Anita Ruthling Klaussen

One of the unexpected (to us) activities of the Tapati Festival was the Body Painting….I had thought tattoos, but, this was full dipping into red, white or yellow clay, letting it dry and waiting in a queue for designs to be applied by artists in black, white, gold, orange.

A parade then followed in the village of Hanga Roa, right down the one main street. It seemed everyone was participating. There were interludes of dance and music and floats with the Pua and Mahaki contestants for queen.