sisted of imitations of conventional designs, with some detailschanged, as well as completely new models. These falsificationsdo not lack value, for they reveal an innate ability to adapt togiven circumstances without losing sight of the traditional carv­ing techniques.

Otto Klein describes the difference between the ancientand the modern carvings very well: "An essential differencebetween the ideo-plastic manifestations of the past and those ofrecent times: while the former were generated on a religiousbasis, the latter resulted from individual efforts of some profi­cient sculptors who took advantage of a unique opportu­nity" (Klein 1988:246).

Without a doubt, woodcarving was affected by contactwith the west. The loss of sacredness could well have occurredbefore the arrival of the first missionaries; however, the stronginfluence of the Catholic Church is clear. It became the nexus,or the intermediary between humans and the higher forces. Thisis how many carvings became detached from their originalmeaning, from their symbolism; desecrated and out of context,they survived in form only. However, with time they acquired anew meaning and, finally, even new designs emerged.

REFERENCESColi, A. 1973. Documentos de los archivos generales de los SSCC en

Roma. Recopilados por el R.P. Americo Coli, "Lile de Paques etla Congregation des Sacn~s Coeurs". Documentation Ms.272.788-95 (972)-5, Roma.

Englert, S. 1948. Tierra de Hotu Matua. Historia, Etnologia y Lenguade la Isla de Pascua. Imprenta y Editorial San Francisco, Chile.

Klein, O. 1988. lconografla de la Isla de Pascua, Ed. UniversidadTecnica Federico Santa Maria, Valparaiso.

Kurze, Joan Seaver. 1997. Ingrained Images. Wood Carvings fromEaster Island. Easter Island Foundation.

Metraux, A. 1950. La Isla de Pascua, Fondo de Cultura Econ6mica,Mexico.

Metraux, A. 1978. Ethnology ofEaster Island, Bernice P. Bishop Mu­seum, Honolulu.

Puelma, M. 1978. Isla de Pascua en /774. Los Viajes de James Cook.Ed. El Observador, Quillota.

Ramirez, J. M. 1988. Cu/tura Rapa Nui, Serie Patrimonio CulturalChileno. Colecci6n Cu/turas Aborigenes. Departamento de Ex­tensi6n del Ministerio de Educaci6n, Chile.

Seaver, J. 1993. Rapa Nui crafts: wooden sculpture past and present.In S.R. Fischer (ed.), Easter Island Studies. Contributions to theHistory of Rapa Nui, in Memory of William Mulloy, OxbowBooks, Oxford.

Moai ~i9htin9s

The Eyes of the Moaior A Perfect Night Out in Manhattan

Peter Gravild Korning, Denmark

SINCE LAST MAY, NEW YORK CITY counts yet anothercelebrity among its citizens: a new-born moai with sparklingnew eyes. It greets visitors to the American Museum of NaturalHistory from its place in the basement just to the left of the en­trance. It is tangible proof of the success of the "Legacies of aPeople, Masters of Stone" project that took place May 3-16 atvarious locations at the museum. The project included a number

of public lectures by distinguished researchers on Easter Islandarchaeology, history, ecology and preservation, as well as work­shops on Rapanui art. Robert Hemrn and Marcelo Mendezshowed an excellent documentary, an aerial survey of EasterIsland, with some stunning footage.

Twenty Rapanui islanders and their unique skills were themain attraction. They were flown in for the occasion, togetherwith a huge lump of volcanic rock from the island. The Rapanuiincluded four stone carvers and sixteen members of the RiuHoko Rapa Nui dance troupe. The four carvers, well-knownartisans of the island, Pedro Pakarati Araki, Pablo HereveriTeao, Benedicto Tuki Pate and Esteban Pakarati, spent twelvedays transforming the rock into a 1999 moai. The stone was notthe traditional volcanic tuff from Rano Raraku, but a lump ofthe more malleable red scoria from Maunga Orito, a type ofstone originally used primarily for pukao. It was collected fromMaunga Orito, a quarry south of Puna Pau. The carvers, en­closed in a Plexiglas 'cage' to protect the audience from flyingrock fragments, daily until the moai was lying, ready and wait­ing. The Riu Hoko made regular appearances during the carv­ing and performed Polynesian dances in front of the cage.When not performing, they managed workshops about EasterIsland music, dance, and traditional body painting. After thestatue had been erected and the finishing touches added, thecarvers added two eyes made of coral.

A MEMORABLE NIGHTMy wife and I paid several visits to the slowly evolving

moai during the third week of May (always thankful of the mu­seum's pay-what-you-like policy). On Friday the 14th we hadthe pleasure of watching the transformation of the moai from astony enigma to an alert guardian and watchman: with muchPomp and Circumstance, the eyes were placed in their socketsin a (possible) reconstruction of history.

The evening started at the Linder Theater with a lecture,"Archaeology and Ecology of Easter Island" by distinguishedarchaeologist Sergio Rapu, discoverer of the one authentic moaieye in existence, and former governor of the island. Rapu madethe discovery during an excavation at Ahu Nau Nau, the 'main'ahu at 'Anakena Beach. About fifteen fragments of coral foundbeneath the ahu were eventually pieced together for the famous'eye', an eye socket-shaped piece of carved coral representingthe almond-shaped visible part of an eye (with a red stone for apupil) and fitting into a moai eye socket. The eye is now one ofthe main attractions of the Padre Sebastian Englert Archaeo­logical Museum on the island where Rapu was director from1969 to 1990. Though other coral fragments have been foundon the island, none have been pieced together as another eye.Rapu made an excellent speech about the cultural and naturalhistory of Rapa Nui from the first settlements until after the ar­rival of Europeans in the 18th century.

After Rapu's lecture the audience was guided to the Kauf­mann Theater where the Riu Hoko Rapa Nui performed a suc­cession of absolutely stunning dances and chants to the musicof the ma? 'aporo, the fatete and the toere. Performing withtheir usual confidence and an energy level worthy of an IggyPop concert, the dancers took the New York audience by storm,

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Riu Hoko Rapa Nui performing at the Kaufmann Theater (Photo by PeterKoming).

A group with Sergio Rapu(center) standing in front of thecompleted moai at the Museum ofNatural History New York. (Photoby Peter Koming).

It is tempting to speculate on the fate of the moai eyes. Letus for a moment assume (for it is by no means a certainty) thatmany statues had inlaid eyes, "many" not in the sense of a cer­tain amount or percentage, but many in the same sense that

many moai had pukao. Itwas a feature that astatue would typicallyhave. It seems reason­able to assume that thedestruction of a moaiwould include the re­moval and/or destructionof its eyes, since theseundoubtedly increasedits power or at least (tothe sacrilegious de­stroyer) had importantsymbolic meaning.Maybe the statues werethought to be completelypowerless without theireyes, the eyes being, inprosaic language, a kindof magic battery. Onecould see an indicationtowards this in the factthat the eye-sockets of

moai were not carved at the quarry of Rano Raraku but later inthe process. If this were the case, a logical way to destroy astatue would be to start with its eyes, thus rendering it

"helpless" against the following attacks.The original number of eyes is no indication of howmany one would reasonably expect to have survivedthe toppling of the statues. Indeed it could be arguedthat the more common (how strange the wordsounds in connection with such an intensely relig­ious object as a moai) a feature the eyes were, themore systematic and thorough their subsequent de­struction would have been.The above, however, is pure speculation, and in allprobability we will never know what happened tothe eyes. Maybe they were dropped into the oceanoffshore, lost in the depths or waiting for some diverto make the discovery of his life. Maybe they lie in a

long-forgotten cave in the islands underground. Maybe theywere all smashed during a footnote of the destruction of thewhole religious structure of the island. Maybe less than a hand­ful of the statues ever had eyes, although it seems unlikely.

The eye-opening ceremony was an important lesson to usnot to forget that the moai must have appeared very differentlyto the society that created them than to visitors to the archaeo­logical sites, speculating on their origin and function. I recom­mend seeing a moai with inlaid eyes to get a more balancedview of how they 'should' be perceived. The only place to seean 'awakened' statue at this time, to the best of my knowledge,is at Tahai on the outskirts of Hanga Roa-unless of course youhappen to be on the Upper West Side, Manhattan. ~

barely leaving time enough for the enthusiastic applause be­tween numbers. Surely the best show in town that night!

After the Riu Hoko performance the newly carved moaieyes were brought to the scene and Sergio Rapu said a fewwell-chosen words. Then the Rapanui, followed by everybodyelse, went in procession from the theatre to the moai waiting inthe basement. Seeing a procession of Rapa Nui in traditionalcostumes and body paint in the half-lit museum at night was analmost surreal experience and one we shall never forget. It wllSas if a forgotten, long-gone people had suddenly returned to theworld of the living.

HE TRANSFORMATION

The moai awaited in the basement with all the withdrawnaloofuess common to its older relatives thousands of milesaway. The audience formed a semicircle around some of theRiu Hoko members who performed a series of short chants anddance steps in front of the statue. Finally a member of thetroupe placed the eyes in their sockets. The transformation wasimmediate and extraordinary! The moai seemed to wake up. Itlost much of its air of mystery, becoming alert, vigilant, and justa little bit frightening! It must have been the perfect guardian ofits village. The effect of such a transformation on the hearts andminds of the prehistoric Rapa Nui must have been overwhelm­ing.

The eye-opening ritual is of course utterly inauthenticfrom a historical point of view as nobody has the faintest ideaof how the original eyes were placed in their sockets. In allprobability this information is lost in time and will never be re­covered. But it seems probable that some kind of ritual wouldaccompany an occasion as important as this.

ASPECTS OF THE EYEAfter the ceremony there was time for a quick chat

with Rapu. When asked if the original eye has ever been scien­tifically dated he answered that it is in the process of beingdated by a California team. Strictly preliminary (Rapu stressesthis point) results indicate that the coral the eye is carved fromis approximately 200 years older than the moai it was foundbeneath. This, however, does not necessarily present a problem.The eye could originally have belonged to another statue or thecoral could have been stored for many years, perhaps as part ofa religious preparatory process, before or after being carved inthe shape of an eye socket.

Rapa Nui Journal 82 Vol. 13 (3) September 1999