The magnificent view of the full
body of the Moai statues hidden beneath the earth in Easter Island tells a tale
about the inhabitants of this island hundreds of years ago. No wonder it has
earned its place as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Carved mostly from volcanic
rocks by the Rapanui people, the intrinsic details on the body speaks of the
carving skills and the artistic nature of these inhabitants. Made from one
large rock weighing about 14 tonnes, it fetches a height between 2.5 – 10 metres.
Although it is known that there are about 1000 Moai statues in this island, it
is still unknown why, when or how it was made. It is a common belief that it
was made to deify their ancestors.
Here are some images of the
Moai statues during excavation project courtesy of Easter Island Statue
Project:
The statue of Moai above somehow reminds
me of the Batak statues in Samosir Island, Indonesia with their smaller sized
counterpart as shown below.
Although the statues was believed
to honour and deify their ancestry, I still feel that we should not rule out
the possibility of the statues kept in these locations especially the ones
facing the sea as a warning to pirates or would be enemies to stay away from
infringing the island. The outlook of the statue from far would give the
indication that there are giants living in this island and it would be better
for them to stay out of this island.
CONTRIBUTION:
News.artnet.com
LiveScience
Photos: Easter Island Statue
Project
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