Post #684583 by Tikinut on Thu, Jul 4, 2013 5:02 AM

I am a fledgling in tiki culture, though I've gotten my feet wet by collecting tiki mugs the past couple years... (Suddenly just realized i loved it one day.) Interesting to think about the two approaches, the "traditional/historical" which aims to preserve history and be true to the origin of tiki culture in America, and the interpretive (previously described earlier as "fake") or perhaps you could say "adapted" tiki approach.

For those who have been immersed in tiki longer than I have you may disagree but what I find the most fascinating is the transition of tiki between the historical and modern and the fact that they coexist so beautifully. (Now I am not suggesting that margaritaville, for example is "tiki" I totally agree with previous comments that not everything Is tiki) but to give you an example I'm typing this and looking at my vintage Kowloon tiki mug sitting next to my "Shecky" and i love them both. I enjoy viewing vintage photos from Polynesia and I also like the works of Shag. I absolutely love mai tais but i confess, rum drinks that may not be "traditional" have been put into my usable tikis. I think whatever personal tiki "experience" an individual has on the journey, if it leads to the same destination (metaphorically) then it has some validity. That has been my tiki experience so far. I guess that makes me a heinz57 since i embrace both. :)