A panoramic view of Anakena beach showing an ahu in the background featuring numerous moai.
pernatural powers. Tere are sculptures made from basalt, trachyte and red slag, but the majority were carved from the Rano Raraku volcano. Te figures evolved over time from smaller effigies to the larger, long-eared ones that are most familiar to people today. Tey are all similar, with the sole ex- ception of one male figure that is sitting. Legend holds that this moai was built and buried so that it would be discov- ered at the end of the millennium. Odd- ly enough, it was discovered a distance from the other statues by archaeologist Tor Heyerdahl’s team in 1955 on a part of the Rano Raraku quarry. Over the centuries several moai have
fallen over and been destroyed by war, waves or erosion. In fact many of them have been buried, leaving only their
heads exposed. Others lie partially carved in the side of the volcano. Most average a height of four metres, but there is one moai over 10 metres high on the north shore and one in the quarry 22 metres tall. Once created, how were these sculp-
tures moved around the island? Barring the extraterrestrial theories and the lore that states they “walked” to their final spots on the island, it is likely safe to say they were moved by people, most likely along wooden rails. Several ancient roads strewn with broken moai cross the island, providing validity to this theory. Other theories remain though, includ- ing the thought that they were trans- ported by sea. Te ahu are the ceremonial platforms on which the moai were placed, most
of them built at the edge of the ocean. Tere are 272 ahu on the island, yet few of them held statues. Tey were an in- credible engineering feat for their time. Tey, too, evolved, becoming bigger and more complex over time. Ahu with moai were situated at all cor- ners of the island and once formed an almost unbroken line along the coast. Te majority of the moai face inward toward the island in order to watch over the inhabitants and protect them with their supernatural power or Mana. Once they were installed their eye sock- ets were opened and eyes of white coral or obsidian added. Each moai is different:
some are
painted and some have huge cylin- ders of red lava rock, known as pukao, on their head. Many moai had these headdresses which now lay fallen be- side them. Why they were created with these adornments is a mystery. Of all the stone sculptures in the world made by Polynesians, none is similar to the moai.
Te final chapter Brought by the missionaries, thousands of wild horses now wander the island. 54 • Winter 2016
When westerners found the island, it was desolate and treeless, yet evidence from the crater lakes indicate the island was once heavily forested with a now extinct giant palm. It seems the island- ers produced the moai to the extent of their own downfall, deforesting the island in their construction. Te defor- estation led to erosion and the loss of the nutrient-rich topsoil. Crops began to fail and the people turned on one another, resorting to cannibalism. Te
The Hub
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