Nationality: American
Age: 46
Occupation: Graphic Designer
Residence: Marin County, CA
Primary Language: English
Type: Legendary Creature(s)
- “There are the Menehune’s of Hawaii. Their thing is mischief, but they were also said to have built the fish ponds for the king a really long time ago. They built the fish ponds to make fishing easier for the king, so he didn’t have to go all the way down to the ocean to fish. The King would fish in the ponds where the fish would be constantly reproducing and. The Menehunes are kinda like leprechauns but there were a lot of them, and they are known to just cause trouble. They’re short, just like leprechauns, they don’t fly or do anything special, they’re just there and no one sees them. If your fishing nets suddenly had holes in them, it’s the Menehunes causing trouble. They aren’t invisible, but no one ever sees them. They come out at night and do mischief, no one ever sees them.”
- I obtained this piece of folklore from a family member, Jeff. Jeff is in his late 40’s, and he spent eleven years of his life in Hawaii, where he was born and raised. Jeff and his friends spent most of their childhoods exploring the island. By doing so, Jeff and his friends came across the plentiful fish ponds throughout the island, and the folklore behind them passed around their friend group, as well as other children and parents on the island.
- All the islands are full of fish ponds, and across all islands the Menehune folklore exists. This is passed down from generation to generation, and it is also passed around friend groups and family members.
- I love the concept of the Menehunes and I want to believe in them. It is interesting how similar they are to leprechauns, yet the Hawaiian islands were quite isolated from the rest of the world for a long period of time. I wonder how the similarities exists and how possibly they might be connected.
For more on the Hawaiian Menehunes, go to http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/menhune-hawaii-ancient-race-or-fictional-fairytale-001741
Nationality: American
Age: 46
Occupation: Graphic Designer
Residence: Marin County, CA
Primary Language: English
Type: Ghost Story/Legend
- “In the pineapple fields of Hawaii, there was a ‘white lady’ in fields that scared us as children. She was a ghost or a spirit or something, and she wore only white. The pineapple fields were pretty big, you would just walk there, explore, have fun, and it was all good. But, if YOU EVER DROVE through, the spirit of the ‘white lady’ would attach herself to you as you drove by. The threat she posed was invisible, so no one ever knew exactly what would happen if she attached to you but if she did, we only knew that it was really bad. You almost didn’t even want to know that’s how bad her reputation was. It was just intended that doom was imminent. It still creeps me out today thinking about her actually (laughter). The legend was probably invented by the pineapple company to keep people out of the pineapple field, but we never found out the truth.
- I obtained this piece of folklore from a family member, Jeff. Jeff is in his late 40’s, and he spent eleven years of his life in Hawaii, where he was born and raised. Living on an island, Jeff had lots of freedom, as you could never really get lost on the island. Him and his friends explored the nearby pineapple fields, even though they really weren’t supposed to. They would run around, play games, and look for interesting “finds” in the pineapple fields. Although, him and his friends were always careful because of the legend.
- Hawaii grows many types of tropical fruits—a large source of capital for the Hawaiian economy. One of which is pineapple, and because of the economic gains, the fruit is grown in large fields. Therefore, it would be bad for the economy for these fields to be tainted with and or treated badly. This superstition is passed around friend groups and others who would go explore the pineapple fields.
- I think that my cousin was right, and the folklore was created by the people in charge of the pineapple field to prevent people from coming into the field, but more specifically driving through it or around it. Driving through it would hurt the crops and going around it might inspire people to come explore.
Nationality: American
Age: 46
Occupation: Graphic Designer
Residence: Marin County, CA
Performance Date: 4/23/17
Primary Language: English
Type: Superstition/Folk Belief
- “In Hawaii, there was a large population of sea-frigate birds. They had black feathers and a red belly almost (laughter). They would fly around, above people, in both city areas and in the forest. They also had strange shaped wings, like swallow kind of wings. The birds would fly overhead and apparently, if you saw them fly above, you couldn’t stare, you had to just ignore them. You could NEVER point at them, if you did, then something bad would happen to you. Something really bad, but no one ever knew what. Just that one, really bad thing would happen, and you couldn’t avoid it.
- I obtained this piece of folklore from a family member, Jeff. Jeff is in his late 40’s, and he spent eleven years of his life in Hawaii, where he was born and raised. Living on an island, Jeff had lots of freedom, as you could never really get lost. When he was living there, him and his friends would explore around the island, but it was superstition that you could never physically point at this specific type of bird. Jeff and his friends spent a lot of time outside, and within his school friends and neighborhood friends, this superstition went around.
- Hawaii is known to be a tropical and natural place. There are all typed of birds, plants, and other natural life forms on all islands. Moreover, the amount of wildlife has been a source of folklore, especially in tropical places. The sea-frigate bird is not rare or becoming extinct, actually it is quite a common bird. However, the unique shape of their wings became a source of folklore. This superstition is passed around friend groups and family members.
- I personally do not understand this superstition. If the bird was rare or uncommon then I would understand a bit more as to why it could be a source of folklore, but again, currently, it does not quite make any sense to me. It seems like another silly superstition among children, not necessarily adults. Jeff does not believe in this anymore, and will point and stare at the bird.
Nationality: American
Age: 46
Occupation: Graphic Designer
Residence: Marin County, CA
Primary Language: English
Type: Superstition/Folk Belief
- “In Hawaii, and everywhere else, you are never supposed to pick up rocks, shells (or anything ‘natural’) from the ground, and you are never supposed to bring them with you. You cannot bring these things with you. If you do, it was always said that ‘the spirits’ who occupied the ‘natural’ items would then follow you around forever, and bring you bad luck and misfortune. The only way to stop this from happening would be to return the item to its exact location where you picked it up…exactly where you found it basically. Then, the spirits would return to their item and place, and the bad luck would disappear.”
- I obtained this piece of folklore from a family member, Jeff. Jeff is in his late 40’s, and he spent eleven years of his life in Hawaii, where he was born and raised. Living on an island, Jeff had lots of freedom, as you could never really get lost. When he was living there, him and his friends would explore around the island, but it was superstition that no matter where you went, you could NEVER pick up rocks, shells, leaves, etc. from the ground. Even to this day, Jeff does not pick up “natural” things from the ground, since he still believes that it will bring him bad luck, and he does not want to go through the effort of returning the object.
- Hawaii is a very natural, forested, as well as beach-y place. Rocks, shells, leaves, bark, etc. are all abundant throughout all islands, and many of these items have a beauty to them; a natural, nice looking aesthetic, whether that be pattern, color, shape, or size. The appeal to take these items from the ground is probably high. Hawaii is also known to be a spiritual place, many of the religions of the native populations include spirits. This superstition is passed around friend groups and family members.
- I think this is an interesting folk superstition, unlike anything I have ever heard. Unlike other superstitions, this one has a connection between spirits and actual items, and for as long as I can remember I have been picking up shells and rocks at the beach, not knowing that there is a common belief that one should not do that. What also is fascinating is that my cousin Jeff still, to this day, will not pick anything up from the ground, because of this strong superstition.
Nationality: American
Age: 21
Residence: Marin County, CA
Primary Language: English
Type: Fixed Phrase
- “So in there are two different snakes that look almost identical, one is poisonous and the other is totally harmless. They both have only three colors on them. One has, red, yellow and black, while the other is red, white, and black. There was a saying that I picked up that taught you how to tell which one was poisonous and which one was harmless. ‘Red touch black; venom lack. Red touch yellow; kill a fellow.” King Snakes are the harmless ones and Coral Snakes are the super deadly ones. I was going around the desert with some friends when some other travelers told us about the desert snakes. We were in the Southwest (Arizona area).”
- I obtained this piece of folklore from my cousin Clay. Clay is a year older than me, and grew up in Mill Valley California, which is located in Marin County (just North of San Francisco). Clay has been on numerous trips outdoors, and spends a significant amount of time in nature. He is trained as a college outdoor guide as well as a backpacking specialist. Clay obtained this phrase while in the Southwest desert area, he does not remember exactly which state he was in, but somewhere around Arizona area, and he did at one point go close to the Mexico border.
- In North America but mainly the desert biomes, there are two types of snakes that look very similar, although one of the two is incredibly dangerous—due to its strong venom. King snakes are harmless while Coral snakes have a deadly venom. Many hikers and campers confuse the two snakes, and put their life’s in potential danger. This folk saying helps people identify the dangerous snake from the harmless one, in an easy, simple rhyme.
- I have never heard this saying before because I do not spend that much time in desert areas, but if I were to, I would want to know this folk saying. However, I might not remember it, which would defeat the whole purpose.
