Post #445517 by Dustycajun on Tue, Apr 7, 2009 5:57 PM

On 2009-01-23 22:38, Dustycajun wrote:

What the heck are those figures stalking the tables on the inside of the restaurant??

DC

On 2009-04-07 07:15, bigbrotiki wrote:
But to see THESE figures as room dividers points to the use of an icon in Easter Island imagery so far UNPRECEDENTED in Polynesian pop, the Kava Kava man, or Moai Kava Kava:

The term literally means "figure with ribs". That's why my assumption always was that, since these hunched over, gaunt ancestor images did not befit promises of a sumptuous Polynesian repast, they were never used in South Seas supper clubs. But what I believe we have here...

...are examples of an ethnographic sub-genre of the Kava Kava man, the Moai Papa, or "flat figures":

...or the Moai Tangata, "realistic figures":

....or a combination of the two. In any case, I sure wish that there was more and better quality photographic evidence of this unique feature of this now more than ever mysterious Tiki temple!

Bigbro,

Thanks for that perceptive explanation on those figures! Mystery solved.

I have a series of postcards that show the historical progression of the Aku Aku and Eli's Moai.

The first is an early one that shows the Moai in its original location with the first Aku Aku sign out front.

There is also a second Moai back by the building - is this also an Eli? How many moais where there?

This next card shows the moai next to the new Aku Aku sign that was placed out front. You can see that the original Aku Aku sign is still there.

In this card the original Aku Aku sign is gone.

This next postcard shows the moai being moved out front next to the Stardust marque.

Finally the more modern wall signs with the moai images.

DC