Research of the island’s history and the origins of its phenomena often has a very practical nature. Expeditions have set up experiments on site to determine how many people it would take to move or lift up one of the giant Easter Island statues. The crater lakes on the island are considered to be the result of volcanic activity many thousands of years ago, or random meteorite impacts. The statues are said to have been built by the native Polynesian inhabitants, from the 8th century onwards. But if we dare, there can also be some more far-reaching explanations Far-reaching as in space, that is.
The name Easter Island was given by the Dutch, who were the first Europeans to discover the island in 1722. The natives had other names for their home, among which ‘Mata ki te rangi’ and ‘Te Pito No Te Henua’, meaning ‘Eye turned to the sky’ and ‘The Navel of the Earth’ respectively. If the ancestors of the current inhabitants built the Easter Island statues, then it is remarkable that they look nothing like them. Who or what do the statues represent?
The legends that the locals remember, could give some clues. Some of them speak of a god or some divine power that could make the giant statues walk. Ancient Easter Island kings supposedly could do this as well, using the help or powers of the god Makemake. Now Makemake is interesting because he is the god of fertility, the creator of humanity. This is associated with the cult of the bird-man. And doesn’t a bird have wings and fly in the sky? The Easter island statues seem to look up at the sky, expecting something to come from there.
The local Easter Island legends also speak of land that was sunk into the sea, as a punishment for the sins of the people, leaving only Easter Island for them to live on. What was destroyed? Did something extraordinary happen in the places that are now craters on Easter Island? It all remains a mystery.