Post #483478 by bigbrotiki on Mon, Sep 14, 2009 10:11 PM

Not as sick as you might think: Not having any other forms of birth control at their disposal, but being aware that the resources on an island were limited, infanticide was an accepted form of birth control on Tahiti. So much for paradise.

Though the squatting birth position was common in the islands, and the middle figure could be interpreted as pulling the baby out between the legs, the fact that the "catcher" is clearly sitting on his victim seems to make the Cannibal concept more likely.

BUT: Cannibalism was NOT a Tahitian custom (unlike in the Marquesas), only human sacrifice, meaning ritual killing, but not ingesting. I believe that the influx of Marquesan carvers in Tahiti led to these puppies being called Bora Bora or Tahitian Cannibal carvings, but that their tradition and style actually hails from the Marquesas. Since no ancient examples exist, it is unclear if the concept is based on ancient tradition, or was an early whimsical idea to appeal to the tourists.

On 2009-09-14 18:48, Tiki-Kate wrote:
I honestly can't recall when my obsession with the Cannibal Trio started...

...maybe with the BOT? :D

An early souvenir concept indeed, as the date 1923 now asserts. Fantastic, Kate, I never had any proof of first appearance. Now compare these to the fake repros that were up on T.C. a few weeks ago, and everyone will see the difference.

Now the question remains: Why, starting with Don, did everyone in Polynesian pop get the sequence wrong? Wasn't it obvious?