Moai mysteries: Unraveling the enigma of Easter Island
Easter Island has been a source of fascination for historians, researchers, and tourists for centuries. Reaching it is not straightforward. Flights from Europe (with at least two layovers) take approximately 30 hours. However, standing face to face with the moai statues is an indescribable experience.
Easter Island, located in the Pacific Ocean, is a place with several names and a captivating history. Europeans refer to it as Easter Island, while the locals and Tahitian sailors call it Rapa Nui or Te Pito o Te Henua, which translates to Great Land or the Navel of the World. Each of these names carries a sense of mystery, given the island’s small area.
What does Easter Island have to do with Easter?
The name Easter Island was bestowed on this distant land by the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen in 1722.
It often evokes associations with springtime festivities; however, the island has no connection to the Easter bunny or historical Christian events. The Dutch named it as such because they discovered it on Easter Sunday.
Rapa Nui possesses other equally intriguing names. As a small piece of land covering an area of 163 square kilometres, the island is considered the "Great Land" and is situated in one of the most isolated places in the world - nearly 3,700 kilometres from the coast of Chile and over 4,000 kilometres from Tahiti. Its nearest neighbour, Pitcairn Island, is 1,900 kilometres away, making this place a true pole of isolation.
Great Land, the navel of the world
Although reaching the island is challenging, it attracts significant interest from tourists. For instance, a flight from Poland to Easter Island with two layovers takes at least 31 hours, with round-trip tickets costing about £1,700. In comparison, you can fly from New York to the island in 16 hours with one layover, and the ticket costs approximately £1,100.
Despite the high costs and lengthy journey, many travellers are drawn here, seeking the mystery shrouded in the legendary moai statues. These stone giants, carved from volcanic rock, are captivating. The largest of them, Paro, is 10 metres tall and weighs about 20 tonnes. The fate of these statues is a topic of much debate among scientists who aim to understand who created them and how they were erected in pre-industrial times.
Mysterious moai
Stories suggest the statues depict long-eared aristocrats, descendants of ancient Polynesian settlers. The long-eared rulers of the island were supported by the short-eared clan, credited with constructing the moai. Although contemporary history remembers little of these clans, it is known that in the 19th century, many inhabitants were taken by slave hunters to Peru, and epidemics such as tuberculosis and leprosy decimated the population.
Rapa Nui is steeped in legends of civil wars and catastrophes caused mainly by severe deforestation. Despite extensive research, more questions persist than answers, which only adds to the island's allure and mystery. The enduring legends encourage personal interpretations and discoveries in this unique corner of the world.
