Writing systems (RNE)

While the development of Afro-Eurasian writing systems were practically unaffected by the divergence in the Rapa Nui Empire history, the languages of Indonesia, Malenesia, Polynesia, and South America were deeply affected. Most notably, the Rongorongo script, developed on Rapa Nui, spread across the Pacific realm. Quipu – string-based recording devices created in Andean South America – continued being used and developed into a full writing system. Lastly, the Javanese script was used more broadly, as Java became a key island on the Pacific trade route.

Rongorongo

An early 13th century Rongorongo tablet.

Rongorongo was developed on Rapa Nui shortly after the population arrived on the island from the Marquesas Islands. The script was largely developed to record the journeys of the Rapa Nui ancestors, who were deified during this period. Rongorongo was only used by spiritual leaders, and literacy in 1100 CE was extremely low. However, as new journeys were made to the islands east of Rapa Nui, the writing system was taught to navigators in order to ensure the proper recording of history.

Navigators began the practice of writing detailed descriptions of their journeys on the hulls of their canoes. In doing this, extensive records of ocean navigation were created. It sometimes occurred that shipwrecked wood pieces would find their way to populated islands, in which case the writing served as a record of the journey. Rongorongo was primarily written on rosewood, which was particularly hardy when it came to salt water. Rapa Nui people sometimes released Rongorongo texts in the sea with the hope that these writings would be carried to other islands, which successfully happened at least once.

Deforestation among the Rapa islands was a major issue in the late 14th and the 15th century. Rosewood became extinct on Rapa Nui itself in 1378, and had to be imported from the islands further east. This further spurred the Rapa Nui people to further establish a firm colony on the American mainland, where different wood types were available in abundance. Aromita became a very popular wood type to produce books, which consisted of 6 to 16 thin wooden slabs tied together. Woodwork was largely done on the mainland, before the blank books were shipped to the Rapa islands to be written on.

Literacy among the Rapa Nui people was still very low in the early 15th century, with only 15% of the population able to read in 1410. However, as sailors spread the writing systems to other regions, Rongorongo quickly gained usage there. There was no class divide in learning Rongorongo on Tonga or Fiji, and literacy in these kingdoms exceeded 50% by 1420. Mapuche servants in Hiva also learned the script, initially to better service the colonial rule, but it was quickly used to record local stories and mythology. Though the Rapa Nui government initially wanted to reserve the syllabary for the religious class and navigators, it quickly became obvious that widespread literacy was vital for large-scale trade. With the influx of Hindu texts, both in Rongorongo and Javanese, the Rapa Nui government began promoting Rongorongo, and literacy reached 80% on the islands in 1440.

Palm-leaf manuscripts, popular in Indonesia, were imported to Fiji, Tonga, and Rapa Nui in the early 15th century. This format was more economical in the Pacific realm because of the low weight of these manuscripts. Palm-leaf never fully replaced wood for Rongorongo, though the medium was highly popular in the Tonga empire and was considered a more royal alternative on Rapa Nui itself.