What is the name of the Rapa Nui birdman cult?

The Rapa Nui birdman cult was called tangata manu.

The phrase literally means “bird-person” or “birdman,” and it also referred to the victorious sponsor in the ritual competition. Each year, representatives sent hopu swimmers from the cliffs of Orongo across shark-filled waters to Motu Nui, where they sought the first sooty tern egg of the season.

The swimmer who found the egg returned to Rapa Nui and climbed the cliffs with it. The contestant whose representative succeeded became the tangata manu; his clan gained important privileges, including control over that season’s wild bird eggs and fledglings. The winner then entered a period of ritual seclusion.

The cult centered on Makemake, the chief deity associated with the birdman religion. Orongo’s ceremonial village preserves many carvings connected with the tradition. The practice declined after Christian missionaries arrived and was suppressed in the 1860s. “Orongo” is therefore a major site in the story, not the name of the cult itself.