Tiki
A carved human figure in Polynesian art, worn as a pendant or set as a post.
Also: hei-tiki
Tiki is a human figure in the art of the Maori and other Polynesian peoples. In Maori tradition, Tiki is the first man, and the hei-tiki is a greenstone pendant, of a figure with tilted head, worn around the neck as a family everyparampara, passed down through generations. In the Marquesas, Hawaii and Rapa Nui, large stone and wood tiki stand at temples and meeting places, and are linked with ancestors and gods. In the 20th century, the name was adopted for a style of American bars and decor with a Polynesian theme, which many Pacific Islanders regard as a distortion of their culture.
Region: Oceania