Moai
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Moai (pronounced (said) MO-EYE) are stone statues on Easter Island. Each moai is made out of one large stone but some have an extra stone on top of the head. Most were made from the volcanic rock in the Rano Raraku area of the island. Moai are usually called "heads" but most of them do have shoulders, arms, and a body, which have become buried over the years. The moai are between 2.5 and 10 metres high and, usually, weigh 14 tonnes. There are more than 1000 moai placed all around the beach of the island plus nearly 400 more which were left not yet finished at Rano Raraku.
When, why, and how they were made is still a mystery today. It is believed that they were built about 1000 years ago by Polynesians, who lived there at the time and were made to honour their ancestors(older familiy members long dead) and bring good luck. Making the statues would have needed a lot of time and effort and to move them, they may have used wooden sledges or rollers or even "walked" them by rocking the moai along. The youngest moai found was built around 1350 and it is believed that, around that time, there began a time of cold weather, little food, and war between the peoples. By the 19th century, all the moai had been pushed over. Today, they are slowly being restored.
[edit] References
- Grant McCall (1995). "Rapanui (Easter Island)." Pacific Islands Year Book 17th Edition. Fiji Times. Retrieved August 8, 2005.
- Thor Heyerdahl, Arne Skjølsvold, and Pavel Pavel The "Walking" Moai of Easter Island. Retrieved August 8, 2005.
- Kathy Pelta (2001). Rediscovering Easter Island. North Minneapolis, USA:Lerner Publications. ISBN 0822548909.
- Rupert Matthews (1988). Ancient Mysteries. East Sussex, England:Wayland. ISBN 0531182460.
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