The word rongorongo is used to denote the texts which were written by the Easter Islanders. Sometimes the word is also used for the system of writing or for the objects - mostly wooden tablets - on which the texts were written. "The kaikai are the rythmic songs that are sung to cat's cradles, the string games that are found not only throughout the Pacific but throughout the world. On premissionary Rapa Nui the kaikai, together with their corresponding cat's cradles, were not simple children's games but were used, among other things, to produce magic effect. They were highly important for the study of Rapa Nui's rongorongo. This is because it was apparently with the aid of cat's cradles that the rongorongo experts taught their pupils to learn many of the chants accompanying the incised inscriptions." (Fischer)

 "The late Amelia Tepano Ika was a beloved link with the past, a much sought-after teacher of the art of kaikai, string figures made and presented with accompanying chants." (Van Tilburg)