Tiki Tau

Damn you Bobby Brady

On our first trip to Maui there were two things that I just had to bring back home, one was an ukulele and the other was a tiki.
Blame television and that crazy Brady Bunch for instigating an enfatuation with tikis. Damn you Bobby Brady!
Our first visit to Lahaina revealed that I would not have any problem procuring a hand carved tiki. Carvers sat along the sidewalk hammering out images of tiki gods but many of them also had turtles, dolphins and other things, all highly polished and lacquered and it made me wonder how far away from authentic these tikis might be. Knowing a lot more now than I did then, I can tell you that they are good representations of tiki gods but it took meeting one master carver for me to feel comfortable I was buying the real deal.

Maui Swap Meet

One day while strolling around the Maui Swap Meet we happened upon Tau Veatupu. He was sitting on a stool with a piece of mango wood held between his knees, chiseling out a tiki. He had (and still does) a sweet Jackson Five style Afro that bounced away as he hammered his chisel and would frequently lift his head to check out who was watching and give them a big smile and aloha.

Paper Mulberry Tree

Tau’s wife, Tammy (La’a’ula in Hawaiian) was running the tent explaining each style of tiki and Tau’s carving lineage. Tammy, a world class artist in her own right, is an expert on making Hawaiian kapa/tapa cloth from the inner bark of the paper mulberry tree. It was the original (and only) material that the ancient Polynesians would use for many things including clothing.

Tammy uses the kapa cloth as a canvas for her paintings on which she applies traditional pigments made from all natural materials sourced from the forests of Maui. Kapa making is verging on a lost art and Tammy was lucky enough to be taught, by Tau’s family, the very traditional and labour intensive techniques to produce authentic kapa.

Cultural Heritage

Tau, a master carver, has studied and worked as a wood carver his whole life. He started very young, learning from his grandfather and father and adheres strictly to what he was taught, continuing his cultural heritage.
In 1978 Tau and his brother revitalized the art of tiki carving at the International Market Place in Honolulu among locals and tourists and he has never looked back. In 1996 Tau moved to Maui where he has remained since, carving tikis on a daily basis using only reclaimed wood.
To say that Tau is a prolific carver is an understatement having carved his whole life an average of at least a couple of pieces a day, that’s a lot of tikis!
Tau’s credentials and obvious talent were enough for me so I bought my first tiki, Lono, on that first visit eleven years ago. Sealing the deal with a Hawaiian hand shake and many mahalos, I knew I had something special and authentic, that would have been similar to what an ancient Polynesian would have owned.
On all our visits to Maui we always stop in and see Tau and Tammy and when our budget permits we add another tiki to the collection.

Looking for Ku

This trip I was looking for a Ku tiki. Ku is the youngest of the tiki and is known as the warrior, he is thought to provide strength, courage, motivation and accomplishment.
Tau did not have a Ku tiki on hand but he offered to carve one for me since I would be on the island for a while. I told him that I was trying to watch my budget and asked if he could carve a smaller tiki but he said that he would only carve a large Ku (and Manahoa) tiki. The other tikis were ok to carve small but the importance of Ku and Manahoa dictated that they would only be carved as larger pieces. That’s the way his grandfather taught him and the only way he would do it, so I agreed to up my budget comforted once more I would receive an authentic and worthy tiki.
A few weeks later I got an email telling me my tiki was ready and we drove to the swap meet to pick it up on the following Saturday. Definitely my favourite piece so far, Tau carved a beautiful piece of Monkey Pod wood into this fierce and animated Ku tiki, I love it!

We also gave in and bought a beautiful small tapa original of a pineapple from Tammy that will look wonderful with our growing tiki collection. Budget officially blown!
For us, original, authentic art work is worth paying for because it is beautiful and secondly because we need to support the artists who go to great length to follow tradition and keep their art form alive.
Please visit Tau and Tammy at the Maui Swap Meet every Saturday and at the Maalaea Craft Fair on Mondays.