What was the pupose did the giant moai statue have on Easter Island?

I think I heard that different villages on Easter Island made them to scare off evil spirits. The statues acted as protecters, and eventually, different villages competed to make the biggest and the best of the statues.This led to their downfall because they used up their natural resources building them, and they possibly died of a famine or disease, so I've heard, maybe lol.

look here, to much information ....

Nobody knows. The statues have been around for a long time, and nobody remembers why they were erected.

What purpose was there in building Christ of the Andes?