What is the origin of the Hawaiian word tiki?
The word appears as tiki in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and Marquesan; as tiʻi in Tahitian, and as kiʻi in Hawaiian. The word has not been recorded from the languages of Western Polynesia or in the Rapa Nui language. In Hawaiian traditions the first man was Kumuhonua. He was made by Kāne, or by Kāne, Kū, and Lono.
What do tiki carvings mean?
Some statues wear expressions of great joy or spiritual balance, while others may look more troubled or sad. The history of tiki culture dates back to ancient Polynesia. Such carvings were first discovered in Polynesia, and tiki carvings are said to represent a Polynesian God.
What is a tiki in New Zealand?
He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond; she seduced him and he became the father of Hine-kau-ataata. By extension, a tiki is a large or small wooden or stone carving in humanoid form, although this is a somewhat archaic usage in the Māori language.
What is Tiki culture?
Tiki culture is American art, music, and entertainment inspired by Oceanian art, Caribbean art, and art of the east Pacific. Influential cultures include Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, the Caribbean Islands, and Hawaii.
What is the origin of Tiki?
The history of tiki culture dates back to ancient Polynesia. Such carvings were first discovered in Polynesia, and tiki carvings are said to represent a Polynesian God. They're an integral part of South Pacific mythology, culture and history.
What does Tiki mean in Hawaiian?
Tiki are also called Ki'i in Hawaiian. The word 'Tiki' originates from New Zealand's Maori tradition. Tikis can be traced back to ancient Polynesian culture, which explains their influence on the Hawaiian mainland. According to Maori customs and traditions, Tiki represents the first human being on earth.
What does Tiki symbolize?
In Polynesian mythology, tiki often represents the first human being on Earth created by the atua (deity) Tane, who, together with Hine-ahu-one, is considered humankind's progenitors. In areas of Polynesia, carved tiki figures were often thought to be a repository for a certain god's mana (prestige).
Who invented Tiki?
Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, known better as Don the Beachcomber, is often called the founding father of tiki. Don was a bootlegger and spent many of his young years touring the South Pacific for inspiration.
What does Tiki mean in New Zealand?
The Hei Tiki represents the human form and one's ancestors. Traditionally passed from parent to child or used for protection and good luck. It links the past, present and future.
Is Tiki a god?
In the Maori tribe, which began in New Zealand and made its way to other Polynesian and Hawaiian islands, Tiki culture begins with Tiki, the first man. Believed to have been the creation of the god Kane, Tiki is often worshipped as a god because he was the first and only human being on Earth.
Can men wear Tiki?
One is the wearing of Hei-tiki. These are pendants worn round the neck by both men and women. They are usually made of a type of greenstone, which the Maori call pounamu, and take a human form. Hei-tiki are highly valued and personal, they are passed down from generation to generation and often given special names.
Are tiki bars offensive?
The nostalgia people express through tiki is offensive because it forgets that this colonialism and militarism is ongoing, not temporary. Not past. Not over. Then, starting in 1990, tiki came back from the dead — with a Midcentury Modern bent.
What is a Tiki Polynesian?
A Tiki is a sculpture endowed with an important spiritual and symbolic force, originating from the Marquesas Islands and usually representing a modified man. The Tiki is a real emblem of French Polynesia and holds a significant position in the local culture.
Where did tiki huts originate?
Where Did Tiki Huts Come From? These huts were originally built by the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes of Florida.
What do tiki masks represent?
Tiki statues were carved to represent the image of a certain god and as an embodiment of that specific god's mana, or power. With well-formed tikis, perhaps the people could attain protection from harm, strengthen their power in times of war and be blessed with successful crops.
What is the history of tiki?
Some statues wear expressions of great joy or spiritual balance, while others may look more troubled or sad. The history of tiki culture dates back to ancient Polynesia.
Where did the tiki culture originate?
The history of tiki culture dates back to ancient Polynesia. Such carvings were first discovered in Polynesia, and tiki carvings are said to represent a Polynesian God. They’re an integral part of South Pacific mythology, culture and history. Similar to the way the Christian religion sees Adam as the first created human, ...
What is tiki art?
Tiki Culture and Art. Tiki carving is one of the oldest art forms known to man, and all original Tiki carvings are unique. Each island culture introduced another variation to the carving technique. In most tiki cultures, Tiki statues carved by high-ranking tribesmen were considered sacred and powerful, and these were used in special religious ...
How tall are the tiki statues on Easter Island?
Some are as tall as 33 feet, but the average size is 14 feet.
Why are tiki statues used?
Statues carved with threatening expressions are often used to scare away evil spirits, and others with more amicable expressions are created for use in religious ceremonies, healing services, or to bring good luck. Each individually carved Tiki statue, whether stone or wood, displays the artistic creativity of its time.
What are the four gods of tiki?
The four major Hawaiian Tiki Gods are Ku the God of War, Lono the God of Fertility and Peace, Kane the God of Light and Life, and Kanaloa the God of the Sea.
What was the island style of the 1970s?
Soldiers returning home from the South Pacific were familiar with the cuisine and decor, and with this familiarity spurring its popularity, the island style quickly found its way through many other establishments and homes in the United States. The 1970s saw a decline in Tiki bars, as disco became the predominant night club scene.
When was the word "tiki" first used?
The word "tiki" was used to describe the style of the tropical islands of the South Pacific starting in the late 1930s, a usage that is "unknown to the languages of the Pacific". It was applied early on to "tiki punch", "tiki rooms", "tiki torches", and so on. By the 1950s, restaurants often used the word to describe Polynesian-themed bars " tiki ...
What is tiki culture?
Tiki culture is a motif of exotically decorated bars and restaurants catering to an escapist longing for travel to tropical regions of the South Pacific. Featuring mock tiki carvings and complex, alluringly named alcoholic drinks, it eventually influenced residential recreation. Starting in California in the 1930s ...
What is a vintage tiki mug?
Vintage tiki mugs are highly prized finds and are considered to be as much of a symbol of the tiki culture as a tiki itself.
Why are tiki mugs called tiki mugs?
Establishments that were part of or influenced by tiki culture also eventually served at least some of their cocktails in decorative ceramic mugs, which came to be known in the 1950s as tiki mugs because the barware started to bear the shape of a tiki or "faux tiki" approximation.
Where is the Tiki Kon?
Tiki-Kon started as the NW Tiki Crawl in 2003, and takes place in Portland, Oregon. ; Tiki Caliente in Palm Springs. The Ohana: Luau at the Lake takes place in Lake George, NY at the Tiki Resort hotel. It is put on in conjunction with The Fraternal Order of Moai, a tiki-themed social club formed in Ohio in 2005.
Where did tiki culture start?
Tiki culture began at the end of Prohibition in 1933 with the opening of Don's Beachcomber, a Polynesian-themed bar and restaurant in Hollywood, California. The proprietor was Ernest Raymond Beaumont-Gantt, a young man from Texas and New Orleans who had done some rum-running with his father and claimed to have sailed throughout much of the Pacific Ocean. The restaurant's name was later changed to Don the Beachcomber, and Beaumont-Gantt legally changed his name to Donn Beach. His restaurant featured Cantonese cuisine and exotic rum cocktails and punch drinks, with a décor of flaming torches, rattan furniture, flower leis, and brightly colored fabrics that looked like imagery out of the popular movies that were helping to fuel the desires of the average American to travel the Pacific.
Who is credited with bringing tiki to the forefront of decorations at such restaurants and bars?
Crane is generally credited with also bringing tiki to the forefront of decorations at such restaurants and bars, prominently placing their image on his menu covers, matchbooks, entry ways, and other signage. Southern Pacific themes continued to stray more into the even further imagined realm of the mysterious "tiki".
But first, what does Tiki even mean?
The word Tiki traces back to New Zealand and Polynesia. It is Māori and refers to either a stone or wooden carving in a form that somewhat resembles a human being. These carvings often have piercing eyes and a distorted, menacing expression. They mainly represent Polynesian Gods, but also ancestors or other important figures in Polynesian culture.
Origin of modern Tiki culture and Tiki Cocktails
After prohibition had ended, Texas-born Ernest Raymond Beaumont-Gantt opened the first Tiki-themed bar in Hollywood, California. -If you are familiar with modern Tiki culture, you might now wonder if it wasn't Donn Beach who opened the first Tiki Bar - namely, the famous Don the Beachcomber.
The Tiki hype grew further after WWII
Around the time World War II ended, in the 1940s, a restaurant chain called Trader Vic's opened its doors - created by Victor Jules Bergeron. He followed a similar concept to Donn Beach's ideas with tropical decoration, colorful, exotic cocktails, rattan and bamboo, and flaming torches - just like the set up at Don the Beachcomber.
How did Polynesian culture turn Hawaiian?
That's quite a story, to be honest. Because Don the Beachcomber was more managed and built by his wife Sunny than by Donn himself. He joined the forces when WW2 broke out and was away building rest and recreation centers for soldiers most of the time.
What is the essence of Tiki Cocktails?
Back from the origin of modern Tiki hype to the actual Tiki Cocktails again. As I said before, dozens of different drinks are categorized as Tiki, and it's hard to find a common denominator. The closest would probably be to say that all Tiki Cocktails have a tropical -meaning South Pacific, Hawaiian, Caribbean- theme.
The Holy Trinity of Tiki Cocktails
The term "Holy Trinity" in this context refers to the three most important cocktails in modern Tiki culture. The first of these three is indeed the Navy Grog. That might be a little surprising for some because, these days, the word Grog can be everything and anything. But it is true, Grog widely is recognized as the very first Tiki Cocktail.
Overview of famous and popular Tiki Cocktails
The Holy Trinity of Tiki cocktails -Navy Grog, Mai Tai, and Zombie- is already covered. But apart from those three, countless other cocktails belong to the Tiki category. To make it not too overwhelming, I want to introduce only six more famous Tiki cocktails.
