Hoa Hakananai'a
Encyclopedia
Hoa Hakananai'a is a moai
(Easter Island
statue) housed in the British Museum
in London
. The name Hoa hakanani'a is from the Rapa Nui language
; it means (roughly) "stolen or hidden friend." It was removed from Orongo
, Easter Island on 7 November 1868 by the crew of the English ship HMS Topaze
, and arrived in Portsmouth
on 25 August 1869.
, Hoa Hakananai'a is one of just sixteen moai that were carved from much harder basalt
. It is 55 centimetres from front to back, 2.42 metres high and weighs "around four tons".
Hoa Hakananai'a is a human torso and head, with shrunken arms. The ratio of the head to torso is about 3:5, giving the overlarge head which is typical for moai. Originally the empty eye sockets would have had coral
and obsidian
eyeballs, and the body was painted red and white. However, the paint was washed off during its removal from the island.
of three raised bands, topped (at the back) by a ring of stone just touching the top band.
Its back is richly decorated with carvings relating to the island's Birdman
cult. These include two birdmen with human hands and feet, but with frigatebird
heads, said by the Rapanui
people to suggest a family or sexual relationship.
Above these is a fledgling
with its beak open. It is similar to the Birdman petroglyphs on Easter Island and relates to the Manutara, a Sooty tern
which heralded the annual return of the god Make-make
. This bird is flanked by a pair of ao, ceremonial wooden paddles representing the male body. 'Ao were symbols of prestige bestowed on the year's reigning birdman. A third 'ao is carved into the rear of the left ear. The right ear has four vulva
s, possibly indicating four influential female consorts, that "had the ear" of the birdman.
There are Y-shaped symbols at the top of the head (between the 'ao), the chin and under the Maro.
Moai
Moai , or mo‘ai, are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Chilean Polynesian island of Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the...
(Easter Island
Easter Island
Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
statue) housed in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The name Hoa hakanani'a is from the Rapa Nui language
Rapa Nui language
Rapa Nui , also known as Pascuan or Pascuense, is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken on the island of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island....
; it means (roughly) "stolen or hidden friend." It was removed from Orongo
Orongo
‘Orongo is a stone village and ceremonial centre at the southwestern tip of Rapa Nui . The first half of the ceremonial village's 53 stone masonry houses were investigated and restored in 1974 by American archaeologist William Mulloy...
, Easter Island on 7 November 1868 by the crew of the English ship HMS Topaze
HMS Topaze (1858)
HMS Topaze was a 24-gun Liffey class wooden screw frigate of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 12 May 1858, at Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth. Her crew assisted in the building of the Race Rocks Lighthouse in British Columbia, Canada, and laid a bronze tablet in 1863 at the Juan Fernández Islands...
, and arrived in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
on 25 August 1869.
Description
Whilst most moai were carved from easily worked tuffTuff
Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
, Hoa Hakananai'a is one of just sixteen moai that were carved from much harder basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
. It is 55 centimetres from front to back, 2.42 metres high and weighs "around four tons".
Hoa Hakananai'a is a human torso and head, with shrunken arms. The ratio of the head to torso is about 3:5, giving the overlarge head which is typical for moai. Originally the empty eye sockets would have had coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
and obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock.It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth...
eyeballs, and the body was painted red and white. However, the paint was washed off during its removal from the island.
Carvings
The statue has a maro carving around its waist. This is a symbolic loinclothLoincloth
A loincloth is a one-piece male garment, sometimes kept in place by a belt, which covers the genitals and, at least partially, the buttocks.-History and types:Loincloths are being and have been worn:*in societies where no other clothing is needed or wanted...
of three raised bands, topped (at the back) by a ring of stone just touching the top band.
Its back is richly decorated with carvings relating to the island's Birdman
Tangata manu
The Tangata manu , was the winner of a traditional competition on Rapa Nui . The ritual was an annual competition to collect the first Sooty Tern egg of the season from the islet of Motu Nui, swim back to Rapa Nui and climb the sea cliff of Rano Kau to the clifftop village of Orongo.-Myth:In the...
cult. These include two birdmen with human hands and feet, but with frigatebird
Great Frigatebird
The Great Frigatebird is a large dispersive seabird in the frigatebird family. Major nesting populations are found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as a population in the South Atlantic....
heads, said by the Rapanui
Rapanui
The Rapa Nui or Rapanui are the native Polynesian inhabitants of Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, in the Pacific Ocean. The easternmost Polynesian culture, the Rapa Nui people make up 60% of Easter Island's population, with some living also in mainland Chile...
people to suggest a family or sexual relationship.
Above these is a fledgling
Fledgling
Fledgling or Fledglings may refer to:* Curtiss Fledgling, a trainer aircraft* Fergie's Fledglings, a group of Manchester United players recruited under the management of Alex Ferguson...
with its beak open. It is similar to the Birdman petroglyphs on Easter Island and relates to the Manutara, a Sooty tern
Sooty Tern
The Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscatus , is a seabird of the tern family . It is a bird of the tropical oceans, breeding on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Colloquially, it is known as the Wideawake Tern or just wideawake...
which heralded the annual return of the god Make-make
Makemake (mythology)
Makemake in the Rapa Nui mythology of Easter Island, was the creator of humanity, the god of fertility and the chief god of the "Tangata manu" or bird-man cult .He is a frequent subject of the island's Petroglyphs.-In Astronomy:The trans-Neptunian...
. This bird is flanked by a pair of ao, ceremonial wooden paddles representing the male body. 'Ao were symbols of prestige bestowed on the year's reigning birdman. A third 'ao is carved into the rear of the left ear. The right ear has four vulva
Vulva
The vulva consists of the external genital organs of the female mammal. This article deals with the vulva of the human being, although the structures are similar for other mammals....
s, possibly indicating four influential female consorts, that "had the ear" of the birdman.
There are Y-shaped symbols at the top of the head (between the 'ao), the chin and under the Maro.
| Detail images | |
|---|---|
 |
|
External links
- The British Museum's page on Hoa Hakananai'a
- BBC audio file A History of the World in 100 ObjectsA History of the World in 100 ObjectsA History of the World in 100 Objects was a joint project of BBC Radio 4 and the British Museum, comprising a 100-part radio series written and presented by British Museum director Neil MacGregor...
- http://www.eisp.org/10/ Hoa Hakananai’a Laser Scan Project