Index...MENU ..MENU2............,............Palm Frond Face pages: 1, 2, 3, 4............Updated 10-9-04
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History: Back in the late 90s, I did experiments with several palm fronds by carving them before they were dried. When they dried they twisted a great deal. I painted this one with gesso and then a layer of acrylic and painted a rough Kona-style tiki image on it. Later, it got stored in a box in my storeroom while I traveled. I didn't look at it again until I opened the box in which it was stored.
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Photos from Artmail 69:
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This is one I carved before it was dry. I didn't finish painting it. It is a blend between Hawaiian and Rarotongan styles. Maybe it's a Kona-style Kanaloa/Tangaroa image. I'm going to finish painting it.
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A knife like this was and is my only carving tool...so the work is rough.
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From Artmail 70:
The four main Hawaiian (Polynesian) gods are Kane (Tane), Ku (Tu), Kanaloa (Tangaroa), and Lono (Rongo). Other Polynesian representations of the gods may be found elsewhere. I could find only one photograph of a carving of Kanaloa. I do not know if this carving was done before 1819, but the web site where I found it is dedicated to Kanaloa.
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In ancient times the Hawaiian island of Kaho'olawe was called Kanaloa. The name was changed after the coming of the missionaries probably because it was honoring a Hawaiian god.
In the South Pacific, Tangaroa is much better known. Tangaroa is the national symbol of the Cook Islands and is found on the one dollar coin. There are many Tangaroa carvings around the Cook Islands and many being carved for sale to tourists. Here are some photos from my Rarotonga 2000 trips' visits the the carving factory of Rarotonga.
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In 1985, during one of the two times I visited Rarotonga, I went into a shop and bought a chief's talking stick. When I was talking story with the owner and mentioned that I was from the island of Kauai in Hawaii. She kind of made fun of the carvings of Hawaiian gods. She said that Tangaroa is the god of fertility as well as the sea. In the Cook Islands, Tangaroa and other gods are carved with manhood prominent, but in Hawaii and the other Polynesian islands they are ashamed and the gods are lacking their manhood...therefore, lacking power. She gave examples such as in the Cook Islands, the people still have their land and language and their traditions are still alive and strong.
So, I decided that the palm frond carving I'm working on is a Kona-style carving of Kanaloa. His manhood is strong and powerful, but now discreetly hidden behind a malo.
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Kanaloa (Not finished yet).
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Kanaloa Talking Stick...still not finished.
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Purple Feather People Project (background)
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