Hotu-iti (also, "Tongariki territory") is an area of southeastern Easter Island that takes its name from a local clan. Located in Rapa Nui National Park, the area includes Rano Raraku crater, the Ahu Tongariki site, and a small bay. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Hotu-iti clan was one of two polities on Easter Island.
Hotu-iti contains Rano Raraku crater, which is the island's only source of a type of stone that was considered to be the best for carving statues; it was also a source of moss which was used for canoe caulking.[1] Hotuiti Bay, a small cove, is protected by the cliffs of the Poike Peninsula.[2][3] According to local legend, the god Tangaroa was killed in the bay and was buried in the vicinity.[4] The Rano Raraku cliffs and quarry stand above Hotu-iti. The landscape has been described as a "wondrous spiritual landscape of striking beauty".[5][6]
In the 15th and 16th centuries, the island was divided into two polities, described as either west (Tu'u)[7] and east (Hotu-iti) confederacies, with Hotu-iti being the lower ranked;[5] or northern (Tu'u Aro) and southern (Hotu-iti).[8] In 1960, a tsunami, approximately Шаблон:Convert above sea level, crossed Шаблон:Convert of Hotu-iti, sweeping away ahu and moai (statues), and scattering them by Шаблон:Convert.[9] Fifteen statues of Hotu-iti's Ahu Tongariki site were damaged;[10] a team of Japanese archaeologists restored the site between 1992 and 1994.[10]
Leadership
In Polynesian mythology, Hotu-iti was the youngest and favourite son of Hotu Matu'a, the legendary first settler of Easter Island.[10][11] One of the known chiefs of the Hotu-iti clan was Kainga, said to be a descendant of the sixth son of the first king who "proved himself a valiant warrior." He had a son who succeeded him named Huriavai.[12] The Tupahotu, Koro-Orongo and Ure-o-Hei clans were considered part of the Hotu-iti clan.[13]
