Nov 15
Standing silently against an immense Pacific sky, the moai of Rapa Nui are among the most recognizable monuments ever created. Their long faces, powerful brows, prominent noses, and monumental proportions have inspired centuries of fascination. Images of the statues appear in documentaries, movies, advertisements, souvenirs, and American tiki décor around the world. Yet the real …
Apr 20
Across the immense Pacific Ocean, generations of Polynesian people passed down stories about creation, ancestors, gods, heroes, the sea, forests, storms, volcanoes, agriculture, warfare, death, and the origins of humanity. Many of these traditions share recognizable themes and even related names. Yet there is no single universal collection of “Polynesian gods.” Hawaiian traditions are not …
Apr 19
Dim lights glow behind woven shades. Bamboo covers the walls. Glass fishing floats hang from the ceiling beside ropes, carved figures, tropical plants, and mysterious objects collected from distant places. Somewhere in the room, a vibraphone plays beneath the sound of running water. Then an elaborate tropical drink arrives in an unusual ceramic mug. For …
Apr 16
Few objects are more instantly associated with tiki culture than the carved figure commonly called a tiki statue. With prominent eyes, strong brows, stylized bodies, dramatic mouths, and geometric forms, these figures have appeared outside tropical restaurants, beside swimming pools, in home tiki bars, on ceramic mugs, and throughout American Polynesian Pop for generations. Yet …
Jun 16
Polynesia is often reduced to a familiar collection of images: palm trees, canoes, flower lei, carved figures, tattoos, tropical beaches, and dancers moving to drums beneath a sunset. Every one of those images can connect with some part of Polynesian life. None comes close to explaining Polynesian culture as a whole. Across an enormous expanse …
Aug 19
The Polynesian Cultural Center is one of Oʻahu’s largest visitor attractions, but calling it simply a “luau” misses most of what happens there. Spread across a landscaped property in Lāʻie on Oʻahu’s North Shore, the Center presents six island areas representing Hawaiʻi, Samoa, Aotearoa New Zealand, Fiji, Tahiti, and Tonga. Throughout the afternoon, cultural presenters …
Aug 06
Few museum exhibits have traveled farther before reaching their display hall than the battered raft at the center of Oslo’s Kon-Tiki Museum. In 1947, six men climbed aboard nine enormous balsa logs lashed together with rope and sailed west from Peru. They spent 101 days at sea. They crossed more than 4,000 miles of the …
