Pickup was at 9.15am, so I climbed into the minivan, camera at the ready, with my fellow tourists. We were made up of one Australian couple (the other English speakers), four Frenchies and two Spanish ladies. We had two tour guides, one who spoke French and the other (Francesca) who spoke Spanish and English.
We learnt a lot about the Moai (pronounced moe-eye) that day.
These large statues were built by the ancestors of the Rapa Nui to watch and protect over the villages. Each Moai was built to represent a chief or high ranking official. Once carved out at the quarry, the Moai was then moved down to the large stone platforms, then their eyes were carved which then made them ‘alive’.
Over the years, there were many inter-tribal wars and the first things to go were the Moai. As they were the protectors of each tribe, it made sense to topple over those belonging to your opposition so that they would then be without the protection of their Moai.
Over the years many have been restored and are standing again, however, there are still many that have been left toppled. Fascinating stuff!
The first ancient village we visited was called Akahanga. This was apparently one of the oldest villages and is an unrestored site. It was out near the coast and the landscape looked very stark.
If you look very carefully you can see a toppled Moai.
Some of the houses in these coastal villages built houses that were shaped like houses and were called (surprise surprise) Boat Houses. The holes in the brick held bamboo which were used as supports.
An example of a rock garden, the rocks were used to help prevent weeds from growing - my kind of garden!
The Ahu (or Platform) with the toppled Moai.
No comments:
Post a Comment