Post #325795 by Cammo on Wed, Aug 15, 2007 10:06 AM

Here's what I think is a fabulous find. I got these from an antiques guy I've known for years, he didn't know I liked Tiki stuff until it came up this year. His eyes lit up when I told him, and then he rummaged around in a drawer and brought out these little Tiki pendants.

He got these on a collecting excursion to New Guinea in the mid-70's. They were from a really old medicine man, but were in an old dusty box. The old guy (probably in his 80's then) said that HIS father carved them way back when.

These babies are OLD, even when I was looking at them they had old dust and dirt on them that kind of crumbled off.

The medicine man explained to my pal that they were carved to ward off bad luck and illness, thy're all the same little figure but posed in different positions, they're amazing. Each position is designed to ward off a different type of disease. They are designed to be hung around the neck upside down so they appear correct to the wearer when held up. That's another tip-off that these are pre-tourist items. And most of them are not straight linear design, their heads turn to the side, their hands are askew, etc.; they look really natural.

And the crazy thing is - I always have really good luck when I'm wearing mine. It really seems to work.

So here's what one looks like, to my knowledge the only real tiki pendant at the Oasis! -

Don't you think it looks like Otto?