Folklore in Hawaii
Folklore in Hawaii in modern times is a mixture of various aspects of
Hawaiian mythology and various
urban legends that have been passed on regarding various places in the Hawaiian islands. The following is a partial list of some of these legends.
Night marchers
According to Hawaiian legend,
night marchers (
huaka‘i po in
Hawaiian) are ghosts of ancient warriors. They supposedly roam large sections of the island chain, and can be seen by groups of torches. They can usually be found in areas that were once large battlefields (the
Nuuanu Pali on the island of
Oahu is a good example.)
Carrying pork over the Nuuanu Pali
Local folklore on the island of
Oahu says that one should never carry pork over the
Pali Highway connecting Honolulu and Windward Oahu. The stories vary, but the classic legend is that if one carries pork of any kind over the
Nuuanu Pali by automobile, the automobile would stop at a certain point on the way and not re-start until the pork is removed from the vehicle.
* Some versions of the story require the pork to be raw; other versions say that this happens after dark.
* In some versions, a white dog will appear at the time the automobile stalls, and you must feed the pork to the dog to proceed.
This legend has its roots in ancient Hawaiian mythology. According to legend, the Hawaiian volcano goddess
Pele and the demigod Kamapua‘ (a half-man-half-pig) had a turbulent relationship, and the two agreed not to visit each other. If one takes pork over the Pali, the legend goes, one is symbolically taking a piece of Kamapua‘a from one side to the other, and it is said that Pele would stop that from happening.
Morgan's Corner
Morgan's Corner refers to two places on
Oahu; one on the Nuuanu Pali Drive leading into Nuuanu Valley above downtown Honolulu, and one in Windward Oahu below the Nuuanu Pali. Both of these places are connected to urban legends.
It is said that at the Windward Morgan's Corner, a young local couple parked at the corner, and found that their car wouldn't start when they tried to leave. The young man left the car to get help, telling his girlfriend to stay in the car with the doors and windows locked. The young woman later awoke the next morning to find her boyfriend hanging from a tree branch above the car. It is said that fireballs can be seen behind boulders here, and apparitions looking like a hanged man can be found here. Blood covered the car
Seven Bridges of Manoa
Inside of Paradise Park in Manoa Valley is a trail for hiking. It has been said that when hiking into the valley on this trail, you will cross seven bridges. But, when you hike back out of the valley, you will only count six bridges. You can apparently hear a
spectre/
banshee screaming while walking along the path.
Events in Waialae and Kahala
At one time, the land that is now subdivisions in
Waialae and
Kahala Mall in eastern
Honolulu were once the site of a graveyard. Since that time, two known events have occurred there.
The Mujina
On
May 19,
1959,
Honolulu Advertiser reporter Bob Krauss reported a sighting of a
mujina (better known in Japan as
noppera-bō) at the Waialae Drive-In Theatre in Kahala. Krauss reported that the witness watched a woman combing her hair in the women's restroom, and when the witness came close enough, the mujina turned, revealing her featureless face. The witness was reported to have been admitted to the hospital for a nervous breakdown. Noted Hawaiian
historian,
folklorist and
author Glen Grant, in a
1981 radio interview dismissed the story as rumor, only to be called by the witness herself, who gave more details on the event, including the previously unreported detail that the mujina in question had red hair.[
1] The drive-in no longer exists, having been torn down to make room for a subdivision.
Grant has also reported on a number of other
mujina sightings in Hawaii, from
‘Ewa Beach to
Hilo.
The Graveyard Child
It is said that if you drive past the remaining portion of the graveyard, across the street from Kahala Mall is a graveyard. If you drive past this graveyard with your windows open, you will feel somebody else in the car. Usually a child, but when you look at that somebody else in your back seat they are not there.
*
Glen Grant
