The cult image was given to English missionaries in the early nineteenth century as the local population converted to Christianity.

The first Europeans to land on the island were from HMS Blossom under Captain Beechey in 1824.

In 1835, Father Honoré Laval and Father François d'Assise Caret, with support of the reigning King Maputeoa and the former high priest Matua, destroyed most of what remained of the indigenous artwork, although Caret sent a few pieces to Europe.

[2] The large figure of a local god is carved from highly polished wood indigenous to the archipelago.

The standing male deity has a large head with distinctive features that are unique to artwork from the island.