Post #627549 by bigbrotiki on Sun, Mar 4, 2012 8:00 AM

Yes, Jeff and her are a couple for life. Excellent catch on that statue, that one with its beard and hand position is the closest match for sure.

I had jumped to respond to your question to quickly, and have to apologize for shoddy research:

A.) The carving on the left is indeed associated with the name Pele!:

..as this is what it says in the Hawaiian Carvings book:

(but they are not convinced of it depicting a female either)

B.) The Bum's version has an entirely more unique heritage, here it is in his own words:

"I bought that Pele from a sculptor who carved it for OA, but somehow he ended up with it again in his garage. His Pomona studio just happened to be next door to the "ancient art mart" location for "Secret of Easter Island" that I was dressing with tikis I'd rented from OA. The guy wandered in, saw them and started pointing at one, then another. "Hey, I carved that. I carved that one too." He told me he used to work for Bob and Leroy, and that he had a couple of tikis in his garage. He brought in the Pele the next day, and I figured what the hell, I can't afford it BUT I can write off the cost as set decoration -- which it was! You can see her clearly in the art gallery scene of the film.

She and I have been together ever since...."