Easter Island Statues

The Easter Island and its Statues, Isle de Pascua

Easter Island Statue Moai with replica eyes at Ahu Ko Te Riku in Hanga Roa

Weird, mysterious and isolated

There are many places on earth with some sort of fascinations, but Easter Island is not just fascinating but it is undoubtedly the most intriguing place in the World. This little island dotted with gigantic and weird looking human statues; is in the Oceania (the groups of islands around Australia) in the South Pacific Ocean. The Easter Island is the most isolated place with human inhabitation as the nearest inhabited places are (Tahiti or Chile) at least two thousand miles away!

Rapa Nui and Rapanui

From where did these inhabitants come why did they built so many gigantic statues (these statues are known as Moais), how did those people bring these stones to this remote island, what technology they used for the transportation? More over why have they toiled to make such gigantic statues? These are questions that intrigue visitors as well as those are interested archaeology. In 1722 one sailor by name Admiral Reggeveen landed on this island that was an Easter day; hence he named that island Easter Island. The local people call this island Rapa Nui and (Isle de Pascua in Portuguese). Rapanui has become a common word for everything related to this island, its language as well as its natives.

Special territory

Easter Island Statues Ahu Akivi, one of the few inland Ahu with the only moai facing the ocean

The capital of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is Hanga Roa and this island is a special territory under Chile. The islanders in general are not concerned about Chile’s claim and go on living as per their customs and preserving there own identity. Spanish and Repanui are the official languages. Its population (about 3000) consists entirely of Rapanui and Chilean. Easter Island is a World Heritage Site and most of the island is covered and protected as the Repanui National Park.

Moais (the statues)

Easter Island Statues

Had there been no moais; the Easter Island would have remained as one among the thousands of remote islands in the Pacific Ocean and no one would have wasted time thinking about it. There are about 887 of them as per the inventories. These statues are not identical; they vary in their size and shape. These statues are made of carving hard stone; their heads are overly large (about three fifth of the total size). Moais are images of human torso with heads (some of them are dug deep in sand and only heads are visible). These moais are believed to be images of the ancestors (probable deified) of the islanders; may be a sign of ancestor worship).

Coral eye and scoria pupil

As per Sonia Haoa and archaeologist these statues were made with eye sockets capable to hold white corals as eyes with scoria (a volcanic stone with shining black color) as its pupil, she has demonstrated the statement by collecting the fragments of corals and scoria retrieved around the statues and reconstructing it to its original shapes.

The tallest and he heaviest

Easter Island Statues

The tallest moai (known as Paro) is 10 meters (33 feet) in height and weigh 75 tons, where as the heaviest is 86 tons in weight; it is placed on a platform by name Ahu Tongariki. There is one unfinished moai; which if completed would have been the tallest and the heaviest (21 meter in height and 240 tons in weight!) Most of the moais are found in Ranu Roraku the moai quarry; recently hundreds of them have been transported to set them on the ahus (the platform for placing moais). The moais were originally placed on ahus with their back facing the sea.

A baby boom and after !

The Easter Island is often quoted as an example of the consequences of uncontrolled population explosion. This island was initially discovered and inhabited by Polynesians. In the initial times settlers were few in number and life was comfortable. Their number increased rapidly and all the available land had to be converted in to farmlands. When human beings multiplied like rats land became insufficient to feed the increasing numbers. This ‘population explosion’ led to starvation and wide spread riots. Easter Island’s geographical isolation made migration to less populated places impossible.

Scapegoats of a tragedy !

People who were dying of hunger turned to cannibalism; they started killing and eating their neighbors! Their frustration later turned against the moais which were standing there as if they were mere spectators of these horrible scenes. The moais were dragged by the violent mob and got dumped in to a waste land. These statues were there for centuries until recently and they were reinstalled in proper places by the joint initiative of UNESCO and the government.

A nostalgic past

In 1950 Heyer Dahl the famous Norwegian explorer (his work the ‘Kon tiki Expedition’ was a classic) happened to visit made the existence such an isolated island popular, this aroused curiosity among sailors. His theory about the original inhabitants has been proved wrong and it has been established that the people were of Polynesian stocks. As per the latest opinions it must be a set of less than 100 people probably lost their way on the sea and happened to land and stay here. The lush forests with small animals, flightless birds, and rich fish of the sea shore were more than what they bargained for!

Life as a dream!

If what the archaeologists say are true this island’ original culture was enough create jealousy among the modern men, the isolation to which these people were subjected worked in forming an exclusive lifestyle for its inhabitants. Enough food and leisure aroused in them hidden creative talents; for which they toiled and suffered to bring huge stones from nearby sea-rocks, cut huge trees barked them for artworks every thing they could lay hands on; stones, wood, barks of trees, their own body skin, virtually every where they could work turned out to be their canvass. Dance and music was their favorite time pass.

Survived to tell their story

Life for them was devotion and they went on giving birth to beautiful art works from birth to death! They made it every where; they tattooed their own body with fine arts. But alas bark of wood, body skin every thing perished by the passing of time but these hard stones out of which they made these immortal statues alone survived the test of time! They survived the time of cannibalism; and stand tall declaring the greatness of their creators!

How to get there ?

Easter Island Map

There are regular flights from Santiago to Mataveri airport, with less than one thousand dollars one can reach there and fly back in style. Rapa Nui people who operate small hotels come and invite tourists for stay and sight seeing, these people are one of the friendliest in the world and their words can be trusted. The advantage is not only in saving money it is a chance to understand the local life and people.

Brilliant landscapes and Tapati

The natives are a jolly lot and their most important festival is the Tapati Festival which is celebrated during January and February. The festival of 2008 is nearing and a visit during this time is real joy! Easter Island’s landscapes are really amazing with volcanic craters, clean beaches, and famous archeological sites. Pay a visit to the remotest inhabited land in the world and experience the hospitality of a far away people, see the moais as much as you can all for just one thousand bucks!

Seven Wonders

Seven Wonders

‘Seven Wonders’ Released.

Finally seventh July 2007 arrived and in a grand function held at Benfia Soccer Stadium at Lisbon, Portugal, the results were out marking the end of the hectic campaigns blowing in the cyber world for the last two years. Initially there were 200 nominations for this high status out of which 77 were selected by people which in turn got reduced 21. Finally on 7^th July Bernard Weber the Australian adventurer has released the list in a grand ceremony attended by celebrities like Hillary Swank, Bipasha Basu, Ben Kingsley as well as Portugal’s home-grown foot ball wizard Christiano Ronaldo. Shows by top artists like Jennifer Lopez, Jose Carreras, Dulce Pontes, Alessandro Saffina etc added color and glamour to the ceremony.

And The Winners of the New Seven Wonders of the World are !!!

Pyramids in Giza (there was no election as it was only surviving structure of the original Seven Wonders. Built 4500 years back these pyramids stands tall challenging the centuries which pass by. The tallest is 452 feet tall, the tomb of King Cheops nearby the limestone wonder statue of the Sphinx. As per the wish of the government of Egypt this structure was not nominated and it was given an honorary status. The names of the other seven winners are given below with brief descriptions.

Pyramids in Giza image courtsey: tourism-egypt.com.eg

1. Chichen Itza (at the mouth of the well of Itza) Pyramid Yucatan Peninsula Mexico was built in the 6^th century AD by the Mayans. It is a collage of various architectural styles happened due to cultural integration between different civilizations. Chichen Itza is Referred in the ancient chronicles as ‘Uucyabnal’ meaning Seven Great Rulers. The main structure is the Pyramid of the Kukulcan a step pyramid; its corners cast a shadow of a crawling serpent on the ground denoting fall and winter.

Chichen Itza image courtsey: wikipedia.org

2. The Great Wall of China. It is a massive 4150 miles long barricade built to block the invading armies of Huns, Mongols, Turks as well as numerous nomads who were engaged in looting and killing of people at random. It was built between 4^th and 7^th centuries and remains as the only structure that can be viewed from space.

Great Wall of China image courtsey: wikipedia.org

3. Taj Mahal Agra India was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan in the sixteenth century as mausoleum to his wife Mumtaz Mahal who died in her early age in a child-birth. It took 20,000 people about 16 years to complete the structure which involved extensive precision work. One of the best preserved Monument in India.

Taj Mahal image courtsey: wikipedia.org

4. Petra of Jordan located in an ancient city of Petra, Jordan built on a terrace in Wadi Musa (Valley of Mosses) was capital of Arab Kingdom of Nebastius. It had a promising past under the Romans who came after Nebastius in AD 106. Most of the structures as well as infra-structures like water tunnels are carved out of rock. The tomb of Ad dayer though incomplete its facade even served as a church to Christians who had to live there fearing repression.

Petra of Jordan image courtsey: wikipedia.org

5. The Coliseum of Italy. It was built in AD 80 is the forerunner in design of the modern stadium. Built by Emperor Titus for a 100 day long marathon game including the duel between gladiators, who had either to kill or die before the public spectators and there may be the emperor himself as the spectator. It was here Christians were thrown to hungry lions for their crime of embracing Christianity.

Coliseum of Italy image courtsey: kellogg.northwestern.edu

6. Machu Pichu of Peru represents a wonderful Incan culture that prevailed in South America around the 15^th century. Ruins of the giant walls, Palaces, temples, dwelling places are all there located at an altitude of 8000 feet above sea-level.

Machu Pichu of Peru image courtsey: wikipedia.org

7. Christ the Redeemer of Rio de Janeiro Brazil. A giant statue of Jesus Christ; standing straight (stretching his hands in the role of redeemer of souls) which is a 125 feet tall structure located on the Mount Covocado. This giant statue was built by Paul Landowski in 1926 and brought to Brazil to be assembled. The transportation of these heavy parts safely was a task which deserved equal merit as the construction, but all done successfully by building rail to the top of the mountain and carrying the parts using cog-wheels. The statue was opened on 1931.

Christ the Redeemer image courtsey: wikipedia.org

Seven is not eight!

There is a contradiction in selecting seven wonders other than Pyramids as the total number comes to eight. It would have been appropriate if six would have selected other than Pyramid of Giza as it is the only existing wonders of the original seven. Seven should have been kept as seven itself in 7 – 7 - 2007, Deferring to stretching to 8 – 8 – 2008!

Loss of wisdom!

The high profile canvassing via SMS also have made a balanced decision impossible, and number of structures lost the covetable status in the battle-cry. Kerala articles presented a list of 7 of which Taj Mahal alone emerged winner. The other six were Angkor Wat, Hagia Sofia, Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower, Neuschwanstein Castle and The Kremlin. All these were eligible but lost due to lack of back-support. It is said wisdom gets lost in the flood of knowledge and knowledge in turn gets lost in the flood of information. However the project could make some awareness in youth about the cultural heritage of the world so far so good.

New Seven Wonders of the World

New Seven Wonders of the World.

To get wonder-struck is every body’s wish; mother-nature has bestowed us with so many wonders like the earth, sky, ocean, sun, moon, stars etc. Every-day sights loots the thrill and people flock to see new ones, those who live on sea-shore go to the mountains to get the thrill, whereas those living in mountain ranges go to the ocean to get wonder-struck! Man in his long history has played god by creating wonders of his own which can be classified in to those belonging to the Ancient ages, Middle Ages and those of the Modern times.

Wonders of the Ancient Ages.

• The Pyramids,

• Colossus of Rhodes

• The Hanging Garden of Babylon.

• Statue of Zeus.

• Temple of Artimis at Ephesus.

• Tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus.

• Light House of Alexandria.

Wonders of the middle Ages.

• Coliseum of Rome.

• Catacombs of Alexandria.

• Great Wall of China.

• Stone Hedge.

• Porcelain Tower.

• Leaning Tower of Pisa.

• Hagia Sophia.

Wonders of the modern times.

There are about 21 options for the selection as the Seven Wonders of the World of the modern times. All having their own unique features, our site is of the view that the following criteria should definitely taken in to account when the ranking is made. The criteria we think just are given in its order of priority.

1. Age (how old it is),

1. History (what role it has played in history),

1. Preservation (whether it exists today),

1. Magnificence (how wonderful it is).

Number one is The Pyramid of Giza and there is no contenders for that place the other ones are given below.

1 Acropolis of Athens

2 Angkor Wat of Combodia.

3 Kiyomitzu Temple, Kyoto Japan.

4 Opera House of Sydney, Australia.

5 Eiffel Tower Paris, France.

6 Statue of Christ the redeemer Rio de Janeiro Brazil.

7 Machu Picchu Peru.

8 Petra Jordan.

9 Pyramid at Chichen Itza.

10 Statue of Liberty, New York, America.

11 Coliseum of Rome, Italy.

12 Alhambra, Granada, Spain.

13 Timbuktu, Mali.

14 Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow, Russia.

15 Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey.

16 Stone Hedge, Amesbury United Kingdom.

17 Statues of Easter Islands.

18 Great Wall of China.

19 Neuschwanstein Castle Germany.

Why vote for the Taj?

Age. As per the first parameter Age (older the structure gains an ancestral status and a new structure of the same shape stands no match to the old), Taj sufficiently aged (built in 1632 – 1648) as a structure of the early seventeenth century structure.

History. Taj was built as a mausoleum for Mumtaz Mahal wife of Emperor Shah Jehan belonging to the Mughal Empire king Shah Jehan hence Taj has the status of the monument dedicated to eternal love. To add to the woes of the king he got imprisoned by his own son Aurangazeb and had to spend the rest of his life in the nearby prison. There was one favor done to the king he could see Taj from his place of arrest.

Preservation. Taj was lucky enough to be preserved in good shape where as almost many of the other structures were got destroyed more than one times and had to be rebuilt thereby losing its originality.

Magnificence. The Taj was built by the strenuous work of 20,000 skilled workers brought from all parts of the world and they all had to take 16 long years to complete the work. The precision of the works involved was that much and it all reflected in each square inch of the structure. During nights the sight of Taj standing bathed in the moonlight is something never could be seen anywhere else in the world. Yes we vote for the Taj!