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Hawaiian sculptural traditions are closely linked to the ancient Hawaiian religion which ended with the overthrow of the old gods when Christianity was imported to the islands. The images depicted in this Milimili Doll series are symbolic renditions of the more powerful of the ancient Hawaiian gods or akua. The word tiki is actually as misnomer as there is not a letter "t" in the written language of the Hawaiians. It is unclear as to when the word tiki became associated with these examples of Hawaiian sculpture.