Reimiro

An oldrei miro,with human faces on each end. This is the inner side, which was once filled with chalk.

Areimirois a crescent-shapedpectoral ornamentonce worn by the people ofEaster Island.The name comes from theRapanuirei('stern' or 'prow') andmiro('boat'). Thus the crescent represents aPolynesian canoe.

Each side of thereimiroended in a human face. The outer, display side had two small pierced bumps through which a cord was strung for hanging it. The inner side contained a cavity that was filled with chalk made from powdered seashells.

Areimiroprovides the image of theFlag of Rapa Nui(Easter Island). It also appears to feature in therongorongoscript of Easter Island (as glyph 07:), andonereimirois preserved with a long rongorongo text.

Although the human faces on thereimiroare unique to Easter Island, the pectoral itself is part of a wider tradition. In theSolomon Islands,for example, women wear shell pectorals which resemblereimiro.

Gallery

• 
  Areimirois the emblem of theFlag of Rapa Nui.
• 
  A large (61 cm)reimirowith very stylized faces. It may be that pectorals of this size were worn by men.
• 
  Areimiroinscribed with rongorongo glyphs
• 
  A Solomon Islands woman wearing a shell pectoral resembling areimiro

References

• Stéphen-Charles Chauvet.1935.L'île de Pâques et ses mystères( "Easter Island and its Mysteries" ). Paris: Éditions Tel. (An online English version is availablechauvet-translation here.)

External links

• Splendid Isolation: Art of Easter Island,an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Reimiro
• Areimiroat the Indiana University Art Museum