Post #1743 by fatuhiva on Mon, May 27, 2002 12:30 AM

basically, most if not all of the "tourist" carvings in Tahiti and the surrounding islands come from the Marquesas- at least that's what everyone there told me. I guess the Marquesas are the headquarters of the carving community in the general area.. they supply the other islands with most of their souvenier tikis. They are of pretty high quality I might add.

However, these tikis, although common enough in French Polynesia and the area, are not that easy to come by in the states, even on Ebay. Those that live in French Polynesia are in a very isolated world- its even tough to get on the internet.

Although you may be able to get one from an importer here in the states, your best bet is to go there or work out a deal with someone going there.

..Or perhaps you could try and find someone on the internet who IS there and see if they can hook you up- perhaps by emailing some local resorts.

Let me put it this way- I sent myself a postcard while I was there and didnt see it again for two months!

Here's a shot of some tikis that were for sale on Moorea while I was there; they all came from the Marquesas:

Here's some various other tikis around the islands:

[ Edited by: fatuhiva on 2002-05-27 00:32 ]