El Gigante: Easter Island's Most Mysterious Moai Statue

El Gigante is the largest Moai statue found on Easter Island. It is located near the Rano Raraku quarry, in a volcanic crater on the southeastern coast of the island, and even in its unfinished state, it is still enormous.

According to experts, if El Gigante were completed, it would have stood 72 feet (22 meters) tall and weighed 182 tons, heavier than two 737 airplanes loaded with passengers. But in reality, it was never taken out of the quarry and was never completed and erected like the other statues.

Why this happened remains a mystery to this day. There is speculation that the original Easter Islanders were unable to move it, as the statue was so large and heavy. However, the real reason why El Gigante was left unfinished is unknown, and many researchers actually believe that it was never intended to be completed.

Moai are humanoid statues on Easter Island

What is Moai?

The Moai are monolithic humanoid statues on Easter Island. They were carved by the Rapa Nui people between 1250 and 1500 AD. Hundreds of these Moai were carved and placed on various rock platforms around the periphery of the island, half of which still stand at Rano Raraku, a volcanic crater on the island.

These monolithic statues are made from volcanic rock. The human figures are first sketched on the cliff, then carefully chiseled and then separated from the original rock.

The statues are often highly stylized, yet exhibit a surprising degree of uniformity. The oversized heads of the statues often have elongated noses and thick eyebrows. The lips protrude in a pout. The monolithic statues' ears are elongated, like the noses. The hands have slender fingers and are located along the tops of the hips.

However, other aspects of the statues are less developed. The anatomical features of the back of the Moai are not detailed. Furthermore, most of the Moai statues have no visible legs, except for those that are kneeling.

These statues are often highly stylized.

Although the Moai are statues that represent all parts of a human body, they are often referred to as "Easter Island heads" . This is mainly due to the disproportionate size of the head and the rest of the statue . In addition, the statues are often buried deep in the ground and only the head is visible.

However, despite their enormous size, they are still significantly smaller when compared to El Gigante. This giant statue is about 6 times taller than the average Moai statue.

Statues are known to be symbols of power.

According to some archaeologists, these monolithic stone figures represent the souls of high-ranking leaders and ancestors of the early inhabitants of Easter Island. The statues are known to be symbols of power, both political and religious.

However, the Moai were much more than just symbols . For the people who built these monolithic statues, they were also considered repositories of sacred spirits . According to ancient Polynesian religions, carved wooden and stone objects, when ritually prepared and shaped properly, were believed to become receptacles of mana, a magical spiritual essence.

The monolithic statues face the village as if they are keeping watch over the people living there. However, strangely, there are 7 statues facing the sea. It is believed that this function helps people find the island easily.

The monolithic statues face the village.

According to a legend, these 7 statues are 7 men who are constantly waiting for the appearance of their king. They keep waiting, forever looking outward, however the king never appears.

The statues are also believed to have other practical uses. A 2019 study concluded that, according to their builders, quarrying and carving the Moai would increase soil fertility and thus increase the food supply for the islanders.

The Giant

While the exact reason why Easter Island's El Gigante was left unfinished remains unclear, several potential reasons have been identified. One possible reason is that the monolithic statue was never intentionally completed.

Another reason is that the builders of the statue may have encountered unusual impurities in the stone, so the sculptors had to abandon the statue and continue working on a new one. However, the most widely accepted reason is that the era of building giant statues may have ended , leaving El Gigante as a landmark to mark the end of this tradition.

 One possible reason this monolithic statue was never completed is intentional.

But perhaps the most curious question is: If this statue is completed, how will the sculptors move this giant statue?

At the time the first Europeans visited Easter Island, the island was completely devoid of trees, so the method used to move the monolithic statues remains a mystery.

Because how can people with primitive tools move such huge statues. If people today want to move them, they need the combined efforts of many modern technological machines to be able to complete this job.

The exact manner in which the Moai were transported remains unknown.

A pollen analysis in recent years has revealed that, until 1200 AD, the island was covered in dense forests.

Exactly how the Moai were transported remains unknown, but researchers believe that trees may have been used to move them. It is thought that the island's early inhabitants used ropes and wooden sleds to move the statues, or perhaps the statues were placed on logs and then rolled to their desired location.

If this theory is correct, it would have taken between 50 and 150 people to move the monolithic statues to their destination. And it is possible that the Rapa Nui people cut down too much forest to transport the Moai. Eventually, without the forest, they could no longer continue the tradition of building the Moai and complete the final stages of El Gigante.