 Crest of the Fraternal Order of Moai | |
| Formation | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Type | Secular Fraternal Order |
| Headquarters | Columbus, Ohio |
Tagata A'o | CowtownKahuna |
| Website | http://www.fraternalorderofmoai.org |
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]
- ^ Stapinski, Helene (2013-12-13). "Brrrr! Let's Drive to the South Sea". The New York Times.
- ^ Cate, Martin and Rebecca (2016). "Smuggler's Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki". p. 335.
- ^ Kamakil, Harriet (2008-07-15). "Tiki group to hold hot rod hop". Dayton Daily News.
- ^ Durand, Faith (2012-05-05). "Tiki Drinks: Summer cocktail recipes". Crave. Archived from the original on 2012-06-04. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
- ^ Evans, Anne (2012-09-23). "The making of a tiki bar – behind the scenes at Grass Skirt Tiki Room". Columbus Underground.
- ^ "National Officers". 2011-06-13.
- ^ "F.O.M. Test Labs". Facebook. 2011-06-13.