Survivor immunity Idol (Tiki) on eBay

The Survivor immunity idol is on eBay. There is no description whether this thing is real carved wood, styrofoam, or what.

Seems like the artist forgot to add a key part to these Marquesan Tikis.

Hmmmmm........

-Mike

if you ask me, it nots worth it at all, unless you are specifically a survivor fan. Those particular tikis are all around the french polynesia/marquesas area and can be easily had for $200-$400. Looks to me like all they did was buy one from a local carver.

The thing is $1500+ right now and my advice would be to spend the money on a plane ticket out there instead- you'll be alot happier.

I think it's an extremely cool carving, and looked like it had a lot of detail when they showed it close enough to see. And, the style is an interesting change from the typical Hawaiian carvings that are so relatively abundant on the US mainland. I'd like to find a reasonable source for carvings of this type on the internet if anybody knows of one.

I found a little one (10 inches) at a thriftstore In Roswell, NM of all places. Not likely to find another one there...or anywhere in New Mexico? :wink:

Cool Tiki Desktop Patterns: http://www.hugemagazine.com/mac/desktiki.html

[ Edited by: kingslod on 2002-05-26 21:35 ]

basically, most if not all of the "tourist" carvings in Tahiti and the surrounding islands come from the Marquesas- at least that's what everyone there told me. I guess the Marquesas are the headquarters of the carving community in the general area.. they supply the other islands with most of their souvenier tikis. They are of pretty high quality I might add.

However, these tikis, although common enough in French Polynesia and the area, are not that easy to come by in the states, even on Ebay. Those that live in French Polynesia are in a very isolated world- its even tough to get on the internet.

Although you may be able to get one from an importer here in the states, your best bet is to go there or work out a deal with someone going there.

..Or perhaps you could try and find someone on the internet who IS there and see if they can hook you up- perhaps by emailing some local resorts.

Let me put it this way- I sent myself a postcard while I was there and didnt see it again for two months!

Here's a shot of some tikis that were for sale on Moorea while I was there; they all came from the Marquesas:

Here's some various other tikis around the islands:

[ Edited by: fatuhiva on 2002-05-27 00:32 ]

My mother-in-law brought over 3 carved idols from the Marquesas that she picked up there a few years back and we were commenting about how much they resembled aliens from outer space. We were thinking maybe the Marquesans had been visited sometime in their past. And now I'm told that one of these was picked up at a thrift store in Roswell, NM??? Interesting connection....

It is true that basically all "Tahitian" Tikis are from or at least based on Marquesan idols, because pre-contact Tahiti did not have a carving tradition, their god images were symbolic sennit bundles with some feathers stuck into them. So there really is no Tahitian Tiki, but since the growth of tourism in the 20th century many Marquesan carvers (and now tatooists) have moved to Tahiti to make a living. I have seen photos of Trader Vic buying wooden post Tikis in Tahiti which were clearly Marquesan style. All the architectural post Tikis you see in Tahitian Hotels are based on the tradition that the Marquesans used these in their slanted A-frame huts.
Tahitians and Marquesans have a local pride issue because of this and other examples of selling Marquesan culture as Tahitian for tourist business which really came to a peak when, as an afterthought, the French Tahitian authorities decided that this Survivor should not be called Survivor Marquesas but Survivor Tahiti! They suddenly slapped the Producer with all kinds of invented fees in the tens of thousands, but he did not budge.
The sad fact is that the Tahitian government, though headed now by a native Tahitian, is just as full of corruption and nepotism as any Banana Republic.

exactly-

All those tiki pics above were taken in Tahiti, Moorea, etc ie: The Society Islands, but they are all Marquesan style tikis- most likely carved in the Marquesas as well.

Hahaha- unless, of course they came from Whittier, California :)

[ Edited by: fatuhiva on 2002-05-27 22:55 ]