What is Tiki what is not?

I am fairly new to tiki and am still a bit fuzzy as to what is tiki and what is not. I have a Myer's Rum mirror that must have been in some bar at one time, although I don't know what one.( bought it in a junk shop in Sacamento) It has a tall ship in a harbor and a stack of rum barrels next to palm tree. No tikis in sight, in fact it may be depicting a scene from the Caribbean. But since it is a rum conected item that would look fine in a tiki bar, I am wondering if it is "tiki" or not?
I generaly collect Hawaiiana and that includes some stuff like mugs and god and menahuni figures and I know they would be considered "tiki". I also collect sarongs, aloha shirts, monkey pod and koa wood items, tapa cloth, original paintings by Hawaiian artists (but not of tikis) and surfer neckwear like Maui fish hooks and other pendants,(sea turtles and sea horses being my faves, but also god images and the original Tiki, the Moari first ancestor figure (the original Tiki who gave his name to so many things)in carved greenstone, bone, wood or cast in silver or bronze, puka and cowrie shell neckaces. Although Maui fish hooks and most carved bone, wood or stone pendants are generally refered to as tikis in surfer culture, I am not sure if they are "tiki" as the word is used here. I was told by another member that there is a great distinction between Hawaiiana and "Tiki". That is why I am posting here rather than on the "tiki" forums. here is an URL to a pic of the mirror
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/calthai2003/album?.dir=a502&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

[ Edited by: nuimaleko 2005-07-08 15:03 ]

Welcome to TC maleko.
I don't have an answer for you, I just wanted to say "Welcome to TC"

Enjoy!

Thanks. I see you are just down the road in Turlock. I am in Sacramento. I was a landscaper for much of my working life. My back will only let me do relatively light gardening now, but I have instaled a Tiki Garden here at my apartment complex (I am the volunteer gardener)I love water features and have built a few myself over the years. Never carved a tiki. Mahalo for the greeting.

Martin Denny is tiki.
Jimmy Buffett is not tiki.

I think most of those things you mentioned are certainly tiki-compatible. There is difference between collecting "tiki" and Hawaiiana. According to bigbrotiki, in the strictest interpretation, to be "tiki" an item must feature, of all things, a tiki. But also strictly speaking, a Moai is not really a "tiki" anywhere but in Polynesian Pop culture, so interpretation is somewhat subjective. Tiki-compatible items should at the very least have a relationship to the South Pacific, particularly Polynesia.

Here are some things that are NOT:

PJ - I am SO glad you included the owls... as I scrolled through your examples, I was thinking,
'the owls? where are the owls?'
tee hee

There's also a difference between 'party store tiki' and real tiki. I think we all know the difference!

What's with the 'nads on that bear???

And why is the bear either holding an umbrella, or wearing a Bo-Peep bonnet?

These are the questions that will creep into your head as you scour the shops for tiki.

Welcome, niumaleko!

The more time you spend looking through The Book of Tiki, the more it will become second nature to declare an item tiki or not.

Avoid owls unless they are on a Treasure Craft or Coco Joes's ashtray-plate thingy that reads, "Hawaii," and you are hypnotized and can't help yourself.

On 2005-06-23 12:46, Tiki-bot wrote:
What's with the 'nads on that bear???

PJ, you forgot

On 2005-06-23 13:23, ZebraTiki wrote:
And why is the bear either holding an umbrella, or wearing a Bo-Peep bonnet?

It does look like a parsol the bear is carrying, but its right hand is holding a purse! It's definitely the best ceramic she-bear drink mug ever!

It does look like that bear has both male genitals and breasts. You wonder what the artist's supervisor was thinking when they approved that for production.

On 2005-06-23 16:21, nuimaleko wrote:
It does look like that bear has both male genitals and breasts.

I think the correct phrase is "man tits"

Everything you would ever want to know about Tanuki

On 2005-06-23 16:26, Tikiwahine wrote:

On 2005-06-23 16:21, nuimaleko wrote:
It does look like that bear has both male genitals and breasts.

I think the correct phrase is "man tits"

Everything you would ever want to know about Tanuki

In honor of pride week, I declare the bear transgender!

NOT TIKI:

Still NOT TIKI:

Yes, TIKI:

Suprisingly Tiki:

This Star Wars weapon is actually designed from a Fiji Battle Hammer (totokia) and the club end is carved to represent the fruit of the pandanus tree.

-Z

[ Edited by: Feelin' Zombified on 2005-06-23 17:28 ]

Nuimaleko,

I hope this sheds some light on your quest:

Tiki is whatever I goddamn say it is.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Mr Tiki Bong (version 2000)

I like the Hondurus thing.I would never call it tiki but I might buy it if I came across it at a yard sale. I actually have quite a few little Central American and Mexican statues in obsidian that I like a lot. I have a necklace with a little god image of obsidian too.Not sure if it is Central or South American. Wasn't that why Heyerdal named his boat Kon_Tiki, because of a South American god named Tiki?
Could be from Lake Tikikaka.
Still not sure if they are "tiki", but I have a lot of stuff that I was given as gifts or found at garage sales or junk shops. To be honest I don't really give a damn if it is "tiki" or not as long as I like it.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/calthai2003/album?.dir=/f756

[ Edited by: nuimaleko 2005-07-08 15:10 ]

[ Edited by: nuimaleko 2005-07-08 15:16 ]

[ Edited by: nuimaleko 2005-07-08 15:53 ]

[ Edited by: nuimaleko 2005-07-08 16:08 ]

Being from and in Texas, it's easy to come across aztec/central american/south american/mexican items at thrift stores and garage sales. I buy the ones that look kinda tiki to me, but personally I kinda dig those civilations too.

OH yeah, when buying items from Big Lots and other stores. Think to yourself: "Self.. would that look cool in my swag bar?"
If ou pick up the smileing pitcher with the sun shades... you maybe taking home a demon in disguise. The type that breaks your worthy tiki mugs.

PS In my book, there is no shame in buying plastic mugs and Big Lots/TJ Max/etc. ceramic mugs. They are good to give away to party goers and butter fingered drunks. The plastic ones are good if you have kids and underagged drinkers come to a party as well. That way you can keep tabs on what they should be drinking. Plus it may inspire them to collect in the future.

-one man aspiring to be everyone’s favorite unkle.
http://www.unklejohn.com

My Tiki Lounge http://unklejohn.suddenlaunch.com/index.cgi

[ Edited by: Unkle John on 2005-06-23 22:17 ]

That pitcher you mention from Big Lots-- always looked like a tiki version of the Kool-Aid man. I haven't picked it up because my hubby won't allow it in the house. But who's kewler than the Kool-Aid man, I ask you? Nobody, that's who.

P.S. Welcome fellow Sakatamatan...good to have you aboard! If you haven't already, pay a visit to Sitting in Paradise in Midtown. They have some wonderful Hawaiiana merchandise and the owners are soopa!

If ou pick up the smileing pitcher with the sun shades... you maybe taking home a demon in disguise. The type that breaks your worthy tiki mugs.

Down here in Australia we get a large amount of "Bali" stuff. It is kinda like what Hawaii is to you guys. Just in Indonesia! Technically it is Asian, not Pacific. However, take the buddha out and replace it with tiki and you got tiki heaven! Works for me :)

We get some good New Zealand stuff here as well as you can imagine.

Don't worry about it being "tiki" too much. If you reckon it is kinda tiki, some people on here will probably dig it anyway.

It says it's tiki, but I think it's in denial

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=13641&item=6541236402&rd=1

Ok, this is getting way off topic, but the name gave me a giggle.

"Muffy the Diver"

That's cool about the Bali stuff. I love Bali. I have some wooden carvings and a sarong in my collection from Bali.
What about Aboriginal art? If New Guinea stuff is tiki, why isn't that?
To me if it is tropcical it all fits into my Pan-Tropical decor. Stuff from India, South East Asia, China, Australia, Africa, Oceanea and even Mexico live comfortably together in my apartment. I guess that is why I loved Hawaii so much, because of the cultural melting pot aspect of it.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/calthai2003/album?.dir=e510&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

[ Edited by: nuimaleko 2005-07-12 01:46 ]