Easter Island is one of the most isolated inhabited islands in the world, located 2182.25 mi (3512 km) off the coast of Chile, in the southeastern Pacific Ocean.The moai are massive and well-built. The islanders carved them out of hardened volcanic rocks, and soft volcanic rocks called tuffs with stone chisels.Nearly 900 gigantic sculptures may be found around the island, with 95% of the moai statues carved from the volcano Rano Raraku. The typical average size of a moai statue is 13 ft (3.96 m) in height and 14 tons (12.70 met ton) in weight. There are 887 moai sculptures or Easter Island heads (and bodies!) that have been discovered.As the years have passed by, the sculptures have tumbled to the ground, and by the end of the 19th century, there wasn’t a single monument left standing. The most popular explanation is that the sculptures were toppled in tribal warfare in order to shame the opponent although it is also thought that they may have simply fallen forward toward the earth in which they stand.There is also a myth about a lady named Nuahine Pkea ‘Uri, who possessed powerful mana powers and was able to make the statues collapse in fury after her four children had left her without food on one occasion. Some elders on Easter Island still think this is a genuine narrative.The Tapati Rapa Nui Festival, held every year on Easter Island, is a celebration of the island’s culture. Traditional activities like wood carving and music performed on unusual eight-string flat ukuleles are held throughout the first two weeks of February.If you enjoyed this article, why not also read about the national animal of Ireland and are there snakes in Ireland here on Kidadl!Rapa Nui SettlementThe indigenous name for Easter Island is ‘Rapa Nui’. The ‘Easter Island heads’ are what the statues on the island are commonly called. The island’s indigenous population refers to it as Rapa Nui, and the people who live there are also known as Rapa Nui. The island is also known as ‘Te Pito O Te Henua,’ which translates to ‘World’s Navel’.By 1877, just 111 people remained on the island after horrific civil wars, diseases, slave raids, hunger, and deforestation. The moai’s mystery begins with the people who built them. To begin with, the notion that the Rapa Nui people were ever inhabited is incredible in itself.Although the island is nominally claimed by Chile, it is located around 2182.25 mi (3512 km) off the coast of South America. It is technically a Polynesian island, yet it is 1,100 mi (1770.28 km) away from the next nearest island. It adds value to Chilean culture because of the presence of moais.Ancient Polynesians, with their extraordinary boats, somehow traveled over hundreds of miles of open water, settled on the island, and established a civilization. The Rapa Nui people revered ‘Ahu aviki’ as a holy site or a sacred place.According to archaeologists, the Rapa Nui people flourished between 800-1600 CE, and the moai statues were made after 1100 CE. Apart from that, we know virtually nothing about these individuals. In reality, when Europeans first came in the 18th century, they discovered an island with a comparatively tiny population. By that time, Easter Island was nearly devoid of trees, and the prevalent opinion is that the Rapa Nui people overutilized their resources, resulting in their demise.Time Taken To Create The StatuesThe carvers utilized basalt stone hand chisels for carving the statues, and there were many crews working on different statues at the same time.A single moai took a team of five to six men and around a year to complete. The largest moai on Easter Island, El Gigante, stands 71 ft (21.64 m) tall and it can be viewed from Google Earth. Tuff is readily cut, using just stone tools or the so-called toki. The majority of finished sculptures and completed statues were set on an ahu, which means an altar.The sculptures or statues were acquired from a specific group of carvers. The purchasing tribe would pay in enormous amounts of whatever they had with them. Bananas, sweet potatoes, carpets, chickens, and obsidian tools such as volcanic glass are just a few examples of trade commodities. The carving appears to have begun on the spot after the stone was extracted.Each one was worked on by a group of stone laborers who carved the face and front before using ropes and levers to elevate the stone block upright. The statue’s back was finished, and it was rolled around the island on sleds or rollers to various locations.Apart from the 15 people needed to carve a single moai, archaeologists believe that another 40 people were needed to transport it, and another 300-400 people were needed to create supplies, gather food, organize resources, and prepare the locations. At one point, the Rapa Nui people must have had a sizable population. The British Museum in London has a statue called Hoa Hakananai’a, which means a ’lost or a stolen friend’.Purpose Of The StatuesMoai statues, also known as Easter Island statues, were erected to commemorate the deaths of chieftains and other significant persons.They were put atop ahu, which are rectangular stone platforms that serve as graves for the persons the sculptures represent. The moai statues were purposefully created with varied traits in order to maintain the appearance of the person they represented.Human remains were discovered near many moai statues. The huge moai is one of the prominent aspects of Rapa Nui culture. Only the face and the shoulders of the bodies are visible above the ground since they are buried beneath the dirt. To symbolize everyone’s safety, they all face inward from the coast.Importance Of The Statues In Polynesian CultureThe monuments on Easter Island are monolithic human forms. The statues on Easter Island are thought to be representations of ancient Polynesians’ forefathers, according to archaeologists.The moai sculptures face the villages rather than the ocean as if to keep an eye on the residents. The seven Ahu Akivi, which face out to sea, aid in navigating visitors to the island. The heads are the main parts of moai sculptures.During the Tapati Rapa Nui Festival, the island is divided into two teams. The winning team’s queen is crowned ‘Queen of the Island’ for the rest of the year. The festival takes place in February and is a great time for visiting the island.According to several archaeologists, the moai sculptures were emblems of religious and political authority and strength. They weren’t only symbolic but were considered to be repositories of spiritual energy or sacred spirit for the people who built and utilized them.In ancient Polynesian religions, carved stone and wooden artifacts were thought to be imbued with a mystical spiritual force called mana, if they were correctly fashioned and ritually prepared.How Moai Statue Hats (Pukao) Were Put In PlaceThe moai sculptures allegedly walked to their location, according to oral tradition. The specific method of moving the moai statues across the island is unknown, although it very definitely involved human effort, ropes, and maybe wooden sleds and/or rollers, as well as leveled trails (the Easter Island roads).Topknots, or hair knotted in a ball on top of the head, are represented by the moai caps in Rapa Nui, are known as ‘pukao’, and are made of red scoria stone. According to old beliefs, mana, commonly thought of as supernatural abilities, were stored in the hair, which is why chieftains never shaved their heads. To place the hats on the tops of the moais’ heads, men stacked rocks and pushed the hat over them until they reached the top.The hats of the moai were placed in such a way that pebbles were heaped on top of one other, pushing upwards to reach the head. It had to be bound with a strong rope or it would tumble to the other side.Today, Easter Island is a pollution-free island with clean ocean waters. One can also see a number of horses. There are no animals native to the islands because of their isolated nature.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for easter island statues facts then why not take a look at Arctic Ocean islands, or Jeju island in South Korea.
Easter Island is one of the most isolated inhabited islands in the world, located 2182.25 mi (3512 km) off the coast of Chile, in the southeastern Pacific Ocean.
