The Man-Eating Spirits of Niihau

Early Hawaiians observed hunting and fishing seasons to preserve their resources. When the kapu (prohibition) was lifted, competition was fierce and in the case of fishermen, they had to travel far to find abundant fish to feed their villages.

In ancient times, it is said that man-eating spirits roamed the islands. Remote locations were dangerous, but sometimes necessary to travel to in order to find food. It was for this reason that fishermen from Kauai would set out in their canoes to fish off the shores of Niihau.

One season, five fishermen paddled out to this abundant fishing spot. Their names were Ekahi, Elua, Ekolu, Eha and Elima. They fished all day and ended with a good catch. When the sky darkened into evening, they went ashore to Niihau to clean, salt, and store their fish. Then they sat down to an evening meal in high spirits, and finally lay down on the beach to sleep, for the next day would bring more work.

Upon awakening, the men were worried for Elima was nowhere to be found. The others turned to Ekahi, the leader of the group. They voiced their fears that the spirits had come and eaten their friend. They wanted to go back to Kauai. But Ekahi calmed them.

"Elima has probably gotten up early for some shore fishing. He will be waiting for us here when we return with our catch." Ekahi said.

So the men were calmed and they paddled out for a successful day of fishing. When they returned, they found the beach empty. A quick search of the area could not produce the missing fisherman. The men were silent as they prepared their catch, but their thoughts were in turmoil. That night, they lay close together and though they feared a supernatural predator, exhaustion overtook them and they slept.

The next morning, the men were alarmed as Eha was nowhere to be found. Ekolu insisted that they leave the evil place.

"Yes, this is a dangerous place," Ekahi said. "But as fishermen, we lead dangerous lives. We depend on the opelu and this is their favorite feeding ground."

"Ae," Elua agreed. "We depend on this catch. Our village will go hungry if we do not stay and finish out the season. There is only two days left. Let us stay, but we shall sleep in the canoe offshore."

The plan was agreed upon and the three men set out for another day of fishing. Again, their catch was a good one. This time, they did not come ashore, but prepared their fish in the canoe anchored offshore. Then, they had their evening meal and divided the night into watches. Ekahi's watch passed quietly, then he woke Elua. Elua's watch passed quietly as well and then he woke Ekolu.

Just before sunrise, Ekahi and Elua woke at the sound of beating wings and a cry from Ekolu. They saw a great, flying creature, bat-like, with huge staring eyes. He had Ekolu in his arms and before they could even leap up, the creature had devoured the fisherman in one gulp. It flew off in the morning mist, unconcerned with the remaining two men.

"Let us leave this cursed place!" cried Elua. "If there are no fishermen to return, our village will have nothing!"

"Wait, Elua." said Ekahi. "If we return now, no man will dare come to these fishing grounds again and we will not have opelu. Without opelu, our village would starve. We must destroy the evil creatures that haunt this island and I will tell you how."

With great reluctance, Elua conceded and paddled to shore with Ekahi. They did not fish that day. Instead, they worked in the forest and on the beach, building a long house. Inside, they placed two man-sized wooded images that sported gleaming eyes of inlaid mussel shell.

Ekahi and Elua hid themselves and waited as the evening wore on. Wearily, the two men fought against sleep. The hours dragged by and eventually they dozed.

Suddenly, they woke to the sound of voices. The spirits were standing at the entrance to the house debating about entering.

"Look how the man-creatures sleep standing up!" said one spirit.

"No, theireyes are open. They do not sleep. Let us wait." said the other.

The spirits peered into the house hungrily. Ekahi and Elua crouched in their hiding places, and the wooden images stood with wide, staring eyes. This went on for a long while until one of the spirits got so impatient that he convinced the other to follow him into the house.

The spirits fell upon the images, gnawing and clawing with great appetite. "These two are tough and stringy!" they exclaimed.

Before the spirits realized they had been tricked, Elua crept up to the doorway of the house and tossed in a flaming torch. Then he ran to where Ekahi had the canoe ready and they paddled away.

In this way, the man-eating spirits of Niihau were destroyed and the fishing grounds of Niihau were safe.

The Man-Eating Spirits of Niihau
By Genesis