Katy Spisak
The British Museum is facing increased pressure from social media campaigners demanding the return of the moai stone statue to Rapa Nui island.
The social media campaign began when Chilean social media influencer Mike Milford encouraged his followers to spam the posts of the British Museum’s Instagram account demanding the repatriation of the moai.
Social media campaigners called for the return of the Hoa Hakananai’a statue, also known as “Stolen Friend.” In an online video, Milford said: “My followers began spamming ‘return the moai’ on Wikipedia, and then the comments section of the British Museum Instagram was full of people posting ‘return the ,oai’.”
https://www.tiktok.com/@thenewsmovement/video/7337372858475351342
The Chilean territory of Rapa Nui island, also known as Easter Island, is well known for its Moai statues. The indigenous people of Rapa Nui island believe that these statues embody the spirits of their ancestors.
In 1868, two of these moai statues were transferred to England as a gift to Queen Victoria. They were later donated to the British Museum.
Following recent calls for the return of the moai statue, the Chilean president, Gabriel Boric, expressed his support for the campaign. In a recent radio interview with Radio Chiloé he said: “The English should give us back the moai.”
Other countries are also calling for the repatriation of their historical artefacts. Egypt is calling for the return of the Rosetta Stone, an “icon of our Egyptian identity.” Last year, Greece’s prime minister called for the Parthenon Sculptures to be returned from the museum.
The British Museum have since deactivated comments on one post, which had been shared in collaboration with a youth charity. A spokesperson for the British Museum said that they welcomes the debate but it needs to be “balanced against the need for safeguarding considerations, especially where young people are concerned.”
READ NEXT:
-
BRITISH MUSEUM THEFT SCANDAL REIGNITES ARGUMENT FOR REPATRIATION
-
FRANCE AND GERMANY TO INVESTIGATE PROVENANCE OF AFRICAN ARTEFACTS IN NATIONAL MUSEUMS
-
EMPOWORD EXPLAINS: LEE ANDERSON ACCUSED OF ISLAMOPHOBIA
Featured image courtesy of Christian Córdova via Flickr. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.
