Museum Performativity and the Agency of Sacred Objects

Based on a critical revision of the Easter Island statue exhibit Hoa Hakananai’a at the British Museum, this paper discusses how indigenous sacred objects have been traditionally interpreted and displayed by Western universal museums. However, considering the influence of colonialism in the way these objects tend to be presented, it explores the potential of performativity in museums and its relevance for understanding the concept of agency in native ancestors’ representations. Therefore, it is argued that, through the integration of divergent non-Western ways of interpreting their collections, museums could promote participation, diversity and constructive connections with source communities and visitors alike, as contemporary museology has urged. Relating to similar cases, it also pays attention to the process of repatriation that Rapa Nui people have formally begun, with the support of the Chilean state as the constitution responsible for that territory. What is the role of museums in contemporary societies?