Added January 11, 2004
Ka Huaka'i Po (The Night Marchers)
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The Aloha Spirit, Lā'ie, O'ahu, Hawai'i July
1990,
info@ghostvillage.com
Ancient Hawai'i had a feudal system of government. Each island had
one chief ali'i. Each village had lesser ali'i. Each island also had a
city of refuge where the soldiers of the ali'i couldn't enter.
Laws were harsh at this time. One would be clubbed to death by merely
stepping on the shadow of the ali'i or eating one of the many forbidden
foods (women couldn't eat bananas!). To escape the king's wrath, the
criminals would flee to the city of refuge.
The city of refuge on O'ahu is now Lā'ie. Three ancient heiau (temple)
mark its extent. These are the only heiau on O'ahu where human sacrifice
wasn't performed. After a sufficiently long stay in the city of refuge,
criminals would try to sneak out. The ali'i had a special troop of
soldiers who patrolled the outer limits of the city of refuge, ready to
carry out punishment.
Today, the spirits of these soldiers still patrol the ancient boundaries
of the city of refuge. Two in front beat drums, followed by four pipers.
A thousand warriors march behind, looking for anyone trying to sneak in
or out of the village.
This ghost story became real to me on a camping trip at Hukilau Beach.
As is the custom, we used tarps to create a roof and wind block. We
didn't bother with regular tents. Our shelters opened up to Hukilau
river and the beach. We told all sorts of wild tales and stayed up until
a little past midnight, then turned in.
About two o'clock, I was woken up by the sounds of distant drums. My
tent mate also was awake. We looked around but couldn't see anything.
The drums were louder now, and the sound of a flute floated through the
air. Scared, we ran back to our sleeping bags. More noises played on our
ears -- marching feet! As we gazed out toward the river, we saw a long
column of mist advancing. It hugged the river down to the beach then
turned right. The sounds grew stronger as the mist got closer. After the
mist passed, all was quiet again.
That morning, we found thousands of footprints following the same path
the mist traversed during the night.
Never again will I camp so close to the boundaries of the city of
refuge.
