Hawaii
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Pau-Walu
Pau-Walu lived by the Wailua river in Maui, Hawaii. His name translates to “eight dead”. He warned people going fishing that a shark would kill eight of them, and then he turned into a shark and killed eight of them. People quickly figured out what’s going on, and he was confronted, captured, and bound by a hero known as Hau-Ola the Strong then thrown into a fire. Citations: Beckwith, Martha Warren. Hawaiian Mythology. United States, University of Hawaii Press, 1976.
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Niuhi/Lala-Kea/Kihikihi
The Niuhi is a class of man eating sea creature from Hawaiian myth. An alternate name Lala-Kea was once treated as a proper name, but eventually became synonymous with this classification. Sometimes any shark measuring over 3.5 meters is identified as a Niuhi, though they are sometimes believed to be the souls of demigods entering sharks after, or even before, their death. Alternate names like Lālākea refers to reef sharks, and Kihikihi refers to hammerhead sharks. They are believed to be capable of taking human form, have glowing fiery eyes, and are feared for their ferocity and reputation to devour all people. They are dark grey in color with lighter…
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Kuohu
Kuohu was a handsome man married to a woman named Hina in Hawaiian myth. After he died, she promised to always take care of his grave. Many years later though, she grew tired of going to the grave and instead carried his remains on her back in a large basket. When the king discovered this, it was ordered that she be executed, for digging up the corpse and carrying it on sacred ground. Her executioners chased her down, but felt pity on her. She agreed to leave for another island and throw the basket into the sea. She cast the basket in the water, and afterwards a large turtle followed…
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Kawelo
Kawelo is from Hawaiin mythology. He lived in Kauai, Hawaii near the Wailua River. There are three rocks where Kawelo was known to stay. The one on the land near the river is called the “Shark Stone,” which was his home on the left side of the river. The rock in the stream was his river home, and the rock at the mouth of the river was his ocean home. He would listen for people on canoes that were heading to the ocean to go fishing and then he’d greet them as they approached wishing them luck. Their fishing, however, would go poorly. They would catch nothing and be attacked…
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Kamaikaahui
Kamaikaahui was a person in Hawaiian myth. He was born in Maui as a rat, then he became several bananas, and then eventually he transformed into a man with a shark mouth on his back. To hide the shark mouth on his back, he always wore a cloth covering it. He kept the form of a man on land and took the form of a shark on the sea. He lived and farmed by the main road and would warn people of sharks as they would walk by going to the ocean. He would then take a shortcut and eat them in the form of a shark. People eventually start…
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Hi-Hi-Aka-La-La-Hai
Hi-Hi-Aka-La-La-Hai was a strong and handsome man who tried to court the Hawaiian goddess Poliahu. She agreed to give him an answer if he scaled a cliff at night and reached the top before dawn. He failed this task, so she transformed him into the first Hau Tree. This tree grew large before it was uprooted and relocated by a strong windstorm. It grew even larger there, until it was broken into five pieces by a flash flood. These pieces spread throughout the island and formed the large amounts of these trees present today. The lines on the leaf of this tree represent this mountain, and the five main rivers…
