The flag of Easter Island first flew in public, alongside the Chilean flag, on 9 May 2006.
Easter Island is a special territory of Chile.
Adorning the flag’s white field is a red Reimiro, an ornament worn around the chest.
The Reimiro … served as an insignia of high rank, and the paramount chief of the island was said to have worn two of them as pectorals and two others on his shoulders on special occasions. The crescent shape may refer to the moon, an association found throughout Polynesia. The significance of the heads is unknown, though they may relate to ancestors. [Indiana Art Museum]
Bonus facts: Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen made the first European contact with the island on Easter Sunday 1722. Its name is Isla de Pascua (Easter Island) in Spanish and Rapa Nui (Big Rapa) in Polynesian. Dwarf planet Makemake’s name comes from the creator of humanity in Rapa Nui mythology. Makemake was discovered just after Easter 2005, and its code name was ‘Easter Bunny’.
Author: Alex Crouch, Flag Institute accredited journalist (2015/16).
