Tanga Roa is a deity who was in charge of water and sea animals. Rapa Nui legends say that Tanga Roa (and his son Rongo) were the first ancestors of the Rapa Nui and the island's supreme leaders began their genealogy from them. Tanga Roa figurines are carved two-faced anthropomorphic images in the form of a ceremonial staff, which most likely served as an attribute of the ruler's power of Easter Island.
