How did the Kona style shape Hawaiian wooden images of gods?

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dilly bag; Aboriginal Australian art, Northern Territory, Australia — Oceanic art and architecture An Aboriginal Australian decorating a tightly woven dilly bag with white, yellow, and ochre (red) paints, Northern Territory, Australia, 1948.

The Kona style, which emerged during the late 18th to early 19th century and is associated with the reign of Kamehameha I, significantly influenced the aesthetic of Hawaiian wooden god images. These figures are characterized by a distinct, formidable appearance designed to convey power and menace.1

Key features of the Kona style include:

Massive Anatomy: The bodies are constructed as large, heavy assemblages of swelling conical or tubular segments that are often sharply demarcated.1
Exaggerated Facial Features: The heads are proportionately large and feature thrusting chins. A hallmark of the style is the extremely exaggerated, figure-eight-shaped horizontal mouth, which is filled with menacing teeth and outlined with ridges.1
Distinctive Coiffures: The heads are typically crowned with voluminous, knobbed hairstyles, with plaits that sweep down and back, incorporating the ridged eyes.1

While these conventions are most prominent in large, life-size figures found in sacred enclosures, elements of the Kona style—such as the body proportions, helmets, and crests—also appear in smaller, personally owned figures used to house protective spirits or sorcery materials.1