Post #305167 by Rattiki on Wed, May 9, 2007 1:15 PM

Well having been a Floridian that 'designed' and commissioned Asian carvers to make Tikis that I sold in the USA I'll jump in on this one. :D

Firstly I mostly agree with Sven on this one and will go so far as to say that these are from Indonesia (BaliWood I love that! :lol: ) and even though I have traveled extensively in ASEAN (and India) I've never been to Indonesia. But my folks have several times for long periods and hence our garden is filled with classic and modern Javanese and Balinese stone carvings. Centuries and generations of Indian religious and cultural influence on these carvers is hard to erase from the style they cultivated, and it is all too evident in their work which just doesn't work for Tiki. Though lest we forget that some parts of ASEAN are very close to -culturally and artistically- to Oceania. PNG, Borneo and even the Ifugao of Luzon, Philippines were not influenced by the Asian subcontinental style. So I have found that the carvers in Banaue generally get it right especially since their traditional local style is based on ancestor worship and mana (as they are descendants of headhunters). Hence I have many 'real' local pieces that look quite PNG......which of course is one of the styles that was utilized in the original Enchanted Tiki Room at Disney. :wink:

Meanwhile to be angry at utilizing these folk's artisan skills is a bit foolhardy as this is a traditional art-form and livelihood for them, with teenage boys being utilized solely as apprentices in this age old craft that is well affixed in their local cultures. Sports shoe making on the other hand is just capitalist exploitation :P