To add on to the superstitious nature of Hawaiian folklore, there is another Hawaiian superstition that coincides with the myth of Pele.  This superstition is commonly known, even to those who have yet to visit the Hawaiian Islands.

My Hawaiian native good friend, Izach, shared with me another volcano-related superstition.  With Pele being the goddess of volcanoes, to take anything of her possession would aggravate her.  Izach noted that, to take a piece of molten lava or any kind of volcanic rock from the volcano itself, would only be a way of asking for self-inflicted trouble.  Because it is Pele’s property, she will inflict bad things upon you.

A similar circumstance was seen in The Brady Bunch television series.  The Brady clan travels to Hawaii for a summer getaway, as Mike Brady’s job sends him there to visit and check out a building he constructed on location.  The curious Brady boys happen to chance upon a Hawaiian idol, which they find while at a volcanic tourist spot.  The boys take this idol with them wherever they go, and, in turn, bad luck travels along with the Bradys.  They have a turbulent flight back home, as well as a number of injuries occur to the family while they are still on vacation.  This same situation occurs in many other TV shows, aside from The Brady Bunch, including Friends and Sister, Sister.

Again, this superstition continues with the thought that Hawaiians are highly respectful towards those who came before them.  They are aware of their past history, and respect it in every way in their daily life.  As a visitor to Hawaii, such customs and rituals must be shared to the outsiders in order to inform them of the laws of the land.

The Pali Lookout on the island of Oahu, in the state of Hawaii, is notorious for being a hotspot for supernatural activity.  There is the Pali Highway that runs alongside the edge of the mountain, which includes the Pali Lookout.  The highway itself runs through a tunnel.

My friend Izach, who was born and raised on the island, on the Waipahu side, explained to me that people have sometimes spotted a White Lady atop the Pali Lookout.  The origin of who she is or what business she has in that geographic area is not definite, however, a supernatural presence is greatly felt in that general area.  Izach heard a story in which a man drove up to Pali Lookout by himself one night, and the next day, he was found dead.  Whether he came into contact with the White Lady is unsure, however, the reasons for his death were not tangible and seem to have only been the cause of some supernatural force.  Izach informed me that local folklore will warn you against the “Night Marchers,” as well.  The “Night Marchers” are a traveling pack of men who drum in the middle of the night.  If you are in or near the Pali area, and you hear drumming, it’d be best to get as far away as possible as soon as possible.  You must not make eye contact with the “Night Marchers;” by all means, you must avoid looking into their deep red eyes.

My good friend Berna shared another account of a Pali Lookout tale with me.  Apparently, there is a tunnel that is near the Pali Lookout, through which it is absolutely prohibited by local folklore and general precaution, to bring any type of pork through.  There is evidently a force that will not let you take the pork through the tunnel and over the lookout.  If one attempts to do such a thing, to test the spirits in the area, one usually does not come out of the tunnel—if at all, at least not unscathed.

In the early 1980’s, Berna’s uncle and his friends thought it would be funny to test the spirits of the Pali Lookout by bringing a bacon sandwich through the tunnel.  They entered the tunnel, bacon sandwich in tow, and suddenly, all goes pitch dark.  The lights of the tunnel black out.  The headlights and backlights of the car itself go out.  The driver nor the passengers of the car could not see what was ahead of them, nor what direction in which they were headed.  What was heard was insanely loud, jarring screeching noises and it felt as though there was a force charging towards them.  Still unable to see to the end of the tunnel, they put the car in reverse and somehow managed to clear the tunnel through the opening.  When they inspected the damages, the top of the car and all along the sides of the car were covered in deep and distinct claw marks.

As I have observed with other pieces of Hawaiian folklore, such superstitions or legends and myths as this prove the sanctity of the laws of the land to the Hawaiian people.  With such a rich history of mythological events and natural gods and goddesses, they value their land and all it has to offer and personally believe they are in debt to their surroundings.  Therefore, they go to measures to ensure that they are within the right means of going about their daily lives, and not disrupting Mother Nature, the supernatural, and the forces that be.

Who knew putting a purse or bag on the floor could have such a significance?  In interviewing my informants and in taking from the folklore I have encountered in my own life, I came across this apparently universal superstition that seemed to generally be the same across the board: to put a purse on the floor is a bad and highly superstitious thing, in one way or another—evidently, in a myriad of different cultures around the world.

Growing up, my mother would always advise me to never put my purse on the floor.  Initially, I believed she did not want me to dirty up my bag.  However, she would never fail to follow that up with, “It’s bad luck.”  In my Filipino heritage, it is considered bad luck to put a bag or purse directly on the ground.

Coincidentally enough, a few of my friends told me the same superstition, but with different reasonings.  My Cameroonian roommate, Ayee, shared that in her culture, it is a superstition to put a purse on the floor because the devil will take it and all its contents.  My roommate Rachel explained to me that in her culture—the Chinese culture—it means that any money or any type of monetary item in your bag will flow out, and you will therefore become broke and without cash, if you put your purse on the floor.  My Brazilian friend Natalia had the same general view as I do, in my Filipino culture: it is bad luck in general to put a bag or purse on the ground.

Such a coincidence in folklore-sharing proves to me the universality and sharing of superstitious beliefs among nations and cultures all across the globe.  As different as we may think we are, perhaps we are all, in actuality, just the same.