Orongo
Where the birdman race ended: Orongo is a village of low, sod-covered, windowless round-walled houses on the rim of the Rano Kau caldera at the south-western tip of Rapa Nui, with a 300 m cliff falling to the sea on one side. Between the eighteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries it was the centre of the tangata manu cult, whose annual race was to bring the first sooty tern egg back undamaged from the islet of Motu Nui. Its petroglyphs, mostly birdmen, may mark the winners. Coordinates: Wikidata -27.1894/-109.4425 = OSM -27.1893/-109.4432. Sources checked 2026-09-29: CONAF live.
Dated events and their evidence
- 1700 CE mainstream
centre of the tangata manu birdman cult from the eighteenth century source - 1860 CE mainstream
the cult ends by the mid-nineteenth century source
Where
27.1894° S, 109.4425° W
Sources
Each event carries Aion's own evidence grade (mainstream, disputed or speculative). This page repeats what the globe shows for this place.