Pipe Bowl (Epaepa or Pioro)
Not on view
The use of tobacco was among the first Western practices adopted widely in
the Marquesas and other areas of Polynesia. By the early nineteenth century,
the Marquesans had begun to create their own pipes (epaepa or pioro). The
use of pipes and tobacco, like many other aspects of Marquesan culture,
was governed by sacred restrictions or tapu. Men and women, for example,
were not permitted to smoke together. Although in widespread use, pipes
remained highly valued objects and were often passed down as heirlooms
or occasionally were buried with their owners. This example is adorned
with three small tiki (human images), whose poses and features closely
resemble those on Marquesan ivory ear ornaments dating to the same
period. Like most Marquesan tiki, the figures likely portray deified ancestors.
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