Easter Island Moai to be raised in Dublin

The Government of Chile will present a replica sculpture of an "Easter Island Moai" to the City of Dublin at a ceremony at 11am tomorrow.

The ceremony takes place on Clontarf Promenade (immediately north of Vernon Avenue) where the Moai will face Bull Island and the sea.

H. E. Cristian Barros, Deputy Foreign Minister of Chile will unveil the sculpture at a presentation to the city, which will be represented by Lord Mayor of Dublin Councillor Michael Conaghan.

The "Maoi" sculpted by artist Alejandro Pakarati a native of "Rapa Nui" (Easter Island) is carved from volcanic stone, is 3 metres in height and approximately 1.5 metres in width and will be set on a concrete base.

The sculpture is a replica of an Easter Island Head or "Maoi" which on average, stand four metres high and depict human heads-on-torsos from rough hardened volcanic ash.

There are approximately 1,000 of these volcanic stones in Easter Island. This small island, located in the South Pacific Ocean at 3,760 Kms off the Chilean coast, has been part of Chile since 1888.

The indigenous name of Easter Island is "Rapa Nui" - meaning "the navel of the world". Its inhabitants also refer to the island as "Marakiterani", meaning "the eyes that look up to the sky".

There are no two identical Moais. They are characterised by their large heads and torsos without legs, and their lower arms are only suggested in relief around their stomachs.