Tangata Manu - man bird

According to the explorer Alfred Métraux, the Tangata manu ("man-bird") is, for one year, the arbiter of the conflicts between clans on the island of Easter. As such, it is "neutral" and sacred. To become Tangata manu, the Hopu (representative of each clan) must dive into the ocean from the cliff of Orongo, swim with a sheaf of totora until the uninhabited rocky islet of Motu Nui ("Big rock"), stand there and wait for the first egg of the Manutara tern season, collect it, swim back to Easter Island and climb the cliff of Rano Kau, Ariki nui ("great warrior": the "king" of the island).