The Fraternal Order of Moai (FOM; also often known as The Moai) is a fraternal order and social club founded in 2005 by Matt "Kuku Ahu" Thatcher, Jim "Chisel Slinger" Robinson and Joel "Cowtown Kahuna" Gunn. The Order uses the Moai statues of Rapa Nui as a theme. An initial goal of the group was to preserve the history of and artifacts from the closed Kahiki Supper Club in Columbus, Ohio. Since then it has grown into "a serious group of tiki aficionados" with activity all over the United States.[1] Some describe the group as "a cult within a cult" when discussing the modern Tiki revival.[2]
Members are often fans of tiki culture, the Polynesian pop era, mid-century modern style, and kustom kulture and these styles are reflected in the events held by the group.[3] Some members are artists who produce music, carvings, lamps, and ceramics that tie into the theme of the group. The group has been known to provide assistance with preserving artifacts and expertise to local "tiki" businesses.[4][5]
Even though the group participates in many public events the organization operates like a secret society and many members only identify themselves using aliases. Leaders of the group use obscure titles that combine words from several Polynesian languages.[6]
The group exhibits a bizarre sense of humor and places references to use of time travel technology, combating a zombie outbreak and cloning technology in official information published online. Much of this information refers to a claimed network of scientific research labs in the continental United States called the F.O.M. Test Labs.[7]
Logo
The Order uses a crest as a logo and displays it on casual and ceremonial clothing, printed materials, and web sites. The logo is a blue moai which resembles the large fireplace at the now demolished Kahiki Supper Club in Columbus, Ohio. The forehead of the Moai is stamped with MMV to mark the founding of the Order in 2005. The blue moai protects a lit flame which serves as a reminder of lost landmarks like the Kahiki Supper Club.[8] The logo is normally displayed with the full name of the organization stamped on the base of the moai or the initials F.O.M. above it in a stylized script.
Purpose
Honui Moai fez
The Order's mission statement[9] describes it as the "premier fraternal organization and social network for all men and women interested in tiki culture and the Polynesian pop era."
The Order is an Ohio non-profit corporation[10] and a tax exempt 501(c)(10) Domestic Fraternal Society.[11]
The Fraternal Order of Moai Foundation is also an Ohio non-profit corporation[12] and a tax exempt 501(c)(3) Organization.
Membership
Members of the group are referred to as Fellow Moai and senior members called The Honui wear a distinctive blue fez at events. There are members throughout the United States and in parts of Canada.
Membership is selective and requires the sponsorship of a current member in good standing. Interested adults must complete a membership process after requesting membership.[13]
The Order held a national convention in 2010 to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the founding of the group which is called "Poreko."[14][15][16] Twitter and Facebook posts by the group have featured a logo for a tenth anniversary convention event which was held in 2015.
Chapters
The Kahiki was on East Broad Street in Columbus
The Order currently has active chapters in the United States and claims to be forming additional chapters in other regions.
Members who are not affiliated with a chapter are referred to as Moai Tungane.[17]
Good Works
Adopt-A-Highway sign, Aurora, Illinois
In November 2015 the Order announced the creation of a charitable foundation, the Fraternal Order of Moai Foundation, which would be used as a vehicle to increase their charity and community service activities.[18]
The Order has named the Easter Island Foundation as its national charity and proceeds from events are donated to the foundation.[19]
In addition, individual members and chapters volunteer and raise money for charities.
Preservation
In 2013 the group successfully bid at auction for "George," the monkey fountain from the Kahiki Supper Club in Columbus, Ohio. Following the closure of the restaurant the fountain had been moved to an office building used by Kahiki Foods where it was inaccessible by the general public. Following the purchase the organization announced that the fountain would be moved to the courtyard next to The Grass Skirt, a tiki bar in Columbus, and placed on public display after restoration.[20][21]
Events
Event Poster
The group presents many public events, often with sponsorship from other groups and companies including: Dole Foods, Surf Ohio, Trader Vic's, Kahiki Foods, Royer Corporation, Barritt's Bermuda Stone Ginger Beer, Kona Brewing Company, and a variety of rum distillers. These events often have a charity fundraising component such as a silent auction or live auction of donated items.
Hot Rod Hula Hop Originally held from 2005 to 2008 this event combined a car show with a luau dinner party featuring entertainment from live bands from around the United States including Waitiki and The Cocktail Preachers. A silent auction at Hot Rod Hula Hop IV raised $1,252 for the Easter Island Foundation.[22] The Order announced that the event would return on August 9–10, 2013, as a local event run by the Kahiki Chapter.[23] The 2013 event was successful and raised $4,000 for Cure CMD.[24] The sixth event was held August 8–10, 2014 and raised $4,000 again.[25][26] The seventh event was held August 7–8, 2015, to benefit CureCMD. The eight event will be held August 5–6, 2016.
NorthEast Tiki Tour Started in 2007 the NorthEast Tiki Tour (a.k.a. NETT) is an annual bus tour which stops at a changing list of tiki bars and Polynesian restaurants. The tour often includes the world's largest Chinese restaurant: Kowloon Restaurant in Saugus, Massachusetts.[27][28] After a year off in 2009 the tour returned in 2010 and then again on September 13, 2014.
Surf Ohio Festiki Billed as a family friendly celebration of sun, surf, sand & summer, the first annual Festiki was held on August 15, 2009, at Carillon Park in Dayton, Ohio. A portion of proceeds from the event were donated to the Surfrider Foundation.[29][30] The second annual event was held August 14, 2010 at Old River Park in Dayton, Ohio, and was one of the dates on the Space Cossacks' reunion tour that summer.[31][32]
Ohana: Luau at the Lake[33][34][35][36][37] The first Ohana was held September 18–20, 2009 and $3,000 in proceeds from the event were donated to the Easter Island Foundation to support youth programs and a scholarship.[38][39] The second annual event was held June 25–27, 2010[40][41] and $5,000 in proceeds from the event were donated to the Easter Island Foundation to support scholarships.[42][43] The third annual event was held June 23–26, 2011.[44] The fourth annual event was held June 21–24, 2012, the fifth annual event was held June 27–30, 2013, the sixth annual event was held June 27–29, 2014. The most recent events were held June 25–28, 2015, and June 23–26, 2016. The next will be held June 15–18, 2017.
Chicago Area Tiki Tour The Red Palms Chapter of the Order sponsored a bus tour of tiki bars in the Chicago area September 30-October 2, 2011. The event, called CATT, was similar to the already established NorthEast Tiki Tour (NETT).[45] All proceeds from a charity raffle at the event benefited CatNap from the Heart, a local non-profit animal shelter. A second event was held April 24–26, 2015, and proceeds were donated to the Easter Island Foundation to fund a memorial scholarship.[46] A third event is expected in 2017.
Call of the Tropics The Kon-Tiki Chapter of the Order created "Call of the Tropics," a celebration of Tiki art, music and mid-century culture July 6–21 at the Color of Energy Gallery in Dayton, Ohio. The event features a large kick-off block party followed by a series of events tied to an art show at the gallery.[47]
Ohana: Luau by the Sea The Order announced that a second Ohana event would begin in Florida October 1–3, 2015. The event benefited the Easter Island Foundation.[48] A second event will be held September 30-October 2, 2016.
Bridge and Tunnel Tiki Tour The Kokoru and Te Āporo Nui chapters of the order announced the debut of a new event, the Bridge and Tunnel Tiki Tour (a.k.a. BATTT), on October 18, 2014. The event toured tiki bars in New Jersey and Staten Island. The event was to benefit the Habitat For Humanity's Hurricane Sandy Fund.
Related Research Articles
Easter Island is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, called moai, which were created by the early Rapa Nui people. In 1995, UNESCO named Easter Island a World Heritage Site, with much of the island protected within Rapa Nui National Park.
Tiki culture is an American-originated art, music, and entertainment movement inspired by Polynesian, Melanesian, and Micronesian cultures, and by Oceanian art. Influential cultures to Tiki culture include Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, the Caribbean Islands, and Hawaii. The name comes from Tiki, the Māori name for the first human, often represented in the form of hei-tiki, a pendant and important taonga. The hei-tiki was often appropriated by Europeans as a commercialised good luck charm, hence the name of Tiki culture. Despite spanning over 10,000 miles and including many different unrelated cultures, religions, and languages, Tiki aesthetic is considered by some to be amalgamated into one "fantasia of trans-Pacific cultures" and "colonial nostalgia". Because of this, and the simplistic view of the Pacific taken by the aesthetic, Tiki culture has often proved controversial.
The Kon-Tiki expedition was a 1947 journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. The raft was named Kon-Tiki after the Inca god Viracocha, for whom "Kon-Tiki" was said to be an old name. Heyerdal's book on the expedition was entitled The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South Seas. A 1950 documentary film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. A 2012 dramatized feature film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Moai or moʻai are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Rapa Nui in eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the island's perimeter. Almost all moai have overly large heads, which account for three-eighths of the size of the whole statue. They also have no legs. The moai are chiefly the living faces of deified ancestors.
Native Hawaiians are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
The Rapa Nui are the indigenous Polynesian peoples of Easter Island. The easternmost Polynesian culture, the descendants of the original people of Easter Island make up about 60% of the current Easter Island population and have a significant portion of their population residing in mainland Chile. They speak both the traditional Rapa Nui language and the primary language of Chile, Spanish. At the 2017 census there were 7,750 island inhabitants—almost all living in the village of Hanga Roa on the sheltered west coast.
ʻŌkolehao is a Hawaiian alcoholic spirit whose main ingredient was the root of the ti plant. 'Ōkolehao's forerunner was a fermented ti root beverage or beer. When distillation techniques were introduced by English seamen in 1790, it was distilled into a highly alcoholic spirit.
The Hawaiian Renaissance was the Hawaiian resurgence of a distinct cultural identity that draws upon traditional Kānaka Maoli culture, with a significant divergence from the tourism-based culture which Hawaiʻi was previously known for worldwide. The Hawaiian Renaissance has been pointed to as a global model for biocultural restoration and sustainability.
A tiki mug is a large ceramic cocktail drinking vessel that originated in tiki bars and tropical-themed restaurants. The term "tiki mug" is a blanket term for the sculptural drinkware even though they vary in size and most do not contain handles. They typically depict Polynesian, mock-Polynesian, tropical, nautical, or retro themes, and as the term is used generically do not always emulate a tiki. When used to serve drinks they are frequently garnished with fruit or decorative drink umbrellas and swizzle sticks.
A pu pu platter is a tray of American Chinese or Hawaiian food consisting of an assortment of small meat and seafood appetizers. The Thrillist called the pu-pu platter "an amalgam of Americanized Chinese food, Hawaiian tradition and bar food."
A tiki bar is a themed drinking establishment that serves elaborate cocktails, especially rum-based mixed drinks such as the Mai Tai and Zombie cocktails. Tiki bars are aesthetically defined by their tiki culture décor which is based upon a romanticized conception of tropical cultures, most commonly Polynesian. Some bars also incorporate general nautical themes or retro elements from the early atomic age.
Rapa Nui National Park is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located on Easter Island, Chile. Rapa Nui is the Polynesian name of Easter Island; its Spanish name is Isla de Pascua. The island is located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeastern extremity of the Polynesian Triangle. The island was taken over by Chile in 1888. Its fame and World Heritage status arise from the 887 extant stone statues known by the name "moai", whose creation is attributed to the early Rapa Nui people who inhabited the island starting between 300 and 1200 AD. Much of the island has been declared as Rapa Nui National Park which, on 22 March 1996, UNESCO designated a World Heritage Site under cultural criteria (i), (iii), & (v). Rapa Nui National Park is now under the administrative control of the Ma´u Henua Polynesian Indigenous Community, which is the first autonomous institute on the island. The indigenous Rapa Nui people have regained authority over their ancestral lands and are in charge of the management, preservation and protection of their patrimony. On the first of December 2017, the ex-President Michelle Bachelet returned ancestral lands in the form of the Rapa Nui National Park to the indigenous people. For the first time in history, the revenue generated by the National Park is invested in the island and used to conserve the natural heritage.
A Scorpion Bowl is a communally shared alcoholic tiki drink served in a large ceramic bowl traditionally decorated with wahine or hula-girl island scenes and meant to be drunk through long straws. Bowl shapes and decorations can vary considerably. Starting off as a single-serve drink known as the Scorpion cocktail, its immense popularity as a bowl drink in tiki culture is attributed to Trader Vic.
Easter Island was traditionally ruled by a monarchy, with a king as its leader.
Rapa Nui mythology, also known as Pascuense mythology or Easter Island mythology, refers to the native myths, legends, and beliefs of the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island in the south eastern Pacific Ocean.
Polynesian Adventure Tours, Inc. is a tour and transportation company in Hawaii. PolyAd was founded in 1977 by Bob George and his partner Don Brown who started the company as an operator of van sightseeing tours in Waikiki. PolyAd specializes in charters, commercial and personalized tours that utilize drivers as narrators and guides. In 2017 PolyAd was acquired by the same principals as California-based Transportation Charter Services (TCS). Polynesian Adventure Tours maintains offices on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, The Big Island and provides tours to Hawaiian landmarks.
Kowloon Restaurant is a pan-Asian restaurant in Saugus, Massachusetts. The restaurant serves a range of Cantonese, Sichuan, Japanese, Polynesian, and Thai dishes in several themed dining rooms and lounges. Kowloon was called one of the best Chinese restaurants in New England by Boston television station WHDH in 2004.
Hula's Island Grill is a restaurant in Monterey, California in the United States. It serves California and Hawaiian cuisine. The restaurant has a tiki theme. There are additional locations in Santa Cruz, California, and Phoenix, Arizona.
Jeff "Beachbum" Berry is an American restaurant owner, author, and historian of tiki culture, particularly the drinks associated with the tiki theme. In addition to researching and reconstructing lost recipes, he has invented and published his own cocktail recipes.
The Kahiki Supper Club was a Polynesian-themed restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. The supper club was one of the largest tiki-themed restaurants in the United States, and for a time, the only one in Ohio. It operated at its Eastmoor location on Broad Street beginning in 1961, at the height of tiki culture's popularity. The Kahiki was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997, but closed and was demolished in 2000. It was described as an exceptionally important example of a themed restaurant and the most elaborate tiki restaurant ever built.
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