LA Times article (Friday): Use of Styrofoam Statues Offends Easter Islanders - General Tiki

K kahukini Member Joined: Mar 28, 2002 Posts: 555	K kahukini Posted posted on Tue, Apr 16, 2002 7:10 PM I wonder how much we have to "thank" Christian missionaries for tiki culture - with most Hawaiians and other islanders now being Christians, they see the "tiki gods" as but curiosities too when they make them and sell them (except for a small minority that have "rediscovered" their heritage in recent decades) - they don't think they are making idols. Since most of the missionaries' dirty work was done in the late 19th and early 20th c., by the height of 50's tiki culture it makes it even more likely that the "erroneous" paganism of the past was ripe for secular use, and the newly baptized natives wouldn't care about serving white people mai tai's in the head of Lono.

I wonder how much we have to "thank" Christian missionaries for tiki culture - with most Hawaiians and other islanders now being Christians, they see the "tiki gods" as but curiosities too when they make them and sell them (except for a small minority that have "rediscovered" their heritage in recent decades) - they don't think they are making idols. Since most of the missionaries' dirty work was done in the late 19th and early 20th c., by the height of 50's tiki culture it makes it even more likely that the "erroneous" paganism of the past was ripe for secular use, and the newly baptized natives wouldn't care about serving white people mai tai's in the head of Lono.

Post #767 by kahukini on Tue, Apr 16, 2002 7:10 PM