Noun
moai (plural moai or moais)
One of the large stone statues on Easter Island (Rapa Nui).
According to National Geographic, "Most scholars suspect that the moai were created to honor ancestors, chiefs, or other important personages, However, no written and little oral history exists on the island, so it’s impossible to be certain." Source: Internet
A moai is a community social gathering and groups that come together to provide financial and emotional support through emotional bonding, advice giving, and social funding. Source: Internet
Anywhere from 180 to 250 men were required for pulling, depending on the size of the moai. Source: Internet
Archaeology, Ecology and Culture, British Museum Press 1994:134–135, fig. 106 Some upright moai have become buried up to their necks by shifting soils. Source: Internet
Beverly Haun wrote, "The concept of mana (power) invested in hereditary leaders was recast into the person of the birdman, apparently beginning circa 1540, and coinciding with the final vestiges of the moai period." Source: Internet
European accounts from 1722 and 1770 mention standing statues, but Cook's 1774 expedition noted that several moai were lying face down, having been toppled in war. Source: Internet