevailing cultural influence from Chile. This has been manifested in musical choices, including the adoption and adaptation of particular elements of pan-Pacific performance practice. However, as this chapter reveals, the influence is long-standing, dating back to the 1860s, when the arrival of missionaries, together with their Polynesian assistants, enabled a physical and cultural link to French Polynesia.