In Rapa Nui mythology, who was the first king?

In Rapa Nui mythology, Hotu Matuʻa was the first king, or ariki mau, of Easter Island.

Rapa Nui traditions describe Hotu Matuʻa as the island’s legendary first settler and supreme chief. According to the best-known origin story, he came from Hiva, a homeland whose exact historical location is debated, and arrived with a colonizing group. The party is associated with Anakena, a beach on the northern coast of Rapa Nui.

The stories say that Hotu Matuʻa’s descendants divided the island among clans linked to his sons. This makes him both a founding ancestor and a political figure in Rapa Nui tradition. The name is also written Hotu Matua or Hotu Matuꞌa, reflecting different spelling conventions for the glottal stop.

The answer is mythological rather than a securely documented historical fact. Settlement evidence places Polynesian arrival broadly between about 300 and 800 CE, while the chronology and details of Hotu Matuʻa’s reign cannot be independently verified. Tuʻu ko Iho appears in alternative interpretations, but Hotu Matuʻa remains the standard answer to this question.