Tiki statuette, Museum of Tahiti and the Islands

Small tiki statuette in volcanic rock, 17.6cm tall, from Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands, burnt and damaged by its original owners, then in the collection of Fabrice Fourmanoir, a Tahitian private collector, and acquired in 1976 by the Musee de Tahiti et des Iles, or Te Fare Manaha, at Punaauia, on the island of Tahiti, in the Windward Islands, Society Islands, French Polynesia. Tikis are protective statues representing Ti'i, a half-human half-god ancestor who is believed to be the first man. The Museum of Tahiti and the Islands was opened in 1974 and displays collections of nature and anthropology, habitations and artefacts, social and religious life and the history of French Polynesia. Picture by Manuel Cohen

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Ancestor Archipel Burned Burnt Collectivite Collectivity Doutre-mer Fare Francaise Guardian Hiva Iles Manaha Marquesas Nuku Oceania Polynesia Polynesian Polynesie Punaauia Republique Societe Statuette Tahiti Tahitian Tiki Totaiete Vent Volcanic Windward

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