What is so special about the moai?

What is so special about the moai?

The faces on these Moai have distinct features, such as broad noses and strong chins jutting out from the rest of the body. The Moai have eye sockets carved, with archaeologists believing coral eyes were used.

What did the moai statues represent?

They stand with their backs to the sea and are believed by most archaeologists to represent the spirits of ancestors, chiefs, or other high-ranking males who held important positions in the history of Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, the name given by the indigenous people to their island in the 1860s.

What are 3 cultural facts about Easter Island?

Here are six interesting Easter Island facts.

• No-one knows how the statues were moved.
• The huge heads have (huger) bodies.
• A Finnish tourist once stole a moai ear.
• The statues may have been an antidote to leprosy.
• There is an ugly duckling that no-one can explain.
• The statues were toppled by angry islanders.

How were moai built?

The moai were individually carved out of single bays of the rock rather than a big open area like a modern quarry. It appears that most were carved lying on their backs. After the carving was completed, the moai were detached from the rock, moved down-slope, and erected vertically, when their backs were dressed.

Why was moai built?

In the Rapa Nui language, the Easter Island statues are called Moai Aringa Ora, which means “the living face of our ancestors”. The most common interpretation is that these statues were created in order to preserve the energy of the natives after death.

Does Easter Island have electricity?

Easter Island’s electricity system is currently 100% dependent on diesel generation. There is 5.6 MW of installed capacity and total electricity generation was 14,082 MWh in 2018.

Where are the moai statues on Easter Island?

The Moai Statues commonly referred to as the “Easter Island Heads,” are wildly mysterious, though we do have some theories concerning their existence. Located on Easter Island, called Rapa Nui by the indigenous population, the Moai statues are sometimes referred to as the Easter Island Heads.

How old are the statues on Easter Island?

The Moai statutes date back nearly a thousand years and are the work of the early inhabitants of Easter Island. They are tall sculptures made out of volcanic rock, with disproportionately large heads.

Why are the MAOI statues facing the ocean?

Facts Legend explains that most of the statues face toward the villages rather than the ocean might be because the Rapa Nui people believed the statues watched over them and protected them. The Maoi are iconic symbols of Easter Island, whose native name is Rapa Nui.

Why did the Rapa Nui leave the moai statues uncompleted?

The Rapa Nui people believed in a number of superstitions that governed the way they interacted with the statues. Famously, they believed that when a Moai fell, it was for a good reason, and so that statue should never be erected again. This is why many of the Moai were left uncompleted.