Moai Statues as Gifts

The Moai are monolithic stone statues found only on Easter Island. They are quite mysterious. Basically human in appearance, they have overly large heads, generally about three-fifths the size of their bodies.

This replica is a great example - check out that expression! 

Made of designer resin with a faux stone finish this guy stands 16 inches tall.

The Moai were sculpted on Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as its Polynesian inhabitants whose ancestors created them call it.

It appears that the Moai were built to represent powerful chiefs and ancestors of each family. When Europeans first visited the island in the eighteenth century, many of these incredible statues were proudly gazing across the island, like lords or kings surveying their lands.

Between 1250 and 1500 C.E. Polynesians carved hundreds of Moai using rock from a quarry at the extinct volcano Rano Raraku.

They placed the statues all around the island on special stone platforms, called ahu. These Moai statues are sculpted from solid stone - they are huge and very heavy. How their creators moved them from the quarry is still a mystery, although several attempts have been made to make these giants "walk."

However, soon after the Europeans first saw the Moai it seems that deadly conflict erupted among the islanders and the Moai were destroyed, or at least toppled over. Most Moai were pushed forwards to hide their faces, and often broke their necks in the fall. Many others were just abandoned at the quarry.

There are plenty to choose from!

There is quite a collection of unique Moai gifts available: There's a board game, an ice cube tray, and - wait for it, my personal favorite - a tissue box cover where the tissues come out of the Moai's huge nose!