Folklore: Hawaiian superstitions/beliefs

1. Don’t take black sand from the beach or you’ll anger the goddess of the volcano. She’s temperamental and stuff. You have to dust yourself off after you sit down.

2. Then there’s the night marchers. The ghosts of soldiers who walk on a specific trail they march one. There was one kid whose bed was on the trail and it’s not good to be there. You’ll get a fever and stuff.

Analysis:

My mom heard these from a storyteller who collected ghost stories. She’s pretty superstitious so she’ll make sure you’re clean after the beach and that you respect people’s graves and such. But I don’t know the origin of the night marchers.

My Analysis:

Hawaiian superstitions are interesting. The first one deals with the beach, a big tourist staple in Hawaii.  Because they surround the entire volcanic island and are considered to be the property of the gods, they are sacred.  Superstitions and myths are often intertwined, as this one is.  Dusting off black sand to not anger the gods signifies a reverence for nature and for a sacred truth.