ART ON VIEW 88 Top to bottom FIG. 12: Tiki. Taipivai, Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands. Volcanic stone (burned and broken by the Marquesan family that discovered it). H: 17.6 cm. Ex Fabrice Fourmanoir, Tahiti. Private collection, Tahiti. Author’s photo. FIG. 13: Double tiki. Marquesas Islands. Basalt. H: 12.3 cm. Ex Papeete Museum. Musée de Tahiti et des Îles – Te Fare Manaha, inv. 120. Photo: D. Hazama. FIG. 14: Tiki. Marquesas Islands. Basalt. H: 12.2 cm. Acquired in 1976 by Anne Lavondès for the Musée de Tahiti et des Îles at auction at Hôtel Drouot, Paris. Musée de Tahiti et des Îles – Te Fare Manaha, inv. 5691. Photo: D. Hazama. The most beautiful and also probably the oldest examples of stone tiki have a perforation at the back of the head (fi g. 14), which was used for attaching a cord to the object. This feature may be a connection between the single and double tiki, the latter described by von den Steinen (2005: 89) as having been used ritually for turtle hunting. The consumption of turtle was reserved for gods and priests, although it could sometimes be eaten in moderation by chiefs. The priest gave the command to catch the animal for funerary events or in cases of drought. The gods were fi rst “nourished,” and these sacrifi cial offerings (human and/or animal) were placed at the feet of the tiki. These small stone tiki were kept in sacred caves near the shoreline, in which fi shermen erected an altar called fa’e houtu for making offerings. The tuhuka (specialist, expert, or craftsman) used the double tiki (fi g. 13) in one of two ways. One was an oracular ritual during which the tuhuka threw the sculpture into the water. It was seen as a premonition of a successful hunt if the piece was found washed up on the beach the next day. The other also involved its being immersed in the ocean. After the turtles had been hauled in with a net, it was retrieved with its attachment cord, causing it to appear to swim. The single tiki with the perforation in the back of the head could be used in the same way. Small Wooden Tiki There is an important group of smaller-sized wooden tiki. These can be roughly divided into two groups depending on their size. The larger ones measure between 80 and 100 centimeters (fi g. 18) and the smaller ones between 40 and 60 centimeters (fi gs. 19 and 21). Several observers have reported that the larger statues wore clothing and ornaments. These have heads with a diameter similar to that of a human, which would allow the sculptures to wear the same items as a person. Moreover, one or two protrusions are often carved on the head corresponding to the projecting coifs of priest and chiefs. It is likely that tufts of hair were attached to these. Some accounts associate the smaller statues with rituals and beliefs also connected with the turtle hunt. As early as the fi rst quarter of the nineteenth century, eyewitness reports state that small wooden tiki were used in sacred rituals performed just prior
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