REUTERS + 7:16 am on 23 February 2022
The initiative is part of a repatriation program seeking to return to the Pacific Ocean island ancestral remains, sacred and funerary objects.
Similar negotiations have taken place to try to recover a specimen in the hands of the British Museum.
“For the first time, a Moai will return to the island from the mainland,” Minister of Culture Consuelo Valdes told reporters.
“Without a doubt, this is part of a work that as a ministry we began years ago with the return of various collections and ancestors to their homeland.”
Easter Island, over 2,000 miles (3,219 km) from the coast of Chile, has over a thousand stone statues, giant heads that were carved centuries ago by the island’s inhabitants, which have brought it fame and UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
The Rapa Nui community held an act in honor of the icon at the National Museum of Natural History in the Chilean capital, which still retains two smaller sculptures. The statue will be housed in the Padre Sebastianian Englert Anthropological Museum on the tourist island.
