The Legend Of The Menehune: Hawaii's Mythical Progenitors

May 2024 · 2 minute read

The Menehune make an interesting case study of myth the world over. Their tales are recent enough to be partially corroborated by actual, archaeological evidence, but distant enough to have begun transitioning from historical fact to campfire stories of fairies and forest gnomes, like álfar in Iceland (who 54% of the population still believed exist as of 2017, per National Geographic), or leprechauns in Ireland (who 33% of the populated still believed exist as of 2011, per the Irish Examiner). There is no singular Menehune narrative, but rather a collection of various tales transmitted by word-of-mouth and print, such as "The Three Menehune of Ainahou" recounted by Charles Kauluwehi Maxwell Sr., or the stories compiled in "Tales of the Menehune" from 1960.

The Menehune, it's said, were the original inhabitants of Hawaii. They were short — about 2 or 3 feet — hairy and pot-bellied. They only came out at night, into the lowlands, murmuring in low voices as to not be heard, but could bellow loud enough to call from island to island. They were master craftsmen and built some of the Hawaiian archipelago's most enduring roads, walls, and heiau (temples), including the Menehune Fishpond reputed to have been built in a single night, per Go Hawaii. They ate largely bananas, taro, and sweet potatoes planted in the mountains, befriended those who were kind, and to those who mistreated them, punishment awaited. And above all, they loved games and sports.

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