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97-555: Visiting the restaurant is a tradition for many New England families on birthdays, anniversaries, and graduations. It is also considered a top destination for fans of tiki culture and has been a stop on organized tours . The restaurant has been owned through three generations of the same family. Kowloon Restaurant is in Saugus, Massachusetts , a short distance north of Boston . It is a landmark along U.S. Route 1 . The property spans 5 acres (2.0 ha). The restaurant exterior includes

194-451: A "sherbet-gushing volcano". The décor of both the inside and the outside of the restaurants was often painstakingly created with decorations from around the world. Joseph Stephen Crane , the owner of the later The Luau restaurant, began his menu with a list of the places of origin of his building materials. It included not just Hawaii but virtually all areas of Oceania , as well as furniture from Hong Kong and "man eating clam shells" from

291-419: A 30 ft (9.1 m) tiki statue above its entrance. The first floor holds a bar, while the second has a showroom stage where Jerry Seinfeld , Frankie Avalon and Phyllis Diller have performed. Comedian and actor Dane Cook is a noted fan, and stated that he has performed there several hundred times. The restaurant has about 1,200 seats in total. Themed areas include a lagoon, tiki-hut-shaped booths, and

388-582: A certain linguistic, biological and cultural affinity – a certain ill-defined sameness, which shades off at its margins into difference. Both Sillitoe and Chowning include the island of New Guinea in the definition of Melanesia, and both exclude Australia. Most of the peoples of Melanesia live either in politically independent countries or in regions that currently have active independence movements, such as in Western New Guinea ( Indonesia ) and New Caledonia ( France ). Some have recently embraced

485-433: A chain of tiki restaurants in partnership with Sheraton Hotels called Kon-Tiki Ports . Crane is generally credited with also bringing tiki to the forefront of decorations at such restaurants and bars, prominently placing their image on his menu covers, matchbooks, entry ways, and other signage. Southern Pacific themes continued to stray more into the even further imagined realm of the mysterious "tiki". James Michener won

582-456: A dancing fad and obsession with Hula girls swaying to the music of strummed ukuleles . Hapa-haole is the more proper name for what most 20th century Americans would think of as sung Hawaiian music, where the tune, styling, and subject matter have very distinct Hawaiian elements, but the lyrics are mostly in English. It became sung by both Hawaiians and contemporary performers, such as

679-543: A decline. The early decades of the 21st century have seen a renaissance of interest in Tiki culture, including a limited commercial revival. In addition, it has attracted people interested in cocktails, history, urban archeology , and retroism . However, the appropriation of indigenous Pacific cultures has become increasingly challenged as culturally insensitive or racist. Tiki is the first human in Māori mythology , and also

776-583: A fake ship deck. The Mandarin House restaurant opened August 22, 1950, in a converted ice cream parlor on the Newburyport Turnpike with a menu of a few dozen Chinese and American dishes. The dining room could hold 40-50 customers. In 1958 Madeline and William Wong bought out the first-generation owners and began the second generation of family ownership of the restaurant. They changed the name to Kowloon Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge and began to grow

873-414: 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

970-426: A positive basis for contemporary subregional identity as well as a formal organisation". Additionally, while the terms "Polynesia" and "Micronesia" refer to the geographic characteristics of the islands, "Melanesia" specifically refers to the color of the inhabitants as the "black race of Oceania. The author Bernard Narokobi has written that the concept of the "Melanesian Way" as a distinct cultural force could give

1067-620: A preliminary plan for a residential subdivision on the site, which would involve tearing down the restaurant. The family anticipates the restaurant's closure in the future, potentially as soon as two to three years. A smaller version of Kowloon is likely on the property. 9 Dragons, Kowloon's sister restaurant, opened in 2024 and is located inside The Brook Casino in Seabrook, New Hampshire. 42°28′4.08″N 71°1′29.78″W  /  42.4678000°N 71.0249389°W  / 42.4678000; -71.0249389 Tiki culture Tiki culture

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1164-459: A select few of his bartenders knowing them. Some drinks Beach would only make himself, and he frequently placed alcohol into generic bottles labeled with only letters or numbers, or premixed "secret" ingredients in a similar fashion so that employees only needed to "mix X, Y, & Z with lime juice" to make a certain drink. Bergeron was less secretive with his ingredients over time, releasing two drink guides that carried his recipes, one in 1947 and

1261-428: A signature drink in a tiki mug that the customer is able to take home or purchase. Both Beach and Bergeron offered in-restaurant "stores" where people could buy not only mugs but drink mixes and other kitsch items. Some mugs were simply stolen and brought home by diners. This led to a large number of 20th-century tiki mugs surviving as souvenirs. Vintage tiki mugs are highly prized finds and are considered to be as much of

1358-508: A small amount of land. On average, there is one language for every 716 square kilometers on the island. This is by far the densest collection of distinct languages on Earth, almost three times as dense as in Nigeria, a country famous for having a very large number of languages in a very compact area. In addition to the many indigenous Melanesian languages, pidgins and creole languages have developed from trade and cultural interaction within

1455-510: A symbol of the tiki culture as a tiki itself. The so-called burgeoning "tiki culture" influenced the clothing choices of mainstream Americans. This held true for both general wear and over time included how to get "dressed up" for going out to get a few drinks and fitting in with the exotic ambience of tiki restaurants. Sarong inspired dresses became more popular with women, and were also associated with actresses and pin-up models used in tourism advertising such as Dorothy Lamour (known as both

1552-559: A treehouse office in the top of a giant banyan tree that oversaw a complex of multiple thatch-roofed buildings and huts that sold a variety of goods from around the tropical world. Other tiki bars opened in Hawaii as well, initially staffed by native bartenders who did not recognize the allegedly Hawaiian drinks that American tourists were requesting. Hawaiian bartender Harry Yee created the iconic Blue Hawaii cocktail in 1957. Ultimately, Beach and his ex-wife had at least 25 restaurants in

1649-874: A very modest degree with the indigenous populations there". The study did find a small Austronesian genetic signature (below 20%) in some of the Melanesian groups who speak Austronesian languages , but found no such signature at all in Papuan -speaking groups. Most of the languages of Melanesia are members of the Austronesian language family or one of the numerous Papuan languages . The term "Papuan languages" refers to their geographical location rather than implying that they are linguistically related. In fact they comprise many separate language families. By one count, there are 1,319 languages in Melanesia, scattered across

1746-555: A wooden image of him. The word "tiki" was used to describe the style of the tropical islands of the South Pacific starting in the late 1930s, a usage that is "unknown to the languages of the Pacific." It was applied early on to "tiki punch," "tiki rooms," "tiki torches," and so on. By the 1950s, restaurants often used the word to describe Polynesian-themed " tiki bars " and "tiki rooms." The term "tiki culture" only appears in

1843-478: 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 ,

1940-484: Is no general agreement even among anthropologists about the geographical boundaries of Melanesia. Many apply the term only to the smaller islands, excluding New Guinea; Fiji has frequently been treated as an anomalous border region or even assigned wholly to Polynesia; and the people of the Torres Straits Islands are often simply classified as Australian aborigines. In 1998, Paul Sillitoe wrote: "It

2037-404: Is not easy to define precisely, on geographical, cultural, biological, or any other grounds, where Melanesia ends and the neighbouring regions ... begins". He ultimately concludes that the region is a historical category which evolved in the nineteenth century from the discoveries made in the Pacific and has been legitimated by use and further research in the region. It covers populations that have

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2134-634: Is often made between the island of New Guinea and what is known as Island Melanesia , which consists of "the chain of archipelagos, islands, atolls, and reefs forming the outer bounds of the sheltered oval-shaped coral sea". This includes the Louisiade Archipelago (a part of Papua New Guinea ), the Bismarck Archipelago (a part of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands ), and the Santa Cruz Islands (a part of

2231-508: Is the illusion we of THE LUAU hope to create. And truly it is more than an illusion for there is authenticity in the adventure you are about to experience... Both food and drink are prepared under the matchless guidance of the one and only Dr. Foo Fong... Our drink specialties, Island Symphonies of rare and distinguished rums, irresistibly claim your fullest respect which is best shown by drinking slowly and reverently". South Seas genre movies leading up to this period included White Shadows in

2328-579: The Coffee Grog , Navy Grog , Lapu Lapu, Outrigger, Pago Pago , Rum Barrel, Shrunken Head, and Tropical Itch. While many were created expressly as "tiki drinks" (although such a term was not used at the time), others were simply new World War II era cocktails made overseas that could quickly be assimilated into the formula, such as the case with the Suffering Bastard . Beach was very secretive with his drink recipe ingredients, with only

2425-562: The Commonwealth of Nations and are also members of the Melanesian Spearhead Group . Melanesians were found to have a third archaic Homo species along with their Denisovan (3–4%) and Neanderthal (2%) ancestors in a genetic admixture with their otherwise modern Homo sapiens sapiens genomes. The frequent occurrence of blond hair among these peoples is due to a specific random mutation, different from

2522-594: The Hawaiian Steamship Company's Matson Line also continued its aggressive advertising campaigns promoting a leisurely but still exotic island lifestyle, led by famous photographers such as Edward Steichen and Anton Bruehl and featuring actresses such as Jinx Falkenburg (later in Sweetheart of the Fleet and Tahiti Nights ). Matson commissioned artists to design memorable keepsake menus for

2619-477: The Indian Ocean . Early tiki restaurants, although not called that at the time, attempted to walk a fine line between the reality and myth of what they were creating, acknowledging that much of it was Hollywood hocus-pocus but also trying to create an atmosphere of authenticity. Crane's later restaurant menus stated: "You have just passed the gangplank into another world – into a segment of Paradise – or such

2716-609: The Lau Islands . From the geological point of view, the island of New Guinea is part of the Australian continent . New Caledonia is geologically part of Zealandia , and so is Norfolk Island . The names of islands in Melanesia can be confusing: they have both indigenous and European names. National boundaries sometimes cut across archipelagos. The names of the political units in the region have changed over time, and sometimes have included geographical terms. For example,

2813-459: The Mr. Bali Hai . In addition to the returning World War II veterans, several other factors contributed to the mid-century American explosion in tiki culture. Post-war America saw the rise of the middle class as an economic force. This coupled with ever-increasing affordability of travel, particularly newly established civilian air travel to Hawaii (which had been halted during the war), helped to propel

2910-402: The dark skin of the inhabitants. The concept among Europeans of Melanesia as a distinct region evolved gradually over time as their expeditions mapped and explored the Pacific. Early European explorers noted the physical differences among groups of Pacific Islanders. In 1756, Charles de Brosses theorized that there was an "old black race" in the Pacific who had been conquered or defeated by

3007-603: The "Sarong Girl" and the "Sarong Queen" from her role in the 1937 film The Hurricane ). Other movies such as Abbott and Costello's Pardon My Sarong , as well as Song of the Sarong and Sarong Girl were later released over the course of the 1940s, and served to self reinforce the popularity of Beach's and Bergeron's tropical escape restaurant motifs during this time. An increasing emphasis on idealized "wahine" (island women) saw their depiction grow from menu cover placement to their use on tiki barware. The Fog Cutter mug and

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3104-499: The "mysteriousness" and faux-danger of tiki. It could include high energy drumming or slower and enchanting melodic rhythms. It was frequently instrumental, serving as the "soundtrack" for tropical excursions. Exotica and lounge were more prominent in the 1950s and later, although new variations of hapa-haole would also continue. Traditional Hawaiian melodies, sometimes called "Hula Music" at the time by mainstream Americans, initially became prominent in piano sheet music and also created

3201-575: The "tiki template" that Beach had created he eventually provided significant additions to the tiki canon. He also ultimately had longer staying power than Beach and over time created nearly as many additional cocktails. He is especially known for creating the Fog Cutter cocktail and Scorpion bowl , as well as the quintessential Mai Tai . Many were strong drinks and noted on menus as having a "limit of two" per person. A protracted feud between Beach and Bergeron erupted when both claimed to have invented

3298-601: The 1926 film Aloma of the South Seas , and the legendary Don Ho would follow in the 1960s and 1970s. Music changed with the times with easy listening light instrumentation, with Ho releasing his famous song " Tiny Bubbles ", which charted on both the pop (#57 Billboard) and easy listening charts in 1967. Ho also helped bring attention to Marlene Sai , who has been described as a living legend of Hawaiian music. Yma Sumac first appeared on radio in 1942. Born in Peru , she

3395-401: The 1948 Pulitzer Prize for his collection of short stories, Tales of the South Pacific , which in turn was the basis for South Pacific , the 1949 musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein that included the song " Bali Ha'i " about a mystical tropical island. The Bali Hai restaurant opened a few years later on San Diego's Shelter Island , introducing its faux-tiki mascot and signature cocktail,

3492-460: The 1959 Warner Bros. Television series Hawaiian Eye and the 1961 musical smash-hit Blue Hawaii , featuring pop crooner Elvis Presley playing an Army veteran returning to Hawaii to surf, sing, and marry his girlfriend. It contained many plot elements similar to 1937's Waikiki Wedding , and helped to bring a "Polynesian pop" aspect of tiki to a new generation. This addition came as tiki culture music had begun to split into separate subgenres with

3589-558: The 1990s, to describe the revival of the style. Tiki culture began at the end of Prohibition in 1933 with the opening of Don's Beachcomber, a Polynesian-themed bar and restaurant in Hollywood, California . The proprietor was Ernest Raymond Beaumont-Gantt, a young man from Texas and New Orleans who had done some rum-running with his father and claimed to have sailed throughout much of the Pacific Ocean. The restaurant's name

3686-600: The Beachcomber chain. Bergeron and his Trader Vic's had even more, beginning with his first franchise in Seattle (the Outrigger) in 1949 and going on to have locations all over the world. Steven Crane's franchise also expanded, and " mom and pop " tiki bars flourished in the 1950s well into the 1960s across the country in various forms of shapes and sizes. Over the 1950s, Polynesian design began to infuse many aspects of

3783-580: The Bing Crosby vehicles Sweet Leilani and Blue Hawaii in 1937. Alfred Apaka was arguably the foremost interpreter of hapa haole music, melding Hawaiian music with traditional American pop arrangements and English lyrics. Apaka began touring in the late 1930s, and settled more into routine shows at performance rooms created just for him in Hawaii in the 1950s. He would also sing at large luaus being put on by Donn Beach. Other important singers include Hal Aloma , who had changed his name in response to

3880-583: The COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant shut its indoor dining room and furloughed some workers. Kowloon built outdoor dining spaces to seat hundreds of people and increased its takeout business. The restaurant also added a drive-in movie theater. In 2021, it was reported that amid difficulty in the restaurant industry, the Wong family's next generation will not be involved in Kowloon's operation. The family presented

3977-627: The Inventory of Cultural and Historical Resources by the Saugus Historical Commission. Bill Wong died in 2011 at the age of 88. The third generation of the Wong family continues to run the business. The restaurant is reported to bring in over $ 8 million per year as the top-grossing Chinese restaurant in the United States. The current owner is Massachusetts state representative Donald Wong and five siblings. During

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4074-598: The Kava Bowl were two of the earliest ceramic tiki drinking vessels bearing the images of such women to be used in Trader Vic's restaurants. The Pago Pago Lounge also created a Sarong cocktail. For men, the "Hawaiian Shirt" would become an enduring symbol of leisure and were increasingly worn in public. US President Harry Truman was famously pictured wearing a Hawaiian shirt on the front cover of Life Magazine's 10 December 1951 issue. Called "aloha shirts" on

4171-620: The Mai Tai, which Beach said was a knock-off of his Q.B. Cooler . Bergeron eventually won the exclusive rights to distribute a commercial Mai Tai mix for people to use at home. Some drinks served at tiki bars include co-opting previous cocktails with exotic sounding names or foreign backstories, such as the Bloody Nelson, Blow My Skull , Boomerang , Corpse Reviver , Diki-Diki , Doctor Funk , Planter's Punch , and Singapore Sling . New inventions by Beach, Bergeron, and others included

4268-464: The Pacific Ocean. At its opening ceremonies President Franklin Roosevelt spoke of friendship and the co-mingled destinies between the United States and Pacific countries, a sentiment physically symbolized in part with the incorporation of a giant, 80-foot statue of Pacifica , goddess of the Pacific Ocean. World War II would greatly test those ambitions. When American servicemen returned home after

4365-623: The Pacific. In 1936, a restaurant owner from Oakland, California , Victor Bergeron, ate at the Don the Beachcomber restaurant. Bergeron said: "We went to a place called the South Seas...and even visited Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood. In fact, I even bought some stuff from Don the Beachcomber. When I got back to Oakland I told my wife what I had seen, we agreed to change the name of our restaurant and our décor." The renamed restaurant, as well as his new nickname, became Trader Vic's . Bergeron adopted

4462-559: The Sea , Ritual of the Savage , and Forbidden Island , matched with similarly evocative covers. There are two primary strains of this kind of exotica: jungle exotica and tiki exotica. Jungle exotica was a Hollywood creation, with its roots in Tarzan movies (and further back to William Henry Hudson 's novel Green Mansions ). Les Baxter was the king of jungle exotica. Tiki exotica on

4559-683: The Solomons. In addition to the islands mentioned above, there are many smaller islands and atolls in Melanesia. These include: Norfolk Island, listed above, has archaeological evidence of East Polynesian rather than Melanesian settlement. Rotuma in Fiji has strong affinities culturally and ethnologically to Polynesia. The following countries are considered part of Melanesia: Melanesia also includes: Several Melanesian states are members of intergovernmental and regional organizations. Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu are members of

4656-406: The South Seas (1928), The Love Trader (1928), and Bird of Paradise (1932). Beach frequently interacted with movie stars, inviting them to his home for luau-like dinners and becoming friends with actors such as Clark Gable . Hei Tiki was released in 1935, with a New York Times review describing the plot as being about "a chieftain's daughter who is declared tabu and destined to be

4753-654: The Sun Virgin . These featured tiki-like South American stone carvings and exploding volcanoes on their covers. She also went on to play in minor film roles, such as Secret of the Incas . Voice of the Xtabay was produced and composed by Les Baxter , who had started to experiment with theremin mood music on Music Out of the Moon a few years earlier. Baxter began to "tikify" this type of mood music. Most lounge and exotica

4850-543: The United States. Beginning in California in the 1930s and then spreading around the world, Tiki culture was inspired by the sentimental appeal of an idealized South Pacific, particularly Polynesia, as viewed through the experiences of tourists and Hollywood movies, incorporating beautiful scenery, forbidden love, and the potential for danger. Over time, it selectively incorporated more cultural elements (and imagined aspects) of other regions such as Southeast Asia . While

4947-426: The additions of lounge and exotica in the 1950s, which at that point had amended the typical Bing Crosby style of American-Hawaiian music. The popularity of Elvis nevertheless helped to keep broad tiki culture alive, even as adults began to take it into new directions and their children began to meld it into evolving subcultures such as surf . The impact of tiki culture on music (and vice versa) had beginnings in

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5044-476: The area and with the wider world. Most notable among these are Tok Pisin and Hiri Motu in Papua New Guinea. They are now both considered distinct creole languages. Use of Tok Pisin is growing. It is sometimes learned as a first language, above all by multi-cultural families. Examples of other Melanesian creoles are Unserdeutsch , Solomon Islands Pijin , Bislama , and Papuan Malay . A distinction

5141-463: The barware started to bear the shape of a tiki or "faux tiki" approximation. Styles and sizes vary widely, and are generically referred to as tiki mugs even if they are in the shape of a skull, hula girl, or other motif. The cocktails may also be served in hollowed out pineapples, or in large communal drink bowls with long straws that are meant to be shared. Some are set on fire with overproof rum for additional theatrics and flair. Many restaurants offer

5238-656: The boundaries of Melanesia, descriptions of which were therefore somewhat fluid. In the nineteenth century, Robert Henry Codrington , a British missionary, produced a series of monographs on "the Melanesians", based on his long-time residence in the region. In his published works on Melanesia, including The Melanesian Languages (1885) and The Melanesians: Studies in Their Anthropology and Folk-lore (1891), Codrington defined Melanesia as including Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, and Fiji. He reasoned that

5335-417: The bride of the war god". It attributed the title to mean "love charm", in reference to Hei-tiki pendants sometimes associated with fertility. Waikiki Wedding , starring Bing Crosby and Martha Raye , was released in 1937 with the popular song "Blue Hawaii", as was Her Jungle Love in 1938, starring Dorothy Lamour . During a time when overseas civilian China Clipper air travel was still uncommon,

5432-820: The business. In the next 50 years, the family added five additions to the original building and increased the capacity to accommodate 1,200 customers. Diners can choose from a number of themed dining rooms including the Volcano Bay Room, the Tiki Lagoon, the Mandarin Room, the Thai Grille, or the Hong Kong Lounge. Private events and a comedy club use the Luau Room. The menu has grown as the restaurant has added new dishes to keep up with

5529-559: The country called Solomon Islands). The country of Vanuatu is composed of the New Hebrides island chain (and in the past ' New Hebrides ' has also been the name of the political unit located on the islands). New Caledonia is composed of one large island and several smaller chains, including the Loyalty Islands . The nation of Fiji is composed of two main islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu , and smaller islands, including

5626-550: The country's visual aesthetic, from home accessories to architecture. The Trader Vic's in Palo Alto eventually even spawned architectural choices, such as the concept behind the odd-looking Tiki Inn Motel, which still exists as the Stanford Terrace Inn. Single family homes, apartment complexes, bowling alleys and other business were heavily influenced by assumed Polynesian aesthetics, in some cases incorporating

5723-543: The creation of "hapa-haole" music, with "haole" meaning "foreigner" in the context, derived from America's expectation of native Hawaiian (and other Oceanic regions) folk music. As is the case with much of tiki culture, its genres can fall into varying themes. Hapa-Haole was more prominent in Beach's and Bergeron's early days during the 1930s and 1940s, and was more traditional and "poppish". Later genres, such as exotica and lounge are more associated with mood music meant to play-off

5820-483: The decor and ambiance at these establishments largely draws from Polynesian influences , the cocktails are inspired by the tropical drinks and ingredients of the Caribbean . Tiki culture changed over time, influenced by World War II and the firsthand exposure hundreds of thousands of American servicemen gained during that conflict. In time its appeal wore off, and both the culture and the hospitality industry theme saw

5917-838: The east, and includes the Arafura Sea . The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji , Vanuatu , Solomon Islands , Papua New Guinea . It also includes the Indonesian part of New Guinea and the Maluku islands , the French oversea collectivity of New Caledonia , and the Torres Strait Islands . Almost all of the region is in the Southern Hemisphere ; only a few small islands that are not politically considered part of Oceania—specifically

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6014-474: The end of World War II in 1945, they brought with them stories and souvenirs from their time in the South Pacific that helped to reinforce the popularity of what Hollywood had set the stage for Donn Beach to create. Beach was himself a WWII veteran, and he had invented the Three Dots & A Dash cocktail, which is Morse code for "V" (for victory). Women wore " victory roll " hairstyles and people were in

6111-404: The entire "tiki drink" genre. He was the first restaurateur to focus an entire drink menu on the mixing of flavored syrups and fresh fruit juices with rum , which he called "Rhum Rhapsodies" and were served in fancy glasses, hollowed out pineapples, and drilled coconuts. A social extrovert good at gaining attention, Beach's early success was noted by tiki historian Jeff Berry , who said that "Donn

6208-660: The evolving American palate. First Polynesian dishes, then Chinese when Joyce Chen became popular, more Chinese when Nixon went to China , even more Chinese when Sichuan became popular, then Thai, and then Japanese and sushi. Guests now choose from a menu of nearly 300 items. In 2001 the Wongs were inducted into the Hospitality Hall of Fame by the Massachusetts Restaurant Association. The restaurant has also been nominated for addition to

6305-664: The findings of a genetic study published by Temple University in 2008. That study found that neither Polynesians nor Micronesians have much genetic relation to Melanesians. The study's results suggest that, after ancestors of the Polynesians, having developed sailing outrigger canoes, migrated out of East Asia, they moved quickly through the Melanesian area, mostly without settling there, and instead continued on to areas east of Melanesia, finally settling in those areas. The genetic evidence suggests that they left few descendants in Melanesia, and therefore probably "only intermixed to

6402-416: The former restrictions of the former Territory of Hawaii . With statehood making travel easier than ever, for many average Americans for the first time the myth of what Hawaii was and what it was supposed to be came face to face as a booming economy and urbanization began to change the lifestyle of its countryside. During America's honeymoon with the romanticized version of its newly incorporated state came

6499-670: The imagery was adopted by the youth culture of the time. The surfers in Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) wore tiki carvings as pendants, and followed a leader known as the Big Kahuna. In 1963, Disneyland opened the Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room attraction, feature Polynesian-style decor, fashion, and music. In 1971, a similar attraction was opened in Walt Disney World as well as a hotel resort of

6596-423: The island of Makira was once known as San Cristobal, the name given to it by Spanish explorers. It is in the country Solomon Islands, which is a nation-state and not a contiguous archipelago. The border of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands separates the island of Bougainville from the nearby islands of Choiseul, although Bougainville is geographically part of the chain of islands that includes Choiseul and much of

6693-479: The island, the book Aloha Attire: Hawaiian Dress in the Twentieth Century describes how the shirt's history is more than Hawaiian and can be traced to a confluence of cultural influences. As explained by author Linda Bradley, the shirt was actually made with a Western-style silhouette originally inspired by Western sailor shirts, was cut from Japanese kabe crepe fabric (originally used for kimono ),

6790-598: The islands of Melanesia are called Melanesians . This is a heterogenous set of different genetic groups and ethnicities , different cultural practices ( mythology , music , art , etc.), and different unrelated language families . Yet together they form a vast area with a long history of exchanges. The name Melanesia (from ‹See Tfd› Greek : μέλας , translit.   mé.las , lit.  "black", and ‹See Tfd› Greek : νῆσος , translit.   nɛ̂ː.sos , lit.  "island"), etymologically means "islands of black [people]", in reference to

6887-553: The islands of New Guinea should not be included because only some of its people were Melanesians. Also, like Bory de Saint-Vincent, he excluded Australia from Melanesia. It was in these works that Codrington introduced the Melanesian cultural concept of mana to the West. Uncertainty about the best way to delineate and define the region continues to this day. The scholarly consensus now includes New Guinea within Melanesia. Ann Chowning wrote in her 1977 textbook on Melanesia that there

6984-522: The lush romantic themes of Hollywood. Sandra Warner was showcased on the album cover for Exotica , helping it to reach no.1 on the Billboard charts and eventually giving the entire genre its name. She appeared on the first 12 Martin Denny album covers, 16 overall, and became a lasting iconic association with both the genre and tiki culture. Other important albums in the genre included Jewels of

7081-424: The mood to celebrate. The excitement surrounding Thor Heyerdahl 's 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition, followed by the book in 1948 and a movie in 1950, helped promote tropical exploration. Importantly within the context of tiki culture, it successfully injected the word "tiki" into the popular American lexicon on a large scale (Hawaiians had not used the word "tiki", but rather "ki‘i" ). Heyerdahl's work also expanded

7178-494: The motif into entire residential areas and shopping districts. Much of it was accomplished by purchasing material from the company Oceanic Arts, which opened in 1956 by both importing materials and doing original wood carvings in California. Following Hawai'i statehood in 1959, the 1960s saw a popular trend among surfers, especially in California, of wearing tiki god necklaces, adopting tiki 'mascots' to protect their surfing spots, and wearing Hawaiian shirts. Like surfing itself,

7275-438: The much more ancient indigenous Papuan-speaking peoples. Some late-20th-century scholars developed a theory, known as the "Polynesian theory", that there then followed a long period of interaction between these newcomers and the pre-existing inhabitants that led to many complex genetic, linguistic, and cultural mixing and other changes among the descendants of all the groups. This theory was later called into question, however, by

7372-660: The nation's disposable income into all things tropical. Just as the Matson Line had done with their boats, the airlines aggressively marketed flights to consumers. Donn Beach moved to Hawaii, where he later lived on a houseboat and was a driving force behind the 1956 creation of the International Market Place in Waikiki. He opened a Don the Beachcomber there, along with the Dagger Bar and created

7469-563: The new persona in a manner to imitate Beach's theatrics and further perpetuate the illusions of Hollywood, telling people that the leg he had lost to tuberculosis had been the result of being attacked by a shark . Other restaurants such as Clifton's Cafeteria also had begun introducing grand decorations based on non-traditional and " kitschy " themes. Clifton's was heavily remodeled in 1939 to become Clifton's South Seas. The exterior and interior were decorated with 12 waterfalls, volcanic rock, and tropical foliage. It supposedly even featured

7566-502: The northwestern islands of Western New Guinea—lie in the Northern Hemisphere . The name Melanesia (in French, Mélanésie ) was first used in 1832 by French navigator Jules Dumont d'Urville : he coined the terms Melanesia and Micronesia to go alongside the pre-existing Polynesia to designate what he viewed as the three main ethnic and geographical regions forming the Pacific. The indigenous people who inhabit

7663-458: The originator and is credited for having invented many of the most memorable drinks such as the Cobra's Fang , Pearl Diver, Pi Yi, Shark's Tooth, Test Pilot , and Zombie . Many drink names were meant to sound as having a foreign origin or being tongue in cheek dangerous. Bergeron was viewed as a Beach contemporary with his founding of Trader Vic's , and although Bergeron had started by copying

7760-575: The other hand was introduced in Martin Denny's Waikiki nightclub jungle noises arrangement in Baxter's song " Quiet Village ". Melanesia Melanesia ( UK : / ˌ m ɛ l ə ˈ n iː z i ə / , US : / ˌ m ɛ l ə ˈ n iː ʒ ə / ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean . It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in

7857-447: The other in 1972. Despite this, many original cocktail recipes were lost to time, either because the recipes themselves were altered to reflect changing tastes (or restaurant budgets), or simply because memories faded and people died. The disagreement between Beach and Bergeron over who created the Mai Tai was not an isolated incident, and who "invented" what drink and when was frequently obscured by establishments that served cocktails with

7954-411: The part that is now New Guinea, while others continued south and became the aboriginal inhabitants of Australia . Another wave of Austronesian migrants , originating ultimately from Taiwan , arrived in Melanesia much later, probably between 4000 and 3000 BC. They settled mostly along the north coast of New Guinea and on the islands to its north and east. When they arrived, they came into contact with

8051-527: The people of the region a sense of empowerment. This concept has in fact been used as a force in geopolitics . For instance, when the countries of Vanuatu , Solomon Islands , Papua New Guinea , and Fiji reached a regional preferential trade agreement , they named it the Melanesian Spearhead Group . The people of Melanesia have a distinctive ancestry. According to the Southern Dispersal theory, hominid populations from Africa dispersed along

8148-429: The peoples of what is now called Polynesia , whom he distinguished as having lighter skin. In the first half of the nineteenth century, Jean-Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent and Jules Dumont d'Urville characterized Melanesians as a distinct racial group. Over time, however, Europeans increasingly viewed Melanesians as a distinct cultural, rather than racial, grouping. Scholars and other commentators disagreed on

8245-491: The popularity of the tropical lifestyle, but also changed how tiki culture was perceived. Hawaii was no longer just a foreign country to the American people, in reality or as imagined, but now a formalized part of their country. Tourism continued ever bigger growth, with the years after statehood becoming a "jet rush" for vacationers snapping up $ 100 tickets for a now only five-hour flight from Los Angeles or San Francisco without

8342-415: The same name but in sometimes remarkably different manners. Tiki drinks, as they are generically called, are typically heavily garnished, with ample fruit, swizzle sticks, cocktail umbrellas , or flowers. Establishments that were part of or influenced by tiki culture also eventually served at least some of their cocktails in decorative ceramic mugs, which came to be known in the 1950s as tiki mugs because

8439-464: The same theme. If Tiki culture began as a restaurant theme made to look like a Hollywood set , alcoholic drinks dressed up in elaborate barware are its cornerstones and main actors. Just as the Don the Beachcomber restaurant is largely credited as being the first "tiki bar" from which all other such establishments "liberally borrowed", Beach himself is also credited as having almost single-handedly created

8536-457: The simplistic view of the Pacific taken by the aesthetic, Tiki culture has often proved controversial. Tiki culture initially extended to decorate themed bars and restaurants , catering to Americans' views of the South Pacific. Featuring Tiki carvings and complex, alluringly named alcoholic drinks, it eventually influenced residential recreation. It became one of the primary ways, although indirectly, that New Zealand culture influenced that of

8633-422: The southern edge of Asia some 50,000 to 100,000 years ago. For some, the endpoint of this ancient migration was the ancient continent of Sahul , a single landmass comprising both the areas that are now Australia and New Guinea . At that time, they were united by a land bridge, because sea levels were lower than in the present day. The first migration into Sahul was over 40,000 years ago. Some migrants settled in

8730-447: The term "Melanesia" as a source of identity and empowerment. Stephanie Lawson writes that despite "a number of scholars finding the term problematic due to its historical associations with European exploration and colonisation, as well as the racism embedded in these", the term "has acquired a positive meaning and relevance for many of the people to whom it applies", and has "moved from a term of denigration to one of affirmation, providing

8827-409: The theme's mythology to include the west coast of South America in what became an ever increasing mix of cultural motifs, both real and imagined. Easter Island statues (moai) also became iconic with the publication of his book Aku-Aku . Steven Crane of The Luau restaurant took advantage of the public's fascination with Heyerdahl and further followed in the footsteps of Beach and Bergeron by building

8924-504: The voyages. Between the Matson Line's advertising, new restaurants and continual cinematic exposure, the theme began to take on a life of its own. California's World's Fair in 1939 – the Golden Gate International Exposition – celebrated for the first time Polynesian culture in the United States. The feature of the fair was "Pageant of the Pacific", primarily showcasing the goods of nations bordering

9021-445: Was chiefly instrumental, and largely the integration of exotic escapism into American Jazz. Other early pioneers included Arthur Lyman and Martin Denny , who played live at Don the Beachcomber and other venues. The new theme was blended through jazz stylings augmented with Polynesian, Southeast Asian, and Latin instruments. The music also incorporated elements of Afro-Cuban rhythms , unusual instrumentations, environmental sounds, and

9118-820: Was good with names, good with drinks, and good with drink names". These "exotic" drinks, such as his first, the Sumatra Kula , quickly made Beach's restaurant the hot spot for the elite and movie stars from the 1940s well into the 1960s. Howard Hughes was a regular at the Hollywood Don the Beachcomber, as were Charlie Chaplin and Frank Sinatra . Over time many restaurateurs had begun to copy, and in some cases steal, Beach's cocktail recipes and template for immersive island decorations coupled with "newly discovered" Southeast Asian/Polynesian food ( rumaki , crab rangoon , etc.). Many eventually created their own signature drink and food dishes, but Beach remains regarded as

9215-414: Was later changed to Don the Beachcomber, and Beaumont-Gantt legally changed his name to Donn Beach . His restaurant featured Cantonese cuisine and exotic rum cocktails and punch drinks , with a décor of flaming torches, rattan furniture, flower leis , and brightly colored fabrics that looked like imagery out of the popular movies that were helping to fuel the desires of the average American to travel

9312-469: Was not Polynesian but she quickly became famous because of her diverse vocal range and in 1946 her home government formally supported her claim to be a descendant of Atahualpa , the last Incan emperor. With enough "exotic" credibility to be packaged as part of tiki culture, especially after Heyerdahl linked tiki to the Andes in 1947, she released albums with names such as Voice of the Xtabay and Legend of

9409-749: Was sewn by Japanese and Chinese tailors who immigrated to Hawaii as plantation field workers, and was ultimately worn like a Filipino barong tagalog (always untucked and outside of the pants). Gardenia , hibiscus , and florals became a more popular fabric pattern in America, as did palm fronds and similar types of tropical plants or animals such as fish and birds. Beyond Polynesia, other more frequently worn patterns included Batik and fabrics from differing Oceanic regions. Leis became worn more frequently outside of Hawaii, not just at Tiki restaurants but also at backyard barbeques and "luau" pool parties. Official Hawaiian statehood in 1959 became another factor in

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