Post #117713 by tikijackalope on Sat, Oct 2, 2004 3:39 PM

The only note of disapproval I've ever heard at all was from a flea market dealer who told me he didn't "hold with that kind of stuff." One dealer in thousands I've encountered, and in the Bible belt at that...not bad.

A few weeks ago in Golden City, MO, I saw a flyer for a summer church camp that portrayed a smiling thatch-like creature which looked very tiki-like. I thought about posting that at the time, but decided to let the historical irony alone.

The Christians that I personally know don't seem to have a problem with tiki.

One of my best friends is a seminary student in a large hispanic Catholic family; they have a table in their living room with all sorts of religious statues (to which I enjoy adding from my travels, even though I am not a believer) and they have no problem with me having a house full of tiki.

Some members of my girlfriend's family who are very conservative Christians tagged along when we visited Hale Tiki. They got into the spirit (even wearing aloha shirts), had a blast and added tiki mugs to their Christian and patriotic decor.

I think most of the people around me, Protestant, Catholic, Wiccan, etc. saw tiki as poly-pop without knowing the term existed; some told me stories of souvenir shops or tiki bars they saw in past decades when they learned of my hobby. I suppose they get that my interest is a historical and pop-culture reverence, but not a worship. If I had any real artifacts, I think they'd look at them as just that - artifacts - and not recommedations to worship a deity.

The only voice of concern from someone in my sphere of influence was from my brother's girlfriend who asked me if I was bothered by tiki imagery not being accurate to Polynesian history.

Maybe I'm just lucky and surrounded by moderates, but the diversity of beliefs in the people around me, their ability to play nice together and their more than occasional sense of humor about their own beliefs really enhances my life.