Moai, also spelled moꞌai (pronounced MOH-eye), are large stone statues created by the Rapa Nui people on Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, in eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half of these statues remain at Rano Raraku, the main stone quarry, while hundreds were moved to stone platforms called ahu around the island's edges. Most moai have very large heads, which make up about three-eighths of the statue's total height, and they do not have legs. These statues represent the living faces of honored ancestors. While the large stone statues are the most well-known, the Rapa Nui people also carved smaller wooden statues, including moꞌai kavakava (male), moꞌai paepae or papa (female), and moꞌai taŋata (male).

When Europeans first visited the island in 1722, the statues still stood facing inland toward their clan lands. However, by the late 1800s, all the statues had fallen. They were likely toppled during the late 1700s and early 1800s, possibly due to contact with Europeans or conflicts between groups on the island.

Creating and moving more than 900 statues is considered a major achievement. The tallest statue, called Paro, was nearly 10 meters (33 feet) tall and weighed 82 tonnes (81 long tons; 90 short tons). The heaviest statue, which was shorter and wider, was located at Ahu Tongariki and weighed 86 tonnes (85 long tons; 95 short tons). One unfinished statue, if completed, would have been about 21 meters (69 feet) tall and weighed approximately 145–165 tonnes (143–162 long tons; 160–182 short tons). Statues continue to be discovered as of 2023.

Description

The moai are large stone statues with a simple style similar to artwork found in other parts of Polynesia. These statues were carved from volcanic tuff, which is solidified ash. Carvers first outlined human figures in the rock wall, then chipped away the surrounding stone until only the image remained. The heads are large, with a size ratio of three to five times the head compared to the body, a feature that reflects Polynesian beliefs about the importance of the head. The statues have thick eyebrows, long noses with a unique curl at the nostrils, and thin, protruding lips. Their ears are long and oval-shaped, and their jaws are clearly defined against the short neck. The bodies are heavy, and sometimes the collarbones are faintly visible. The arms are carved in relief and are shown in different positions, with hands and fingers resting on the hips and meeting at the loincloth. The backs are usually not detailed, but sometimes have patterns on the buttocks and lower back. Most statues do not have visible legs, except for one that is kneeling.

Although the moai are full-body statues, they are sometimes called "Easter Island heads" in some books and articles. This is partly because their heads are much larger than their bodies, and partly because many photos show statues on the slopes of Rano Raraku, where they are partially buried. This has led to the mistaken belief that the statues only have heads. Some statues at Rano Raraku have been uncovered, revealing their full bodies and markings that were protected from weathering by their burial.

The average height of the moai is about 4 meters (13 feet), with a base width of around 1.6 meters (5.2 feet). Each statue weighs approximately 12.5 tonnes (13.8 tons). Most of the 900 known moai were carved from tuff at Rano Raraku, where 394 statues in various stages of completion remain visible. Others were carved from basalt, trachyte, or fragile red scoria. After carving, the statues were rubbed with pumice to smooth their surfaces.

The moai have large, broad noses, prominent chins, rectangular ears, and deep eye slits. Their bodies are squat, with arms in different positions and no legs. Most statues are placed on platforms called ahu, which are located along the coast and face inland toward communities. Some ahu, like Ahu Akivi, are inland and face the sea. There is a legend that seven men waited for their king to arrive. A study in 2019 suggested that ancient people believed quarrying the moai might improve soil fertility and food supplies.

Later moai had pukao, or topknots, on their heads, which represented the hair of chieftains. Local tradition says that spiritual power, or mana, was stored in the hair. The pukao were made from red scoria, a lightweight rock from Puna Pau. Red is a sacred color in Polynesia, and the pukao added extra importance to the statues.

When first carved, the moai were polished with pumice. However, the tuff used for most statues erodes easily, so the best places to see surface details are on statues made from basalt or in old photos and records of protected statues.

Less eroded statues often have designs carved on their backs and buttocks. In 1914, the Routledge expedition linked these designs to traditional tattooing, which had been banned by missionaries. This was important evidence that the moai were made by the Rapa Nui people, not by people from South America, until modern DNA studies confirmed this.

Some moai were painted. One statue in the Metropolitan Museum of Art had a reddish color, and another, Hoa Hakananai'a, was painted maroon and white until 1868, when it was taken to the British Museum. Some people now want it returned to Rapa Nui.

History

The statues, called moai, were carved by the original people of Easter Island, known as the Rapa Nui, between 1250 and 1500. These statues were placed on stone platforms called ahu and may have represented important ancestors or powerful leaders. The size of a moai showed the status of the chief who ordered it: "The larger the statue, the more power and influence the chief had." People on the island competed to create the biggest statues, as shown by the different sizes of the moai found today.

Completed statues were moved to ahu near the coast and sometimes placed on top of red stone cylinders called pukao. Making and moving the moai was a difficult task. Carving the statues required time and effort, and transporting them to their final locations also took significant work.

The quarries where the moai were carved, such as Rano Raraku, had many unfinished statues and tools left behind. This led some people in the 1800s to believe the island was once part of a sunken continent and that many moai were underwater. However, this idea is no longer accepted.

It is not clear which groups of Rapa Nui people carved the statues. Oral traditions suggest that either a special group of skilled carvers or members of each family clan were responsible. Oral histories also mention that the Rano Raraku quarry was divided into areas for different clans.

When Europeans first arrived, the island had few trees, which made it unclear how the statues were moved. Studies of pollen and charcoal in lake sediments show that forests on the island were cut down between 800 and 1200 CE and again before 1700 CE.

New archaeological research has changed how people understand the statues. Scientists now use physical evidence, experiments, and landscape studies instead of old stories or guesses. These methods allow researchers to compare theories fairly and test them with data. Studies combining environmental science and experiments have provided new insights into how the Rapa Nui people lived and worked.

It is still unknown exactly how the moai were moved across the island, but many theories exist. Early ideas suggested people used ropes, sleds, or wooden rollers to transport the statues. Another theory claims the moai were rolled on logs, requiring 50–150 people to move them. Earlier beliefs thought hundreds of workers were needed, but recent research shows the statues may have been "walked" upright by rocking them side to side while pulling them forward with ropes.

Some theories were not supported by evidence, such as the lack of enough trees for sleds or rollers. Signs of deforestation suggest the islanders may not have had enough timber for such methods. Modern scholars now believe the statues were moved using ropes to control their movement in a rocking motion.

Stories passed down by islanders describe how people used divine power to move the statues. One story says a king named Tuu Ku Ihu, with the help of the god Makemake, moved the statues. Another story mentions a woman who lived alone on a mountain and commanded the statues. Today, scientists support the idea that the statues were "walked" upright, as laying them on a sledge would have required too many people.

In 1998, Jo Anne Van Tilburg tested moving a nine-tonne moai using a sledge on rollers. Sixty people pulled ropes, and the statue moved successfully after adjustments. In 1986, Thor Heyerdahl and others experimented by rocking a statue side to side with ropes, but the experiment ended early due to damage to the statue. Heyerdahl estimated this method could move a 20-tonne statue about 100 meters per day. However, other scholars questioned this due to damage caused by the rocking motion.

Experiments show the Rapa Nui people used creative methods to move the statues, depending on the distance, terrain, and resources available. These methods did not rely on magic or brute strength but on practical solutions.

In 2003, Charles Love tested moving a 10-tonne statue using sled runners on log rollers. Twenty-five people moved the statue 46 meters in two minutes. He also suggested that upright posts in the ground may have helped push the statues up slopes or slow them down. These findings highlight the ingenuity of the Rapa Nui people in solving challenges related to moving heavy objects.

Preservation and restoration

From 1955 to 1978, an American archaeologist named William Mulloy studied how the large statues on Easter Island were made, moved, and placed. His work on Rapa Nui included examining the Akivi-Vaiteka Complex and repairing Ahu Akivi in 1960. He also studied and restored Ahu Ko Te Riku, Ahu Vai Uri, and the Tahai Ceremonial Complex in 1970. In 1972, he studied and repaired two ahu at Hanga Kio'e. In 1974, he studied and restored the ceremonial village at Orongo. He also completed many other archaeological surveys across the island.

The Rapa Nui National Park and the moai statues were added to the 1972 UN list for protecting cultural and natural heritage. Because of this, they were included on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1995.

Over the years, many groups have mapped the statues, including Father Sebastian Englert and Chilean researchers. The Easter Island Statue Project (EISP) studied and recorded details about many moai on Rapa Nui and the artifacts in museums outside the island. The goal of the project is to learn about the statues’ original purpose, meaning, and where they were used. The results are shared with Rapa Nui families and local groups responsible for protecting the moai. Other studies were done by Britton Shepardson, Terry L. Hunt, and Carl P. Lipo.

In 2008, a tourist from Finland damaged a statue by breaking off part of its ear. The tourist was fined $17,000 and banned from the island for three years.

In 2020, a truck that was not being driven hit a moai, breaking the statue and causing serious damage.

In 2022, a wildfire burned an area of about 150 to 250 acres, damaging an unknown number of moai in Rano Raraku. The mayor of Rapa Nui, Pedro Edmunds Paoa, said the fire was started on purpose. Some officials believe the damage to some statues cannot be fixed.

Unicode character

In 2010, the moai statue was added as an emoji (🗿) in Unicode version 6.0 with the code point U+1F5FF. The official name of the emoji is "moyai," as it represents the moyai statue located near Shibuya Station in Tokyo. This statue was a gift from the people of Nii-jima, an island 163 kilometers (101 miles) from Tokyo but part of the city. The name "moyai" was created by combining "moai" (the Easter Island statue) with the Japanese dialect word "moyai" (催合い), which means "helping each other."

Unicode included emojis that were first used by Japanese mobile companies in the 1990s. This led to different companies creating their own versions of the emoji, some showing a moai and others showing the moyai statue. Google and Microsoft initially designed their emojis to look like the moyai statue in Tokyo. Later, these designs were changed to more closely resemble the moai statues from Easter Island.

Although the emoji was created to represent a specific statue, it is now often used online as a meme. It is commonly used to show a deadpan expression or to indicate that something is being said in a sarcastic way.