First Of All, What Is Easter Island?
Easter Island, or known as Rapa Nui, is a territory of Chile and is located in the southeastern area of the Pacific Ocean. This island is famed for its hundreds of rocky statues, called Moai. The island was originally inhabited by the Rapa Nui people, indigenous Polynesian peoples who build these structures from around 1200-1500. The distinct features, differing from other structures built around this time, fascinated travellers and archaeologists. Thus, many questions have arised about the representation of these statues and why they were built, which I will be illustrating the answers to.
Why Were These Statues Built?
The Moai are depicted as enlarged heads and towering statues made of volcanic tuff. Moai can range from having only a head, or posessing a full body. Due to oral traditions and Rapa Nui culture, the meaning of these statues is that they were meant to represent respected ancient ancestors. They would build multiple of these to face inland and to protect the Rapa Nui living inside the island. In addition to this, they would also place some facing the ocean, in order to protect travellers. The Rapa Nui did this because they believed that these statues possesed a power called mana, which is a spiritual energy that provides protection to their people.
Debunking Common Beliefs About The Moai
- The Moai Only Consist Of Heads
It may be easy to assume that the Moai mainly consist of heads due to their common appearance in Easter Island. However, due to excavation, some of them have been revealed to actually have full torsos buried underground, with hands and intricate details engraved into them.
2. The Moai Were Built By An Ancient Civilization
Some people believe that the Moai were built by an ancient civilization whom mysteriously dissapeared. Although, as you may already know, the Moai were built by the Rapa Nui people, who still live and thrive to this day.
3. The Moai Statues Are “Eye-less”
From first glance, it may seem that this myth seems to be true. However, the Moai originally had volcanic rocks inserted into their eye sockets. There are some restored statues that have these eyes in order to depict how they may have looked before.