Post #729909 by nzbungalow on Sat, Oct 18, 2014 9:59 PM

One of the first things I noticed in comparing Hawaiian tiki mugs and NZ Maori tikis is that Maori tikis have tongues. Members are probably aware of the Maori haka, the war dance in which facial expressions using eyes and tongues are used to induce fear in opponents. In Hawaiian tikis especially those depicting Ku, the teeth are used to frightening effect and the tongue is noticeably absent. In Rarotongan statues, notably depictions of Tangaroa, the mouth appears to be closed, showing neither teeth nor tongue, but a large penis is used to invoke awe. I am less familiar with the carvings of other Polynesian groups but was surprised recently to see a wooden carving of what looked very like the depictions of Ku on tiki mugs but with the word Tonga included in the carving.
I'm curious to know what place the tongue plays in traditional Hawaiian carving as I have seen tiki mugs with tongues that are not NZ Maori tikis: is this traditional or a recent development?