The Strangeness of the Easter Island Statues
One of the things that has always puzzled and intrigued me is the Easter Island statues, or moai as they’re known. I’ve always wanted to see these stone statues up close for myself. Unfortunately its unlikely that I’ll be going to Easter Island (Rapa Nui), any time soon. However, when I was in London last year, I did get the chance to see one of these strange and magnificent statues at the British Museum.
The one on display at the British Museum is pictured here on the left. Its name is Hoa Hakananai’a, and its from Orongo, Easter Island (Rapa Nui). The name by the way, translates roughly as: ‘Stolen or Hidden Friend’. Hoa Hakananai’a is 2.420 meters in height and weighs about 4 tons and was carved somewhere around AD 1000!
This moai was collected by the crew of the English ship HMS Topaze, under the command of Richard Ashmore Powell, on their survey visit to Easter Island in 1868 and was presented to H.M. Queen Victoria, who in turn gave it to the British Museum.
When I encountered Hoa Hakananai’a and snapped its photograph, I marvelled at the total mystery that stares out from it.
Who made these statues and what were their purpose, I wondered.
The British Museum says that, “They (the moai) were probably carved to commemorate important ancestors and were made from around AD 1000 until the second half of the seventeenth century, when the birdman cult became more central to the Easter Islanders.”
I’ve never been totally satisfied with that answer. Yes, it fits but there seems to be something more than just ancestor commemoration / worship here…
Alan Alford, in his book Gods of the New Millennium : Scientific Proof of Flesh & Blood Gods has a much more interesting explanation and one that I personally think is closer to the truth or whole story. Basically, Alford thinks that there’s only two possible solutions to the Easter Island statue mystery. 1. They were used to warn off people; or 2. They were used to signal to someone to not forget them and come rescue them. Its the latter reason that Alford believes to be the correct one. He goes quite in depth in his reasoning into this theory, as well as in depth into just who he thinks was being signalled.
Regardless, the Easter Island statues prove yet again that there’s so much about our world and its history that we just don’t know about.
If you’re visiting London, I highly recommend that you visit the British Museum as there’s all sorts of great mysteries to be seen there.
Related Links:
- The British Museum: Hoa Hakananai’a
