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Sep 7, 2022 · There are 887 moai scattered across Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as the islanders call it, and these 15 were standing on the Ahu Tongariki plinth, the largest ceremonial structure on the remote ...
Oct 23, 2012 · In 1960 these moai were swept inland by a tsunami, which fractured some (left). See more pictures from the July 2012 feature story "If Only They Could Talk." Take a tour of the World Heritage sites »
- The moai of Rapa Nui
- Their backs to the sea
- Later carving on the back
- Collapse
Easter Island is famous for its stone statues of human figures, known as moai (meaning “statue”). The island is known to its inhabitants as Rapa Nui. The moai were probably carved to commemorate important ancestors and were made from around 1000 C.E. until the second half of the seventeenth century. Over a few hundred years the inhabitants of this ...
This example was probably first displayed outside on a stone platform (ahu) on the sacred site of Orongo, before being moved into a stone house at the ritual center of Orongo. It would have stood with giant stone companions, their backs to the sea, keeping watch over the island. Its eyes sockets were originally inlaid with red stone and coral and the sculpture was painted with red and white designs, which were washed off when it was rafted to the ship, to be taken to Europe in 1869. It was collected by the crew of the English ship HMS Topaze, under the command of Richard Ashmore Powell, on their visit to Easter Island in 1868 to carry out surveying work. Islanders helped the crew to move the statue, which has been estimated to weigh around four tons. It was moved to the beach and then taken to the Topaze by raft.
The crew recorded the islanders' name for the statue, which is thought to mean "stolen or hidden friend." They also acquired another, smaller basalt statue, known as Moai Hava, which is also in the collections of the British Museum.
Hoa Hakananai'a is similar in appearance to a number of Easter Island moai. It has a heavy eyebrow ridge, elongated ears and oval nostrils. The clavicle is emphasized, and the nipples protrude. The arms are thin and lie tightly against the body; the hands are hardly indicated.
In the British Museum, the figure is set on a stone platform just over a meter high so that it towers above the visitor. It is carved out of dark grey basalt—a hard, dense, fine-grained volcanic rock. The surface of the rock is rough and pitted, and pinpricks of light sparkle as tiny crystals in the rock glint. Basalt is difficult to carve and unforgiving of errors. The sculpture was probably commissioned by a high status individual.
The figure's back is covered with ceremonial designs believed to have been added at a later date, some carved in low relief, others incised. These show images relating to the island's birdman cult, which developed after about 1400 C.E. The key birdman cult ritual was an annual trial of strength and endurance, in which the chiefs and their followers competed. The victorious chief then represented the creator god, Makemake, for the following year.
Carved on the upper back and shoulders are two birdmen, facing each other. These have human hands and feet, and the head of a frigate bird. In the centre of the head is the carving of a small fledgling bird with an open beak. This is flanked by carvings of ceremonial dance paddles known as 'ao, with faces carved into them. On the left ear is another 'ao, and running from top to bottom of the right ear are four shapes like inverted 'V's representing the female vulva. These carvings are believed to have been added at a later date.
Around 1500 C.E. the practice of constructing moai peaked, and from around 1600 C.E. statues began to be toppled, sporadically. The island’s fragile ecosystem had been pushed beyond what was sustainable. Over time only sea birds remained, nesting on safer offshore rocks and islands. As these changes occurred, so too did the Rapanui religion alter—to the birdman religion.
This sculpture bears witness to the loss of confidence in the efficacy of the ancestors after the deforestation and ecological collapse, and most recently a theory concerning the introduction of rats, which may have ultimately led to famine and conflict. After 1838 at a time of social collapse following European intervention, the remaining standing moai were toppled.
Additional resources
The British Museum: contested objects from the collection.
Rapa Nui National Park UNESCO site.
Easter Island on The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.
One of the most recognizable sites in Rapa Nui, Ahu Nau Nau is a restored ceremonial platform site with 7 giant moai statues. The red hat stones on four of the best preserved moai are known as pukao and can weigh up to 10 tonnes. Ahu Nau Nau on the Beach of Anakena in Rapa Nui (2019-01) by CyArk CyArk. The moai and ahu, the stone platforms ...
Nov 30, 2015 · Moai Rapanui artisans carved the giant statues, called moai, centuries ago from volcanic rock at a quarry a mile away.By the 19th century all of Easter's moai had been toppled—by whom or what is ...
