{"id":11524,"date":"2019-11-06T15:55:51","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T15:55:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moevarua.com\/the-eye-of-the-moai-2\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T23:30:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T23:30:16","slug":"the-eye-of-the-moai-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moevarua.com\/en\/the-eye-of-the-moai-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Eyes of the Moai: From Mystery to Archaeological Discovery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Around three hundred megalithic statues stood upright on ceremonial platforms on Rapa Nui, the vast majority along the island’s nearly 60 km coastline. All of these, sculpted until the 17th century, did not face the sea; instead, they gazed vigilantly toward a village, toward some settlement, channeling the Mana (supernatural power) of ancestors respected and revered by the tribal community. These three hundred statues, which stood on their altars in the villages, differed from other Moai in several aspects, such as their deep, oval eye sockets. The German ethnographer and philologist Thomas Barthel considered that the open eye sockets gave the statues the cadaverous appearance necessary for representing deceased individuals, but oral tradition always emphasized the existence of the Moai’s eyes. However, until the late 1970s, what archaeologists around the world understood as “eyes” were those eye sockets\u2026 and nothing more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Moai<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What Early Explorers Saw: The Empty Eye Sockets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This understanding was confirmed by the accounts of the first Dutch navigators who contacted the island in 1722. What captured the visitors’ attention most were the megalithic monuments. The Moai began to be described by all the expeditions that visited the island in the 18th century: the Dutch in 1722, the Spanish in 1770, the British and Germans in 1774, the French in 1786\u2026 the eyes of the Moai were those cadaverous eye sockets that stood out in the mortuary and ceremonial aspect of the megalithic figures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly afterward, the gradual fall of the Moai during intertribal conflicts or for political reasons left the monuments in a state of ruin by the time new scientific expeditions arrived to study them. The visits of Gana, Geiseler, and Thomson, for example, detected nothing unusual in the ceremonial platforms compared to the classic descriptions. The faces of the fallen Moai had only empty eye sockets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much later, the Belgian archaeologist Henri Lavachery considered the presence of coral fragments under certain statues unusual, but there was nothing to suggest they had anything to do with the eyes. Coral was frequently used to smooth the surface of carved stones and statues. It was Heyerdahl who first speculated about possible eyes within the exposed eye sockets, based on the presence of bone and obsidian eyes in the eye sockets of wooden sculptures on Rapa Nui.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ancient<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Breakthrough Discovery: Coral Eyes at Ahu Nau-Nau <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So where did the coral eyes seen today on various replicas of statues and on the Moai of Ahu Ko Te Riku in the Ceremonial Center Tahai<\/a> come from? In 1978, during the restoration of Ahu Nau-Nau in Anakena<\/a>, Sonia Haoa and other members of the excavation team found an oval-shaped object of white coral with an opening in the center to fit a polished circular piece of red scoria: the iris. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sergio Rapu Haoa (the archaeologist who directed the restoration and was the director of the Anthropological Museum at the time), noticing that this piece fit perfectly into the eye socket of one of the Moai on the Ahu, identified it as an eye. This confirmed what island elders like Jos\u00e9 Fati and Leonardo Pakarati, renowned preservers of oral tradition, had said, asserting that they had seen such objects before and that they were indeed Moai eyes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six more eyes were found during the same excavation and restoration of Ahu Nau-Nau. In the following years, the statues on this Ahu were decorated with replica coral eyes for special occasions. In the early 1980s, the statue on Ahu Ko Te Riku at Tahai received permanent replica coral eyes, carved by Juan Haoa Veriveri. The decision was made by the Council of Elders at the time with the intention of showing people what a complete Moai would look like with its eyes. Furthermore, that Moai already had a non-original Pukao (a red scoria “topknot”) placed on the statue in the 1960s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Restored<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Expanding the Evidence: Eyes Across the Island <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the 1980s, the expedition led by Thor Heyerdahl found the remains of six more eyes at Anakena, almost all on the back of Ahu Nau-Nau, behind the retaining wall. Other Moai eye fragments had been brought back by the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition as early as the 1950s, but no one suspected their original function. They were reclassified by Helena Martinsson-Wallin between 1989 and 1990. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In subsequent years, more Moai eyes and irises were found at other sites, such as in the Vinapu<\/a> region and in Tongariki. This led the scientific community to conclude that all the Moai had coral eyes at some point. Why didn’t the European visitors see them? Because the eyes were removable and because they were, undoubtedly, purely ceremonial features used on special occasions. By the time of their arrival, ancestor worship seemed to be in decline or had already completely ended. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there is compelling evidence that not all Moai had eyes. Statues, apparently from the early period, lack eye sockets sufficiently defined to have contained coral eyes. Furthermore, several statues transported and erected on platforms at different times did not have their eye sockets carved: these include the four Moai of Ahu Oroi, two from Ahu Hanga Tetenga, one from Ahu Hanua-Nua-Mea, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Archaeological<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Ceremonial Significance of Moai Eyes: Ritual Activation <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The discovery of coral eyes transformed our understanding of Moai not merely as monuments, but as vessels requiring ritual activation. These eyes represented far more than decorative elements\u2014they were the spiritual conduits through which the *Mana* (supernatural power) of ancestors could flow into the physical world. The removable nature of these eyes suggests that they may have been placed or removed during specific ceremonies tied to tribal events, seasonal changes, or shifts in power dynamics within Rapa Nui society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2012, coral eyes were used ceremonially by a group of islanders to welcome the crews of two traditional Polynesian boats that had just arrived from a long, non-instrumental voyage from New Zealand. The eyes were placed on one of the Moai at Ahu Nau-Nau so that the ancestors could participate in this momentous event. This contemporary use of ancient ceremonial practices demonstrates the enduring cultural significance of these archaeological discoveries and the living connection between past and present on Rapa Nui.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frequently Asked Questions About Moai Eyes <\/h2>\n\n\n
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When were the first coral eyes of Moai discovered?<\/h3>\n
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The first authenticated moai coral eyes were discovered in 1978 during the restoration of Ahu Nau-Nau in Anakena. Sonia Haoa and the excavation team found these oval white coral objects with red scoria iris pieces that fit perfectly into the eye sockets of the statues. <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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What materials were used to make Moai eyes?<\/h3>\n
\n\n

Moai eyes were crafted from white coral for the eye itself, with the iris carved from red scoria or other colored stones such as obsidian. This combination created the lifelike appearance of a complete eye. <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Did all Moai have coral eyes?<\/h3>\n
\n\n

While the scientific consensus suggests most ceremonial Moai had coral eyes at some point, there is evidence that not all statues\u2014particularly early-period examples\u2014had eye sockets designed to accommodate them. The presence or absence of these eyes likely reflected different periods of construction and cultural practices.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Why didn’t European explorers see the Moai eyes?<\/h3>\n
\n\n

The eyes were removable ceremonial objects used only for special occasions. By the time European expeditions arrived in the 18th century, the ancestral worship practices associated with these ceremonies had either declined or ended completely, and most eyes had been removed or lost.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Where can I see restored Moai with coral eyes?<\/h3>\n
\n\n

The most famous restored Moai with permanent coral eyes is located at Ahu Ko Te Riku in the Ceremonial Center Tahai. These replica coral eyes were added in the early 1980s to showcase the complete appearance of a Moai as it would have looked in ancient times. <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Around three hundred megalithic statues stood upright on ceremonial platforms on Rapa Nui, the vast majority along the island’s nearly 60 km coastline. All of these, sculpted until the 17th century, did not face the sea; instead, they gazed vigilantly toward a village, toward some settlement, channeling the Mana (supernatural power) of ancestors respected and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":11381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[128],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archeology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moevarua.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moevarua.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moevarua.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moevarua.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moevarua.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11524"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/moevarua.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":809556,"href":"https:\/\/moevarua.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11524\/revisions\/809556"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moevarua.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moevarua.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moevarua.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moevarua.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}