PURPLE TIKI

The Purple Tiki has been on PukaPuka longer than the Sand Maru people. It was here when their first ancestors arrived, standing and watching. Nobody knows where it came from, or how it got here. It is eight feet tall and more than five feet across. It's carved from the purpleheart tree, giving it its distinctive color. There are a few small thin purpleheart trees on PukaPuka, but nothing that could have produced a massive carving like this. 

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The Purple Tiki is considered by many to be Aumakua, a Polynesian ancestral guardian. It is said to watch over the Sand Maru, to protect them and guide them. Legend says that if you empty your mind, and listen very hard, the Purple Tiki will whisper to you. 

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* Purple Tiki is wise. 

* The Purple Tiki never tells you everything. 

* The Purple Tiki can see the good inside you. 

* His eyes never close, the Purple Tiki is always watching. 

* Different people see different emotions on his face.