Genre/Sub-genre: Customary and Verbal folklore: Superstition
Language: Hawaiian/English
Country: USA
Informant Data:
Sophia Domingo ’20
From Maui, Hawaii
Age 19
Contextual Data:
Having boundaries and respect for deities such as Pele brings community members together with their shared beliefs and customs.
Cultural Context: The Hawaiian people look to legends to explain natural phenomenon around them. Legends such as the goddess of fire and volcanos, Pele, are respected greatly.
Item:
The legend of the goddess of fire and volcanos, Pele, includes her relationship with the “hog child”, Kamapua’a. The two had a bad breakup, so now she is insulted if anyone dares to bring pork on the Pali, the cliffs that connect Kihei to Lahaina. If one were to get caught with pork on the Pali, the legend says that one would then have to feed the pork to Pele’s dog.
Genre and sub genre: Customary and Verbal folklore: Superstition and homeopathic magic
Language: Hawaiian/English
Country: USA
Informant Data:
Collected from: Marlo Mundon ’20 from the Big Island of Hawaii in 2009 from peers
Contextual Data:
Social Context: Cultural practitioners and locals keep traditional Hawaiian culture alive by participating in rituals and traditions like this. They bring the community together.
Cultural Context: In Hawaiian beliefs, there are many deities, most of which are connected to the elements. In the town of Waimea the mo’o wahine is the deity/protector of the town and she is associated with water. She is pictured as a mermaid bellow.
Item:
Waimea is a town known for being very rainy. In times of draught, people leave offerings to the mo’o wahine on a sacred rock called Manaua and often chant or pray to her and she will bring rain.
Audio Interview:
Transcript:
Michael: Hi what’s your name and where are you from?
Marlo: My name’s Marlo Mundon and I’m a 20 from the Big Island of Hawaii in the town of Waimea.
Michael: Would you like to tell me something about Waimea and perhaps some superstition or folklore from the area?
Marlo: So like in the first story, the mo’o wahine has a uh, another culturally relevant thing in town. There’s this big rock that’s connected to her and it’s kind of like an alter to give offerings to her. Since Waimea is a really rainy town we usually don’t have drought problems or anything like that, but sometimes we do and when there’s not enough rain we go and give offerings to the mo’o wahine at this rock called Manaua. Then she will recognize this offering and bring rain because she’s like a water spirit kind of. She lives in the pond, like that’s her domain, water is her thing and we ask her for rain when there’s a drought or there’s trouble with crops or something like that. It’s important to show respect to her because she has such a strong role in the town.
Michael: Alright so what would you say about cultural context of the legend and the practice?
Marlo: The deities and gods and goddesses of Hawaiian culture are very currently relevant. A lot of people still practice, it’s not necessarily a religion I don’t know what to call it, but people believe in the gods and the deities and stuff and will regularly continue the practices of ancient traditions of having ceremonies, festivals, and leaving offerings in honor of the gods and stuff. Yeah it’s an old practice but it’s still been going and still really relevant and people will go and leave offerings to the mo’o wahine.
Michael: Okay and similarly, the social context of the legend and how it sort of works in society and what it means for people.
Marlo: Well today it’s pretty normalized. Since Waimea is pretty rainy we don’t go and ask for rain all the time but it’s definitely not [out of the ordinary] and like if there are dry spells or anything like that people are like oh let’s go leave an offering or something it’s like a normal thing to think to do.
Genre and sub genre: Customary and Verbal folklore: Superstition and homeopathic magic
Language: Hawaiian/English
Country: USA
Informant Data:
Collected from myself: Marlo Mundon ’20 from the Big Island of Hawaii in 2009 from peers
Contextual Data:
Social Context: Hawaii is generally very rural and people are often surrounded by nature and enjoy hiking, swimming, exploring and the like.
Cultural Context: Most areas in nature have a cultural significance which must be respected. Nature itself is considered sacred and there many protocols and rituals one must perform in order to interact with nature in a respectful way.
Item:
Within the hills of Waimea on the Big Island there is a waterfall that runs into a large pond. It is a popular local hiking and swimming spot. The legend goes that the mo’o wahine lives in the pond and one must always ask her for permission before swimming. To do this, one takes a ti leaf and places it on top of the water. If the leaf floats, it is safe to swim and if it sinks, you cannot swim or mo’o wahine will drown you. Sometimes people also leave offerings for her to show respect and thank her for letting them swim in her pond.
Audio interview:
Transcription:
Michael: What is your name? Tell me about yourself.
Marlo: My name is Marlo Mundon, I’m a 20 from the Big Island of Hawaii in the town of Waimea. I didn’t grow up there but I went to a Hawaiian charter school that taught a lot about the history and the culture. So I learned a lot about all of that in that school and from cultural practitioners, and my peers, and local friends.
Michael: Do you have any Hawaiian superstitions that you would like to share?
Marlo: Yes, in my town specifically there is a lizard goddess, kind of. Her name, well not her name, but she’s called the “mo’o wahine” which means like lizard woman and she supposedly lives in this pond near my house up in the hills and like people like to go there, there’s a pond you can swim in and stuff but it is important to always check to see if it’s safe to swim because it’s the mo’o wahine’s home. So the superstition is you have to place a ti leaf on top of the water and if it floats then it’s safe to swim, and if it sinks it’s not safe, you can’t swim, she’ll drag you down to the depths of the pond and drown you. And so sometimes people also leave offerings on this big rock and uh yeah. That’s that.
Michael: Interesting. So, what is the social and cultural context of that superstition within Hawaii?
Marlo: So socially it’s something that the locals will do, one because it’s normal to do this and if you see tourists going there who don’t know about this, um, superstition. It’s always good to tell them about it, one it’s kind of fun to spook them and two, it’s culturally significant so you don’t want people to disrespect the pond and the lizard woman. Yeah that’s social, and uh cultural… there are a lot of deities, and supernatural beings in Hawaiian legends and stuff like that and they all have specific places where they live or areas that they have power over and this lizard woman lives in this pond and has a lot of influence over the town itself so it’s important for people in Waimea specifically to show respect for her.
Never take pork on the Pali
