Post #24700 by tikibars on Thu, Feb 27, 2003 10:33 PM

First of all, one must understand that there are many, many widely varied cultures in the Pacific islands, and an equally wide and varied number of carving styles.

Also, each of the cultures in the Pacific carve for different reasons.

For example, the Moai of Easter Island were not 'gods' at all, but memorials to great chiefs and leaders.

Each of the 996 Moai built on Easter Island has a name, and is supposedly an effigy of an important person who once lived among the Rapa Nui.

This is quite different from the Kona temple images of the Hawaiian gods Lono, Ku, etc. that we know so well, or of Tikis from the Cook Islands, Marquesas, or New Zealand.

So - this question cannot be nailed down quite so easily- it needs to be answered on a case-by-case basis, depending on which culture you're asking about.