Sunday, 28 September 2014
The statues were then transported to what is called an ahu or a platform or ceremonial site. These are platforms that support the moais. The moais faced inland and not to the sea, as they were there to protect the people on the island, not the island itself because the people believed that the island was isolated enough that it protected itself. There are several theories as to how the moais were transported to their platforms. Some theories suggest laying the moais on their backs and dragging them with ropes either on the ground or on a sled or log rollers. However, according to oral tradition, the statues 'walked' to its final resting place, although they didn't have legs, they sort of moved from side to side and went to the platform on their own. Because of the persistent oral story of walking moais, recently some researches at the University of Hawaii came up with an easy way to 'walk' the moai, 3 ropes are tied to the moai's head, and 3 groups of 3 or 4 people held each rope, 2 on either side and one at the back for balance and stability, and due to the low centre of gravity of the moai, with a wide base and narrow head, they could quite easily make the moai 'walk' by tilting it from side to side as it moved forward.
This is the most popular theory today, but of course, nobody knows for sure how the moais were transported to their platforms. Once at their ahus or platforms, they would then carve the eye sockets for the moai, and put their eyes in, the whites are made of coral and the irises are made of obsidian. Once the eyes are made, it is believed that the spirit or 'mana' of the person that the moai was made after, would live on in the moai for the next 100 to 150 years, protecting the people on the island. The bones of the person representing a particular moai was buried under the moai, in the ahu.
The last stage of erecting the moai is lifting it upright onto the platform. This is done by gradually propping the moai upright, by piling stones along its front surface, until it was fully vertical. The moai is never glued to the platform, it was just placed there, their weight and shape (with a low centre of gravity) could withstand the strong winds. There is a story here, too. Thor Heyerdahl was a Norwegian explorer who came to Easter Island in the 1950s. He wanted to unlock the mystery of the moais, and one of the things he wanted to find out was how the people erected the moai onto the ahu. At that time, there was a man living on the island who claimed to be a descendant of the upper class nobility during the moai period, and he told Heyerdahl that he had heard stories from his father and his grandfather, who in turn heard stories from their ancestors, as to how the moai was erected. A sceptical Heyerdahl then asked this man to prove that what he was saying was true, by demonstration. Using only stuff found on the island such as rocks and rope, this man managed to erect a moai using the method of piling stones little by little underneath the front surface of the moai, until it was vertical. No mistake was made, and Heyerdahl then knew that this man was telling the truth.
The entire journey of the moai from being carved out of the mountain, until it was erected onto the ahu with its eyes was also seen as a spiritual journey for the people in those days, from a stone object carved out of the mountain it becomes semi-alive and 'walks' to its ahu, and finally becomes fully alive with the 'mana' of the person it was made after when its eyes are put in and it is erected on the ahu.
The moais were carved, transported and erected by the upper class society known as the maoris. Although many of the workers were from the common class, they were never taught the science, artistry, architectural and engineering skills necessary for the carving, transporting and erecting of the moais. This made the common people in awe of the upper class, and they were held in high regard and revered, and this remained the case for many centuries. There were no slaves, so all the workers were paid. When an important person died, that is, a person whose 'mana' was thought to be important and therefore could protect the people on the island (for example kings, wise men, medicine men, aristocrats, noblemen etc) their families would pay the Maoris to construct a moai after the person who has died. It takes on average about a year to carve, transport and erect a moai, but it can vary depending on the size of the moai and the distance between the quarry and the ahu.
In about 1100 when the moai period started, the statues were very roughly carved, the features were not elegant and the statutes were a lot smaller. Over time, the people wanted bigger statues, and the Maoris also improved in their skills, so the statues were carved more elegantly, the shape of the faces more pronounced, the ears longer, the nose sharper, the backs curvier, the shoulders broader. In about 1200 to 1300, the 'pukau' was added to the moai, this is like a turban or a hat, and it is carved out of red scoria, a very light stone that is reddish in colour. The first king, Hotu Matu'a had red hair, and his descendants were also of red hair, so it was believed that having red hair symbolized status and power. The men used to keep their hair long in those days and tie it up on their heads like young Sikh boys. In fact, many men in Rapa Nui even today wear their hair long. (Exciting times for me - I love men with long hair!) important men whose 'mana' was to be preserved in a moai used to either have red hair (being the descendants of Hotu Matu'a) or they painted their hair red, this was a status symbol. So the pukau was carved in red scoria to symbolize the red hair.
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