Meeting around Pou Hokanononga

A conversation with curator Nicolas Cauwe & author Thomas Lavachéry (in French)

Slightly hidden in the museum is Easter Island's impressive moai statue: Pou Hakanononga, also called 'the god of tuna fishers'. The statue is some 700 years old, making it the oldest known statue from Rapa Nui, as Easter Island was originally called. It was unearthed in 1934 during a Franco-Belgian expedition and subsequently donated to the museum. The expedition was led by Henry Lavachery (RMAH) and Alfred Métraux (Musée de l'Homme). The statue was transported to Belgium by ship Mercator - a daring undertaking, given its weight of 6 tons.

In this tête-à-tête, two special guests interact at the foot of the statue.

Thomas Lavachery, author and grandson of Henry Lavachery, recently wrote the graphic novel Caballero Bueno, along with illustrator Thomas Gilbert. The story is set on Rapa Nui, and was inspired by both the island and his grandfather's expedition.

Nicolas Cauwe, curator of the museum's Oceania collections, has himself traveled to Rapa Nui more than twenty times for excavations and archaeological research. He recently published a study specifically devoted to Pou Hakanononga.

This talk is part of a temporary presentation, featuring original drawings from Caballero Bueno, historical photographs of the 1934 expedition, and two remarkable wooden figurines from the Oceania collection: a moai kavaka

The meeting point is at the Art & History Museum reception desk.