The Night Marchers are a popular ancestral Hawaiian legend. Said to be groups of evil ferocious warrior spirits who would kill any mortal in their path that they deem to have shown them or their chiefs, kings or gods disrespect, unless they were an ancestor of someone within the Night Marcher’s ranks then they would be spared out of respect. They most commonly march throughout the night time hence their name.
Featured photo by Jai Mansson from Flickr.
It is often easy to tell if Night Marchers are coming as you will be able to hear the frenzied beating of the war drums, the blowing of conch shells, the loud sounds of marching and chanting and see the glow of fiery torches in the distance. It is unwise to attempt to stop their progression as they are able to bypass almost any obstacle that is put in their path and any person who attempts to foolishly bar their entry would be killed by the Night Marchers.
Sightings have often been reported seen from distance up upon sheer cliffs within the trees where glowing torch lights could be seen moving in the darkness, in areas that would otherwise be very difficult to move around within, given there to often be no nearby paths. Some say that Night marchers only leave behind footprints from where they have marched along while others say they float in the air leaving no trace.
It is suggested by some that if the Night Marchers are coming any mortals in the area should either run away and hide or drop face down and remain motionless on the ground to show one’s respect and fear of the Night Marchers which may allow them to be spared, standing up and staring at the marchers in defiance of them will be seen as disrespectful and lead to a violent death. Additionally, the planting of Ti shrubs around a property or home is believed by some to repel evil spirits and would cause the Night Marchers to avoid the area.
Instances of Night Marchers are said to be most common during the New Moon and most often near and around ancient sacred sites on the islands that would have had strong relation with the chiefs.
Hawaii was once governed by a caste system which is where people were born into distinct classes, the ones that were most privileged were in charge. A chief in Hawaii was often seen as a physical representation of god, these people were seen to hold huge spiritual power which was known as mana, a strong part of the belief system at the time. Upon visiting a settlement, the chief’s warriors would beat drums and blow conch shells and the lowly commoners were expected to look down at the ground.
Looking at a chief was forbidden to commoners as their body parts were seen as sacred. Any commoner who dared look at a chief would face death as punishment. These chiefs, upon passing into the afterlife were considered to continue their sacred duties as Night Marchers, which is why looking at them is extremely unwise. This is part of kapu which was a system of taboos that sought to keep the spiritually pure from the potentially unclean, there were a number of strict rules deeply embedded into the caste system to abide by kapu.
The ancient Hawaiian religion believed in many gods and spirits and also believed that spiritual essence could be found in objects and animals and also that they inhabited the sea waves and the sky. This spiritual energy was known as mana and it was believed you can gain and lose mana based on things you do but that being born to a chief would give you a strong head start as their families had been in contact with the gods in the long past.
The Hawaiian religion among its many gods had four prominent gods or deities. These included Kane, who was seen as the highest of the four gods, the procreator, who is said to have been the first god to become conscious and pull himself from the Po, which was a sheer darkness that existed before the world was created, Kane created light to push back Po.
Ku and Lono also pulled themselves out of Po after sensing Kane perform the same feat and together they created the world and formed the first man from red clay gathered from the four corners of the world, Kane fashioned the head using a special magical white clay and then Kane, Ku and Lono breathed life into the statue creating the first man which was in the image of Kane. These three gods also created lesser gods and the Menehune which were lesser spirits used as messengers and servants.
Ku was worshipped as the god of war, rituals to worship him even involved human sacrifice. Lono on the other hand was seen as a peaceful and loving provider, for agriculture, fertility, rainfall, music and peace. Honouring Lono included introducing kapu between the months of October and February during the Makahiki festival that forbid war and unnecessary work.
Kanaloa, the other prominent god, was often strongly associated with Kane, often in a divine duality of wild and taming forces. It was also believed he led the first group of spirits that were spit out by the gods, which he eventually rose in uprising against the gods, but were defeated, chucking them into the underworld, making him the god of the underworld and he is often associated with death and also the teaching of magic.
Another notable mention is the deity Pele, the Goddess of volcanoes and fire and who is believed to have created the Hawaiian Islands. It is believed that even the gods themselves march with the Night Marchers from time to time and that the witnessing of them by mortals would also serve death.
One of the most famous chiefs who would go on to create the first monarchy on Hawaii and become King by uniting the island was King Kamehameha I. It was said on his birth that comets and meteors rained from the sky, which signified the birth of a great chief. There is a legend that Kamehameha fulfilled a prophecy from a kahuna, who is a wise man or shaman in Hawaii, which put forth that whoever lifted the 5,000 Naha stone would break the bonds and possess the power to unite the islands.
As can be seen, the Night Marchers are part of a much larger and extensive belief system and mythology that was once widespread in Hawaii and that even for some residents to this day still plays a relevance in superstition. So, there is much more I may one day explore in a future blog post.
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