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 by a shark. One day some men went down the river and told Kawelo that they were going to visit some place down river. They went fishing and did great, in fact they did great even beyond normal fishing standards. The other men who had done poorly asked them what happened. They began to suspect Kawelo of being the reason for the shark attack and came up with a plan to check their theory. They would go fishing and have someone watch Kawelo and warn them if something happened. They passed by Kawelo again as they went fishing, and as soon as they left Kawelo looked around and rushed to the riverbank. He jumped in the water, and in the blink of an eye Kawelo was gone and instead there was a really big shark. The person watching Kawelo tried to warn his friends, but the wind kept them from hearing him and they both died. The lookout told the village chief, and he decided no one would say if they were going fishing. It’s now seen as bad luck.

Citations:

Beckwith, Martha Warren. Hawaiian Mythology. United States, University of Hawaii Press, 1976.

Smith, Walter J.. Legends of Wailua. United States, Printing Services Corporation, 1955