Whats the difference between “Rapa Nui” and “Rapanui”?
A. “Rapa Nui” is the Polynesian name that was given to Easter Island after its European discovery in 1722, ostensibly by Tahitian sailors who wanted to differentiate between Easter Island and the island of Rapa, 404 miles [650 kilometers] south of Tahiti. In so far as Easter Island is larger than Rapa and “nui” is the Polynesian word for “big”, the name “Rapa Nui” means “big Rapa”. That’s not the end of the story, of course. Interestingly, the 19th century French missionary Hippolyte Roussel (writing on behalf of the Order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary in Paris) noted that “The name ‘Rapa Nui’ is unknown to the natives. This designation of their homeland was introduced by foreigners or, more likely, by the natives of neighboring islands that would have landed here on whaling ships. No matter whom I asked and how many times , asking over and over again to confirm the truth of their assertions, they always answered, ‘We don’t know the name Rapa nui — our land has never had its ow
