Post #8943 by Tikis of Hawaii on Sun, Sep 22, 2002 1:34 AM

Aloha, due to the lack of this type of information, I have attempted to address this subject in the draft document below.
I would appreciate anyone's comments or questions (good or bad) on the document.
This information is a work in progress.

Mahalo, Dave
Tikis of Hawaii http://www.tikis.net

WHAT ARE TIKIS?

Broadly speaking, Tikis are figurative wooden sculptures or images, images that are particularly unique and expressive that come from a rich and vital Polynesian culture. Today, they are considered "primitive" or "tribal" art. Art because of their artistic value. Primitive or tribal because they possess histories that link then back to an exotic society and culture that had no writing. While there are no explicit standards for measuring quality in art, instinctive judgment and visual sensibilities will rate Tikis a high position on any scale.

Tikis are not inherently magical or sacred. Spiritual powers may possibly be derived or manifested from them through prayer, worship, or offerings. In other words, a figurative wooden sculpture may become religious or spiritual objects if the owners become engaged in these types of activities centered around them.

Evidence suggests that in old Hawaii, Tikis (the figurative wooden sculptures themselves) were not considered Gods. David Malo's manuscript, "Ka Moolelo Hawaii." (HawaiianTraditions) states

"…and then the priest seized the food and offered it up to the heavens and not to the image, because it was believed that the god dwelled in the heavens. The image was only a representation (of the god) as it stood before all those gathered." Malo goes on to state that "wooden and stone images (that were) carved by hand, were just points of reference for the actual form of the god in the heavens when that person considered the god as his. Thus, if the god was of the heavens, then the image was made to be like the heavens."

Tikis served as a visual symbolic likeness of the invisible, a physical object as a focus for deified or holy spirits.

Tikis are not idols. To call Tikis idols (which is a derogatory term that indicates not the sacred but mere superstition) implies that those who worship them practice idolatry or take the image itself as a God. Moreover, the use of the term idol inflames the sentiments of anti-idolatry religions like Christianity, as the Bible, at least in places, instruct their followers to oppose idolaters and smash their temples and images.

Beyond the above, Tikis, in the context of the old Hawaiian cultures, and societies that originally produced them, are not well understood. The old Hawaiian societies were preliterate, because of this, there is no way to reconstruct a detailed account of all aspects of Hawaiian history and culture that influenced Hawaiian sculptural style. Therefore, a definitive explanation of the conspicuous iconic and symbolic features that give Tikis their strong visual impact cannot be provided.

However, despite the many ambiguities and uncertainties associated with old Hawaiian Tikis, fragments of history and theories regarding the meaning of some of the stylistic complexities associated with Tikis are provided below.

CLASSIC "KONA" STYLE TIKIS

When most people think of Hawaiian Tikis, they think of the "Kona style" Tiki. These types of Tikis are believed to have developed on the Kona Coast of the Island of Hawaii and were popularized by King Kamehameha the Great. They are not necessarily believed to have been restricted to this particular area, or the only style of Tiki to have been found there, but rather a style of Tiki, which may have originated there. These Tikis were commonly used as temple or heaua sculptures. One of their prime functions was to inspire awe and terror in order to increase the influence of the chiefs and/or priests.

The main features of Kona style Tikis are an increased head size and headdress elaboration, faces dominated by snarling mouths and extended nostrils, and eyes dislocated into the hair (Figure X). This combination of features containing a certain degree of realism, coupled with a striking distortion and exaggerations of their elements reflect a possible indication of their potential legendary powers. While most Hawaiian sculpture is either male-oriented or asexual in form, a number of definitely female Tikis have been found among this group.

THE KONA STYLE FACE

The most conspicuous feature of Kona style Tikis is their facial expressions. Dominated by the mouth, open, snarling, and threatening (often ringed with teeth), the mouths of the Kona style Tikis, suggests the readiness of the gods to devour the offerings placed before them, for such is the way Hawaiian deities are often depicted in chant and myth.

Kona style Tikis may reveal a protruding tongue. In the Hawaiian language, to stick out the tongue is ho'opake'o; to grimace is ho’ohaikaika; to thrust out the chin or to stick the tongue under the lower lip and form a lump is Ho'oku'eku'emaka. All gestures regarded by Hawaiians as outrageous or signifying contempt. All of these facial characteristics can be found on "Kona style" Tikis. Moreover, standing with hands on hips, termed Kuaki’i, is a rude gesture that signifies one wishes to lord over another.

A possible explanation for these facial expressions, and stances which portray, irreverence, bravado and pompous can be found in historical descriptions of the political relationships among chieftains of old Hawaii. These descriptions characterize these relationships as intensely rivalrous and prone to warfare. Therefore, the intense sentiments depicted on these images can be interpreted as representing those that characterizing the relationships between chieftains.

Another interpretation of these types of facial expressions is that the open mouth and tongue represented the power of the spoken word in chant or prayer addressed to the spiritual beings, and the bared teeth were emphasizing the dangerous nature of the power.

In addition to the mouth-tongue-chin complex, a trait peculiar to Hawaiian Tikis, and especially the Kona style Tikis was the dislocation of the eyes. In the few original images that exist, the eye is located off the face in the hair pattern and is extended downward, dropping to the downward sweep of the hair. In other Kona style Tikis, the eye are triangles within the hair design, and the rear portions of the eyes are elongated vertically. The hair pattern in these images seems to serve as a frame for the eyes and appears to represent eyelashes or eyebrows, since it is both above and below the eyes.

THE KONA STYLE HEADRESS

The prominent and magnificent headdresses found on Kona style Tikis surely carried deep meanings in old Hawaii. Authorities on Tikis think that the headdress forms represent the genealogical succession of a god. This concept is based on the fact that in the Hawaiian language, a genealogy (or family tree) is often likened to the spine or backbone (iwikuamo'o). In old Hawaiian culture the head of a person was sacred, never to be violated. Hence, the symbolism of a backbone rising above the head suggests the covering and protection of the sacred part of the body by one's ancestry. Taken as an artistic statement, the top of the head dominated by a symbol of one’s family tree suggests the exalted and sacred status of the divine being depicted.

THE KONA STYLE STANCE

A consistent and conspicuous feature of "Kona style" Tikis is the almost uniquely Hawaiian three-dimensional stance of these freestanding humanoid figures. With an emphasis on the body surfaces with a massive musculature, the body parts are carved as distinct units with the head up, back straight, feet apart, knees flexed and thrust forward, heavy calves, and massive arms held curved at their sides with elbows commonly thrust out and back.

This classic and distinctly aggressive Polynesian "power posture" stance expresses potential action in an otherwise static pose, and gives these Tikis an extraordinary and expressive open three-dimensionality as well as an enhanced visual richness. This Polynesian power posture has been interpreted as the posture taken by wrestlers and boxers in old Hawaii prior to an athletic competition. It has also been suggested that it is also similar to a stance adopted in a couple of styles of Hawaiian dances: a dance called 'a ha' a (literally, "low style"), which was used by dancers and in the performance of rituals at heiaus or temples; and a dance called Hula Ku’I Molokai’I, a vigorous male dance imitative of athletes’ taunts, with foot stamping, thigh slapping, dipping of the knees and doubling of the fists as in boxing. Whatever the exact meaning of such a stance, it clearly suggests a general state of heightened and poised vitality, alertness, and strength.

AUMAKU STYLE TIKIS

Another style of Tiki from Old Hawaii was the Aumakua. These represented personal or family spirits.

There are a number of characteristics that distinguished the Amakua style Tikis from other style s of Tikis such as the Ku group. Generally Amakua Tikis were smaller in size than the Temple or Heiau images. Amakuas also lacked the elaborate headdresses, being either bald or having human hair affixed into the head. And a number of these types of images had pearl shell set into the eyes.

The Amakua type Tikis were the only group in which there are sculptures that could be clearly defined as female figures. Although most Aumakua images were without any definitive sex, it is probable that they thought of as males. Based on their near portraiture appearance, these images may have been carved with a particular individual in mind. However, these figures obviously go beyond a mere reflection of reality. Perhaps, the extent to which an image diverged from realism was as indication of their relative supernatural potential. Or, it could have been that the more distant the ancestry of aumakua, the more abstract the figure.

A lot of the literature on Hawaii makes abundant reference to using such images in "voodoo-like" practices of destructive telepathy (a slur on good voodoo) and the implication is both that all such practices had evil intent and that these evil practitioners were powerful and acknowledged members of society. The fact is that those who engaged in "black magic" were generally despised and not nearly as powerful as is thought, and that the same types of Tikis were used by beneficent practitioners for counter-sorcery and for healing.