Moai

  Ancestor worship was common throughout Polynesia with the idea that an important person's mana (spiritual power) continued to be effective and able to influence the outcome of events long after their death.  The only place in the world that these statues were made to such huge size is Rapa Nui.  On Easter Island when a chief or important member of a tribe died, a statue was ordered from the quarry at Rano Raraku and transported across the island back to his or her villiage, where it would be placed in such a way as to overlook the village and their decendents.  The Moai were not faced out to sea, they were faced inwards in order to watch over and protect their own people.

  Once the Moai were transported to their final resting place the finishing touches to their faces were made and the eyes made of coral were set in place.  The Rapanui believed that once the eyes were put in place on the Moai the spirit of the ancestor would then possess the Moai.  Some Moai also had hair tied in a bun on the top of their head.  It looked a bit like a hat but was the traditional way that the Moai wore their hair at that time.  The rock that they used for the hair was red. The Moai were set on stone platforms when they were put in their final position.  The stone platform held either the corpse of the ancestor underneath it or they cremated the body on the platform behind the Moai and then buried the ashes beneath.  

  To make a Moai the Rapanui had to go through various stages.  The Moai were all made out of volcanic rock and carved with obsidian stone tools.  First of all they would select a piece of stone in the quarry and carve it on its back with all the detail except for the eye sockets.  The back of the statue was carefully cut away from the bedrock in the form of a keel, and the released Moai slid down the slope using a system of ropes and pulleys.  It was then lowered into a preprepared pit and stood upright so that the carving of the back could be completed.  The Moai was then transported to its final position by being pulled with ropes while being rolled on a series of logs.  The quarry still contains more than 397 Moai in various stages of completion.

  All of the statues on Easter Island were at one point thrown from their platforms.  Many were broken and all have suffered from being exposed to the elements and the islands harsh climate.  The Moai were all pushed over by the Rapanui, there are two theories of why.  One is because of tribal wars caused by the lack of resources left on the island which led to clans attacking each other in search of supplies.  In their raids they destroyed the other clans Moai.  The other theory is that the islanders simply lost faith in the Moai having seen generation after    generation of their ancestors invest all of their time and energy into these Moai and never felt that they were receiving anything from the gods in return.  Many Moai have since been stood back up into their original positions, however some were too badly damaged to be restored.  

  The Moai are really special, not just to visitors but especially to the Rapanui.  My favorite area was definitely the quarry at Rano Raraku because there are so many unfinished but incredible Moai.  Wallking around there was fantastic.  The Moai with the hair were the ones I liked the best because of all the detail they show.  Easter Island is an amazing place full of wonderful and interesting history that we can all learn from.  Drew