Reimiro
{{Short description|Crescent-shaped pectoral ornament of Easter Island}}
A reimiro is a crescent-shaped pectoral ornament once worn by the people of Easter Island. The name comes from the Rapanui {{wikt-lang|rap|rei}} ('stern' or 'prow') and {{wikt-lang|rap|miro}} ('boat'). Thus the crescent represents a Polynesian canoe.
Each side of the reimiro ended 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.
A reimiro provides the image of the Flag of Rapa Nui (Easter Island). It also appears to feature in the rongorongo script of Easter Island (as glyph 07: 12px), and one reimiro is preserved with a long rongorongo text.
Although the human faces on the reimiro are unique to Easter Island, the pectoral itself is part of a wider tradition. In the Solomon Islands, for example, women wear shell pectorals which resemble reimiro.
Gallery
Image:Flag of Rapa Nui, Chile.svg|A reimiro is the emblem of the Flag of Rapa Nui.
Image:Reimiro without faces.jpg|A large (61 cm) reimiro with very stylized faces. It may be that pectorals of this size were worn by men.
Image:Rongorongo L rei miro 2.jpg|A reimiro inscribed with rongorongo glyphs
Image:Woman with rei-miro.jpg|A Solomon Islands woman wearing a shell pectoral resembling a reimiro
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 available [http://www.chauvet-translation.com/index.htm www.chauvet-translation.com here].)
External links
{{Commons category|Rei Miro}}
- [https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15324coll10/id/101315 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
- [http://www.iub.edu/~iuam/online_modules/wielgus/polynesia/polynesia39.html A reimiro at the Indiana University Art Museum]
{{Easter Island}}{{Culture of Oceania}}