Nightmarchers

"Night marchers" redirects here. For the band, see The Night Marchers.

In Hawaiian legend, Nightmarchers (huaka'i pō or "Spirit Ranks," 'oi'o) are the ghosts of ancient Hawaiian warriors. On the nights of Kane, Ku, Lono, Akua, or on the nights of Kaloa they are said to come forth from their burial sites to march out to past battles or to other sacred places. They march at sunset and just before the sun rises. Anyone living near their path may hear chanting and marching, and must go inside to avoid notice. They might appear during the day if coming to escort a dying relative to the spirit world. Anyone looking upon or seen by the marchers will die unless a relative is within the marcher's ranks- some people maintain that if you lie face down on the ground they will not see you. Others say that this only works if you are naked. However, if you have time to get out of the way it is best to do that. Still others say that you should be naked, lie face up and feign sleep. Placing leaves of the ti (Cordyline sp.) around one's home is said to keep away all evil spirits, and will cause the huaka'i pō to avoid the area.

The ceremony and conduct of the march is customised to the tastes of its honored leader. A chief known to be fond of music would be honored with much drumming and chanting. If the chief enjoyed peace and quiet, the march would be as silent as possible. If a chief did not like to walk around much, he would be carried in a sling. In old Hawaii, laws declared parts of a chief to be sacred, and not seen. The punishment for looking at these parts was death. If a chief's face was not supposed to be seen, he would lead. If his back was not to be looked upon, he would be in the back. However, for some chiefs, there was no part of them that was forbidden to look at. This chief would march among the other warriors in the group.

There are gods in some marches. The torches are a lot brighter than the torches in other marches. The biggest torches are carried at the front, back, and still three within the rest of the group. Five was a special number for Hawaiians. In the march of gods, there are six gods in a row, three male and the others female. A very important god is in the march, and she is called Hi`iaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele, however her name is commonly shortened to Hi'iaka. The marches are indeed very different.

“

"The first thing you will hear is drums in the distance, then you will smell a foul and musky odor, and you will hear a conch shell being blown, for fair warning to get out of the way, and you will see torches getting brighter and brighter as they get closer. Your best chance is to have an ancestor that recognizes you, they will call out,"Na'u!" which means mine. But if you are in the night marchers' bloodline no one in the procession can harm you. No matter what you build in their path they go straight through it. The night marchers are the vanguard for a sacred chief or chiefess who unusually have a high station in life." - Po Kane. Haunted Hawaiian Nights, by Lopaka Kapanui[1]

”

See also

• Santa Compaña

Citations

1. ^ Lopaka Kapanui (2005). Haunted Hawaiian Nights. Mutual Publishing. http://books.google.com/books?id=3w5AAAAACAAJ&dq=haunted+hawaiian+nights. 

References

• Martha Beckwith (1970). Hawaiian Mythology. University of Hawaii Press & Forgotten Books. pp. Page 164. http://books.google.com/books?id=FyIEpx1aLXEC&pg=PP1&dq=Hawaiian+Mythology+by+Martha+Beckwith#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
• Mary Kawena Pukui; Samuel H. Elbert (1986). Hawaiian Dictionary. University of Hawaii Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=bHdRhjL9Y9EC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Hawaiian+Dictionary#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
• Hawaii's Best Spooky Tales: The Original, Collected by Rick Carroll, copyright 1996 by The Bess Press Inc.

This article relating to a myth or legend from Oceania is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Hawaiian mythology Oceania mythology stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат? King George V class battleship (1911) HMS King George V (1911) Look at other dictionaries: Hawaiian mythology — refers to the legends, historical tales and sayings of the ancient Hawaiian people. It is considered a variant of a more general Polynesian mythology, developing its own unique character for several centuries before about 1800. It is associated… …   Wikipedia Santa Compaña — The Santa Compaña, or Santa Companha ( Holy Company ) is probably one of the most deep rooted mythical beliefs in rural Galicia, and also in Asturias, where it is called Güestia. It is also known under the names of Estadea , Estantiga (… …   Wikipedia Glen Grant — This page is about the author and historian. There is also a Glen Grant (distillery) Glen Grant (February 23, 1947 – June 19, 2003) was a Hawaiian historian, author and folkloristcite web |url=http://www.nt2099.com/J ENT/news/classic j… …   Wikipedia Hyakki Yakō — by Kawanabe Kyōsai, collected in British Museum Hyakki Yakō (百鬼夜行; lit. Night Parade of One Hundred Demons ) was a Japanese folk belief. The belief holds that every year yōkai, the Japanese supernatural beings, will take to the streets during… …   Wikipedia Peter Sullivan (screenwriter) — Peter Sullivan (born 30 November 1976) is an American screenwriter and producer.Peter Sullivan was born in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts and graduated from NYU s Tisch School of the Arts with a degree in Film and Television. Peter has written… …   Wikipedia Procession of the dead — They are various myths of processions of the dead, most related to the Wild Hunt. In Galicia and Asturias, it is known as Santa Compaña. The Benandanti in the Friuli participated to such processions.In Hawaii, there are the Nightmarchers …   Wikipedia NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship — The NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team title of NWA Mid Pacific Promotions and was defended between 1952 until 1978 when it was abandoned. The title was later revived by the current incarnation of NWA Hawaii in 2000. It is… …   Wikipedia Mythologie hawaïenne — La mythologie hawaïenne se réfère aux légendes, contes historiques et récit des anciens Hawaïens. Elle est considérée comme une variante de la mythologie polynésienne ayant développé ses spécificités propres durant plusieurs siècles jusqu à la… …   Wikipédia en Français 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”