Jessica has watched a documentary about the Moai statues and is telling Nina about it. |
| Have you seen pictures of the Moai statues on Easter Island? |
| Yes, I have seen a few. Why do you ask? |
| I watched a documentary about them a few days ago and it got me interested. Isn't it amazing how the islanders carved those huge stones like that? When I see those statues that seem to gaze into the distance, I get goosebumps. |
| Then you would probably feel very uncomfortable surrounded by those figures. I've heard that there were almost 900 carved statues. |
| Yeah, but unfortunately, all of them had fallen, most probably as a result of the rivalry between the tribes. It is believed that the tribes who lived there fell into war and destroyed the statues. |
| That sounds rather pointless. Why would you destroy something you’ve worked for with blood, sweat and tears? |
| Apparently, the statues represented their ancestors, whom they worshiped. They believed their ancestors transmitted power and prosperity to them through those statues. So, during the conflicts, one tribe would destroy other tribe's statues in order to humiliate them and make them weaker. |
| I see, it sort of makes more sense now. But who were these tribes? |
| Not much is known about them. There are theories about where they came from, and how they arrived on such a remote island. But no one can tell for sure. The only written texts found on the island are in a language that no one can read now. |
| It's quite a mystery... But one thing is for sure, they left an incredible cultural legacy! |
