Tiki all over the world

I live in holland and all the tiki-related stuff i get is trough the internet. I really love the artwork and the style, but the lack of tiki here in holland makes it difficult to have a real taste in this thing. My view of tiki is really reallygood, but my real question is what does tiki really mean and do people devote their lives to this thing?

People DO devote their lives to this thing.

Many of those people are here on Tiki Central. In its most basic form, Tiki is purely a fantasy and escape from a life that is probably not very tropical at all.

There are several different focuses in tiki. There are the Hawaiian/Oceana faux culture lovers who like Hawaiian music, polynesian dancers and traditional artifacts from the cook islands, marquesas and Hawaii. You also have the pop culture lovers who flock to anything collectible or vintage relating to the mid century fascination with Tiki. Then there are also the more lounge inclined tiki lovers who focus more on the drinks and social aspects of tiki.

I doubt that any one of us fits any of those stereotypes directly but is rather a mixture of several or all inclinations.

Some people here love Exotica Music and others cant stand it. They might lean more toward the surf aspect of Beach Culture. Theres the Alfred Alpaka crew who love hapa haole standards.

We can all agree on one thing and that its a passion that we all share and are glad that we have found a group of others (no matter how far away) to enjoy it with.

Aloha,

Monkeyman

[ Edited by: Monkeyman on 2004-05-29 22:50 ]

I also feel my love for tiki is partly a reaction against political correctness. I have had too may cocktails to expalin this properly but I think it can be summed up as thus:

Less virtual relality, more ritual virility!

On 2004-05-29 22:49, Monkeyman wrote:

Excellent first reply Monkeyman. I couldn’t have said it better.

wow, Monkeyman, thanx. Your reply was really cool. :).

Now it is up to me to spread the tikivibe here in holland, hehe.

How are those cocktailparty's? They sound really great, does someone have a url where i can view pictures of them?

Grtz,

Barteld

Barteld,
Welcome to Tiki Central!

First thing you should do is purchase a copy of The Book of Tiki.

It will help answer many of your questions, and besides, it's a thing of beauty!

yes - welcome indeed! i LOVE it when you hear from people in far off exotic places (far from me in l.a. at least) discovering what feels like a small neghborhood bar sometimes.

i concur with the recommendation on the book of tiki to get things started for you... but also get yourself James Teitelbaum's Tiki Road Trip

once you have a home tiki bar set up... i bet that if you start serving your friends some home made mai tais - you will get some recruits and cohorts in your love for tiki.

[ Edited by: Futura Girl on 2004-06-05 05:28 ]

Hey Bart, You wouldn't happen to be from the Gemert area of Holland, would you?

Yeah Fish, and I'm crazy too. I like the anti-suburban look. The more tiki and jungly and wild, the better. It gets old talkin' to people who always say, "well that's nice","have a nice day","hey that's neato", .....sometimes I feel like I'm livin' in "Leave it to Beaver" or "Father Knows Best". I get tired of all the niceties. The square neat suburban lawns, the homogenized, pasteurized homes.
I want WILD BABY.
Tiki is a way to escape all the phony crap.

On 2004-06-05 05:26, Futura Girl wrote:
yes - welcome indeed! i LOVE it when you hear from people in far off exotic places (far from me in l.a. at least) discovering what feels like a small neghborhood bar sometimes.

i concur with the recommendation on the book of tiki to get things started for you... but also get yourself James Teitelbaum's Tiki Road Trip

once you have a home tiki bar set up... i bet that if you start serving your friends some home made mai tais - you will get some recruits and cohorts in your love for tiki.

[ Edited by: Futura Girl on 2004-06-05 05:28 ]

On 2004-06-05 23:55, lanikai wrote:

On 2004-06-05 05:26, Futura Girl wrote:
yes - welcome indeed! i LOVE it when you hear from people in far off exotic places (far from me in l.a. at least) discovering what feels like a small neghborhood bar sometimes.

i concur with the recommendation on the book of tiki to get things started for you... but also get yourself James Teitelbaum's Tiki Road Trip

duhh. well, that didnt work.

ok.

what I meant to do... is say:

road trip is great reference, jus ignore da unaloha style meanspiritedness off sum o da reviews.

and you will be ok.....

Well, first of all, thanx for your reactions.
I did buy the TikiRoadTrip book. Most of the stuff is in the USA, so to far for me, but i get the idea.
The book of Tiki is hard to get in Holland, but I am working on it.

Raffertiki, I am not from Gemert. sorry

thanx and till we meet again

Stupid thing though, I was in Manhattan recently and I forgot the Roadtrip book. So that was pretty stupid. Guess I have to go back! :)

barteld, you have the tiki party and post the pics for us! i'd love to see it. live it up over there baby.

Barteld - Welcome!

I've got relatives in Den Haag & Rijswijk. On one visit, I was amazed to find a tiki mug and wooden tiki mask from Hawaii at the Waterlooplein outdoor market in Amsterdam. You might find tikis and Polynesian/Hawaiiana mixed in with Indonesian statues & art, so check places that sell those.

Buy the Book of Tiki. It's published by Taschen. It might be available in a store that has a selection of art books.

It seems like any ingredients you may need to make tiki drinks should be available in Amsterdam, but then again, what isn't for sale there?

Some of the food for a party may be a stretch, but there are some Indonesian dishes that are similar,and tiki usually is a vague mix of styles that are grouped together, not always Hawaiian.
Good luck discovering (or maybe spreading) tiki throughout the Netherlands! Any country that has the "McCroquet" HAS to have a tiki bar!

hahaha, thanx Zebra. The McKroket IS one of our specialties :)

Thanx for your reaction. Buying that book is definitely on my to-do-list!
So is looking for mugs!

Grtz and nice to see that people visit Holland.

Grtz,

G'day from down under

I'm a Tiki head from Sydney, Australia. I don't know of any other Tii heads from around here yet. I do know they exist cause iv seen em in magazines and so forth. The good news is New Zealand is just a short swim away (okay maybe plane flight).

Elements of tiki culture are abound in everyday life, you just gotta keep your eyes open. Whether it be bamboo candle lanterns, palm tree gracing the flanks of a swimming pool etc. I work in a swimming pool shop and the majority of customers would have palms around the pool. Now they might NOT go "sure Ive got a Tiki themed pool area" but the truth is that the polynesian theme is present, ingrained on the consciousness but not enough to be aware of

[ Edited by: hewey on 2004-09-16 21:38 ]

Ah hell, another Australian!