In the South Pacific, within the French a part of Polynesia, lies a bunch of volcanic islands called the Marquesas. The largest of those is Nuku Hiva, with a comparatively modest area of roughly 1,000 square kilometers and a complete population of roughly 8,000 inhabitants.
Although it’s a small community, it boasts its own distinct culture. Hidden amongst the luxurious jungles and mountainous terrain of the Marquesas are quite a few ancient stone sculptures, fastidiously crafted from red volcanic tuff, their origins shrouded within the mists of time.
The figures depicted in these sculptures have humanoid or human-like features, albeit with unusual grotesqueness: their eyes are particularly large, resembling those of frogs, their thick and wide mouths also resemble frogs, and so they have completely human arms, legs, and genitalia.
Archaeologists call these carvings “tiki,” a term that broadly covers ancient stone carvings throughout Polynesia. The word itself comes from the Maori language utilized in Hawaii, where of their mythology it means the primary man and demigod.
While Hawaiian tiki statues are also intriguing, those from the Marquesas Islands are way more disturbing and, to some, even “alien” in appearance. No wonder supporters of the paleocontact theory have long been fascinated by them.
These supporters postulate that ancient extraterrestrials visited Earth during its early history, teaching humans in a wide range of disciplines corresponding to agriculture, science, mathematics, and more.
Historians argue, quite the opposite, that Polynesian statues represent numerous deities, priests and shamans. Proponents of paleocontact propose that ancient Polynesians tried to represent the extraterrestrials they encountered within the likeness of gods, thus establishing an interesting intersection of viewpoints.
Some marquise tikis have been moved to museums, others remain of their original, undiscovered locations in uninhabited parts of the islands.
Most Marquesas tiki are about one meter or less in height, although there are colossal specimens that reach as much as 2.5 meters in height. They could be found each as single statues and in grouped configurations.
Determining the age of those statues is a major challenge because dating stone objects is way more complex than dating organic materials.
Similar difficulties in dating exist with ancient megalithic structures corresponding to Stonehenge. Scientists can only assume that the age of those stone tiki may range from several hundred to several thousand years.
The folklore of the Marquesas Islands includes the fascinating legend of tiki. According to this tradition, ancient gods descended from the heavens, endowing the islanders with knowledge and skills.
In honor of those divine beings, people carved stone tikis. Such legends, telling about heavenly guests and gifts of wisdom, return in folklore from various corners of the world. Nevertheless, modern scholars often consider them to be myths and imagined narratives.
Unfortunately, after France colonized the Marquesas and far of Polynesia within the nineteenth century, knowledge of the natives began to vanish among the many local population.
Currently, roughly 90% of residents discover as Christians and have limited awareness of the faith and culture of their ancestors. Some people have faint memories of a time when tics played a distinguished role of their society, and every sculpture had its own distinct name and little else.
Most often, tiki statues were placed in sacred places called “meae”, often surrounded by stone formations or partitions. Sacred rituals were sometimes performed through which people adorned themselves in ceremonial clothing and made offerings of food to the statues.
On rare occasions, peculiar creatures were carved not as free-standing tiki statues, but as wall reliefs. The image below shows a bunch of those mysterious beings with large heads, wearing what look like helmets or headgear.
The function and symbolism of those stone tikis are also unclear. Some experts consider that they were religious or ceremonial objects used to honor gods, ancestors or spirits. Others argue that they were political or social markers used to point out status, power or affiliation.
Some interpret them as artistic or aesthetic expressions, used to brighten the landscape or convey emotions. Others speculate that they were astronomical or navigational devices used for stargazing or orientation at sea.
In addition to tiki statues and carvings, images of the strange, bulging-eyed Marquesas humanoids is also found on a wide range of on a regular basis objects, including clay bowls, boats, oars, and hair combs. People often wore amulets to ward off the evil eye, often decorating their chests with them.
The mystery of those alien stone tikis within the Marquesas Islands will not be easy to unravel. They ask many questions and supply few answers.
Image Source: Pixabay.com
