Oceania, Tribal Art, Make-make Sculpture, Early 20th Century

Tribal art, limestone sculpturerepresenting the god Make-Make
Origin: Easter Island,from the collection of a former colonial administrator
Restoration accident (photo)
Period: mid-20th century
Dimensions : height 50cm, weight 5.3kg
In the religion of theof Polynesian origin, Make-Make is the main god of Easter Island.of the island. He is represented with the body of a man and the head of a tern.Every year, the bravest young men and women took part in the Make-Makejumping contest. The aim was to dive into the ocean from the top of an impressive cliffand then be the first to retrieve the egg of a seabird nesting in thenesting in the crevices of the same cliff. The winner, the tangatamanu or bird-man, represented the god Make-Make for a full yearMake-Make and ruled the island. This cult disappeared along with most of thepopulation, decimated in 1862 by Peruvian slavers who deported thedeported to the Chincha Islands.