Somewhere south in the Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost region of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania, lies a secluded volcanic island, that appears to have mysteriously emerged from the depths of the sea with massive stone statues. The legendary Easter Island Statues. The remote volcanic Island, widely known around the world as Easter Island (Rapa Nui in Polynesian) is part of Chile’s territory and is most famed for its almost 1,000 stone head statues referred to as “Moai” by the early Rapa Nui people who built them.
The Island holds plenty of unanswered mysteries and intriguing clues left by an ancient people who once thrived in the distant Pacific island. Its gigantic stone figures have long fascinated explorers, historians and the rest of the civilized world for centuries. Today though, experts reveal that they may have finally cracked one of the island’s most enduring secrets: Who put the statues there and why and how they did it.
The “Cannibal Cave”
The images were captured from the “Cannibal Cave,” portraying what is popularly called as the Tangata Manu or “Bird Man” in literal English translation. The Bird Man signified the winner of a sacred tournament that was held on the island every year. The original settlers of Easter Island would compete with everyone else in finding the first egg of the season.
This would normally entail swimming to a nearby island, securing an egg and then swimming back again to Rapa Nui with the egg. The first one to complete the ritual would automatically be welcomed as the Bird Man and the tribal chief of the community for the entire year.
