Kon-Tiki expedition in the Kon-Tiki Museum at Bygdøy in Oslo. "Kon-Tiki" had a six-man crew, all of whom were Norwegian except for Bengt Danielsson, a Swede. The expedition also carried a pet parrot named Lorita. The main body of the float was composed of nine balsa tree trunks up to long, in diameter, lashed together with hemp ropes. Cross-pieces of balsa logs long and in diameter were lashed across the logs at intervals to give lateral support. Pine splashboards clad the bow, and lengths of pine thick and wide were wedged between the balsa logs and used as centreboards. The main mast
Thor Heyerdahl their speech. Heyerdahl claimed that in Incan legend there was a sun-god named Con-Tici Viracocha who was the supreme head of the mythical fair-skinned people in Peru. The original name for Viracocha was "Kon-Tiki" or "Illa-Tiki", which means "Sun-Tiki" or "Fire-Tiki". Kon-Tiki was high priest and sun-king of these legendary "white men" who left enormous ruins on the shores of Lake Titicaca. The legend continues with the mysterious bearded white men being attacked by a chief named Cari, who came from the Coquimbo Valley. They had a battle on an island in Lake Titicaca, and the fair race was massacred.