Title: Night Marchers Superstitions
General Information about Item:
- Genre and sub-genre: Customary and Verbal folklore: Superstition and homeopathic magic
- Language: Hawaiian/English
- Country: United States
- Informant: Tania Mahealani
- Date Collected: September 28th, 2017
Informant Data:
- Informant name: Tania Mahealani
- Dartmouth class of 2021
- 18 years old
- Has lived on big island, Hawaii, all of her life.
- The elders in her family have always placed great importance on maintaining their Hawaiian culture.
Contextual Data:
- Social Context: The Hawaiian society is highly social and personal. The family unit and looking out for one another firm backbones of the philosophical beliefs of many people on the island. This has resulted in a strong community that cultivates and places great importance on its heritage and traditions. These superstitions would be told to children to freighter them.
- Cultural Context: Nature and history are deeply rooted into Hawaiian culture. The Hawaiian people put significant value on the role of ancestors and mother nature in day to day life. A majority of these cultural tendencies are passed down generationally through oral traditions. The lore is then integrated into all facets of life on the islands including education, religion, politics, and more.
Item:
- Superstition: Do not whistle at night.
- If you do the Night Marchers may hear you and come attack you.
- Superstition: Beware of trails through the forest
- If you are not careful
Backgrounds of superstitions: The Night Marchers are a group of ancient Hawaiian warriors who patrol the islands of Hawaii after sundown. If they come across you at night they will attack you, unless you take off all of your clothes and kneel on the ground. It is possible that you may be spared if you are Hawaiian and one of your ancestors is among the warriors and recognizes you. They carry an array of weapons including spears, swords and maces, however, their eyes are just as dangerous. If you make eye contact you have to march with them forever. They are often seen near ancient Hawaiian burial grounds and near holidays. However, you must be careful when you are walking through the forest if you find a path. This path could be a Z-Trail, which is a path that the Night Marchers patrol.
Collector: Michael McGovern
Tags/Keywords: Night Marcher, Z-train, night, Hawaii, tradition, warriors, superstition