SOME ETHNOLOGICAL SUGGESTIONS IN REGARD
TO EASTER ISLAND, OR RAPANUI.
BY HENRY BALFOUR.
I have been invited to contribute as a supplement to Mrs. Routledge's most interesting paper on Easter Island the gist of certain suggestions which I have recently made concerning the ethnology of the island. I have great pleasures in so doing, although my ideas have as yet had but little chance of maturing and are still in a somewhat embryonic state. My spare time has been given up to war-work abroad, and I have in consequence been unable to refer to much of the material contained in museums and in the literature. The following notes I offer as a tentative sketch only, with the idea of suggesting what may prove a fruitful line of enquiry. The solution of the ethnological problem of Easter Island culture has always presented the greatest difficulty, and it still remains one of the most baffling of puzzles. One is glad that the case has been re-opened for discussion by the enterprising and remarkable expedition which was undertaken by Mr. and Mrs. Routledge and has been so happily brought to a successful conclusion.
There are certain prominent features in the culture of the Easter Islanders with which especially I wish to deal, in the hopes that I may be able to suggest certain lines of enquiry which may prove of value to those who propose to pursue researches in this subject, and who aim at diagnosing the complex cultural elements which are so striking a feature of this remote volcanic island. These are (1) the
