The mo’ai (or moai) are worldwide noted monolithic statues that were fashioned by the Rapa Nui (indigenous Polynesians) on Easter Island (or Rapa Nui for the indigenous) between roughly 1250 and 1600 AD.

They are mostly carved from volcanic tuff (lithified ash) and present overly large heads, on a three-to-five ratio to their trunk, heavy brows and elongated noses with the lips in a slight pout. Intriguingly enough, they have no clearly visible legs but for a sole kneeling mo’ai across the whole island.

These human-like figures average about 4m (13 ft) in height and 12.5 tons in weight set on rectangular stone platforms called ahu of an average width of 1.6m (5.2 ft) but can reach as high as 10m (33 ft), such as Paro (the tallest Mo’ai on the island), and weigh as much as 86 tons, such as the squatting shape at Ahu Tongariki.

There are over a thousand complete mo’ai found there as yet and most line along the coast facing inland toward the native villages but there are also some inland ahu such as Ahu Akivi carrying figures rather facing outward.

As already mentioned, most are carved from volcanic tuff but there are about 13 crafted from basalt and 22 from trachyte as well as a further 17 from red scoria while their eliptical eye sockets were apparently furnished with coral eyes of either black obsidian or red scoria pupils so that a moai would render an’arina ora’ (living image).

They are largely believed to represent ancestors of the native people, particularly chieftains or other prominent people, whilst the seven figures of Ahu Akivi inland may reflect an old legend telling of as many men waiting for their king to arrive.

Rapa Nui chiefs were thought to have descended from the gods so they would rise divine again after death, therefore the figures would serve to contain their spirits for a while as a transition phase.

The more recent mo’ai also bore pukao from red scoria on their heads, which stood for the topknots of their leaders. The Rapa Nui held that mana, (a portion of ) a supernatural force, resided in the hair. The larger the figure, the more mana the person it reflected was thought to possess.

A riddle that has surrounded the mo’ai for centuries since the discovery of the island was how so many of them, seeing their size and weight, were carried away from the quarries inland, such as Rano Raraku, over the hilly terrain around to set up along the coastline.

More recent theories suggest that the mo’ai sort of ‘walked’ through the use of ropes by workers, rocking back and forth, until they settled into their final place.

The island was first encountered by the Europeans when Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen came upon it on Easter Day, hence its name, in 1722 while looking for phantom Davis Land.