Crescent-shaped pectoral ornament of Easter Island
A reimiro is a crescent-shaped pectoral ornament once worn by the people of
Easter Island. The name comes from the
Rapanuirei ('
stern' or '
prow') and miro ('boat'). Thus the crescent represents a
Polynesian canoe.
Each side of the reimiro ended in a human face. The outer, display side had two small pierced bumps through which a cord was strung for hanging it. The inner side contained a cavity that was filled with chalk made from powdered seashells.
A reimiro provides the image of the
Flag of Rapa Nui (Easter Island). It also appears to feature in the
rongorongo script of Easter Island (as glyph 07: ), and
one reimiro is preserved with a long rongorongo text.
Although the human faces on the reimiro are unique to Easter Island, the pectoral itself is part of a wider tradition. In the
Solomon Islands, for example, women wear shell pectorals which resemble reimiro.
Splendid Isolation: Art of Easter Island, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Reimiro