I’ve occasionally wondered what the deal was with giant, carved, wooden forks and spoons. [NB: The ones pictured are 30 inches. The ones I recall were about 24 inches.] As you all know, my dad was a Naval officer in the 7th (Pacific) Fleet in the '60s. I don’t recall giant forks and spoons in our house, but we did have a lot of monkey pod ‘china’. ISTR using the large bowl as a salad bowl. Anyway, forks and spoons…
Curiosity finally got the better of me, and I found this Quora post.
According to the vast number of references I found, these most commonly found versions of oversized carved wooden cutlery originated with the Polynesian peoples of the South Pacific region as Tiki totems representing the mythological Tiki gods. The majority of them found in the United States were imported in the 1960s and 1970s and sold in vast number along with the other rather gaudy decor that was then, and the trend continues today, driven by the media Propaganda Machine the time. There are many different varieties, sizes and quality levels of these Tiki god cutlery totems. …
Other googling indicates they were for good luck, apparently the large size symbolising plenty and prosperity.
The big fork and spoon were discussed at length in Everybody Loves Raymond.
As for the monkey pod, the story I heard was that every member of the armed forces who was in the Philippines at some point bought monkey pod doodads, or even furniture because a) it was “exotic” and b) cheap enough to afford even on an NCO salary.
Heh. My dad had a 20-foot boat (‘legally’ 19 feet) built of Philippine mahogany by (he said) Sasebo Shipbuilding. He had it, and the cushions he ‘obtained’ shipped to San Diego as a perq for being an officer.
My parents also had Noritake china. (I think my sister has that, if she didn’t toss it.) I still have my mom’s Somayaki tea set (four cups) she got when we lived in Japan.
Hmm. I know someone who got a set somewhere (not sure if they picked it up in the 60’s or 70’s or even before), but they are no longer around to ask where.
A summer camp I worked at back in the '70s had a pair of those. The kitchen staff would hang up either the fork or spoon by the serving window, so the campers would know which utensil to keep to for dessert while clearing up after the meal.
Apparently they exist in Guatemala as well. We hosted a Guatemalan exchange student, I think during the Bicentennial; she sent us presents after she returned home. I remember Dad & I received shirts and there were also a giant, carved, wooden fork and spoon. No idea where those are now but they were hanging on a wall for over a decade.
LOL! The PX decorating scheme. I had an an enamel and mother of pearl inlaid jewelry box. When you wound it up a beautiful ballerina spun around to the plinking notes of “I Wanna Be an Airborne Ranger.”
I think we had one like this. At least I remember one with three compartments. False memory? Someone else’s house? Or a real memory? Who can say? Anyway, the largest container was for potato chips, and dips were in the smaller ones.
I had a set of those on the wall back in the 70s, along with sconces that never got lit, and a large wall clock. Oh, and a lava lamp left over from the 60s.
The Welsh have a tradition of carving wooden spoons as well. Not so much for eating with, more of a ceremonial gift you hang on the wall, I think. This video shows off some rather impressive ones.
