The giant stone statues, or moi, of Easter Island have become an almost universal symbol for all that is mysterious about man’s relationship with the planet. And of all the questions that have been asked about them the one that most intrigues travel humor writer Bob Payne was put forward by a German woman he met on the beach at Anakena, a little cove on the far side of the island, who believed the red stone topknots that originally crowned many of the statues were not hats, as people often supposed.
“It is plain to see,” she said, “That the moi is the abstraction of a penis. So why would an erect penis have a hat?”
It was apparently a rhetorical question, because before Payne could answer – and he could think of several scenarios involving a penis in which a hat might be useful – she answered for him, in a tone you could only call triumphant. “Because it is not a hat, it is a female sexual organ – on top.”
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