Back To The Source:
THE MARQUESAS ISLANDS
8/30/01
From January 19th to February 3rd 2002, Sven A. Kirsten will lecture on Tiki
culture on board the Aranui, a real freighter that supplies the Marquesas
Islands from Tahiti, but also takes a small number of cruise passengers. The
Marquesas are the cradle of Tiki art, where Thor Heyerdahl was inspired in
his research, Melville lived and Gauguin found his final resting place.
The ship consists of 30 comfortable cabins, robust meals, and attractive
public areas. It is a very livable vessel, but this experience is not for
travelers looking for glamour or glitz. You go along for the ride to watch
the tattooed crew sling sacks of copra (dried coconuts) and oil drums by day,
and strum ukuleles on the port deck by night. The Aranui offers an authentic
taste of Polynesian life at sea and the rare opportunity to visit these
islands like a native. These 12 islands remain largely cut off from the 20th
century and were only colonized a century ago. The result is a people that
have been transported from the Stone Age to the Atomic Age in the last
hundred years.
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Excerpts from the
Aranui website text:
Day Six - Nuku Hiva
The first call the Aranui makes in Nuku Hiva is Taiohae, the administrative
center of the Marquesas. Taoihae Bay is a giant volcanic amphitheatre, the
remnants of a volcanic crater. Around the bay are towering cliffs streaked
by waterfalls. It was here that a young Herman Melville deserted his whaling
ship, and fled to Taipivai Valley. His stay with the cannibal Taipi tribe
was the basis for his famous novel Typee.
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We will take you, by jeep, along a
steep, winding dirt road, to this secluded valley. Taipivai Valley contains a
treasure grove of stone tiki gods, the remains of massive platforms on which
the Taipi built their houses and sacred sites. You will return on the
Aranui's whaleboats to her anchorage in Taipivai Bay. There is excellent
scuba diving in the area.
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Day Nine -Hiva Oa
We'll travel by foot or by jeep to the most important archaeological site
for tiki (representing ancestors) other than Easter Island. Our trained
guides (meaning Sven-Tiki in this case) will show you these mysterious jungle
ruins of Puamau and tell the stories of these haunting statues of an ancient
civilization. Bring plenty of film.
For the 2002 voyage schedule see
www.Aranui.com
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7/30/01
The TIKI BEACH FESTIVAL, a whole day of Polynesian music, food and vendors,
will happen on August 25th in Long Beach, Los Angeles.
Afterwards, also on the 25th, join the opening party for Miles
Thompson's
Island Images
exhibition at the Dion Gallery in Redondo
Beach.
Miles'
website
is one of the most entertaining experiences on the net, and
shows his amazing talent in Polynesian Pop iconography.
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7/30/01
PALM SPRINGS TIKI FETE AND MODERN TOUR 2001
August 18th/19th at the
Caliente Tropics Motel,
whose Tiki theme was preserved after exposure to the Book of Tiki.
"Be a modern primitive! Take a Tiki Trip to Palm Springs and tour the
mid-century modern sites! The authentic Caliente Tropics oasis awaits
you! Enjoy exotica muzak by the Tiki-studded pool while imbibing
Beachbum Berry's cocktail creations! Shop for polynesian pop
paraphenalia and be initiated into the cult by Book of Tiki author
Sven Kirsten.
Program:
Saturday, August 18th: Register and pick up the tour map (selfguided) of 38
modern sites in Palm Springs at the lobby. Exotica music by the pool all day
Saturday and Sunday!
6:00 p.m. Pool party with Exotica music and no host bar serving cocktails
made from the recipes of Beachbum Berry's "Grog Log." Tiki carvings and
ceramics on sale by Bosko, CC Rider and Blue Sea International. All attendees
get a complimentary copy of the new "Carvers" issue of Tiki News!
7:30 Live carving expo by CC Rider.
8:30 Informal slide lecture by the pool: "Tikis of America's deserts and
urban jungles" by Sven Kirsten, author of The Book of Tiki. Sven will be
available to sign his book.
ADDED ATTRACTION: After the slide show there will be a poolside screening (16
mm!) of an original "Hawaiian Eye" episode (true early 60s pre-Hawaii 5-0
Tiki TV)
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