Sidestep: Hawaii Special 1 - The Hawaiian Giants

This first article is from 1905 and is copied as printed. Please keep in mind it is written in the context of their understanding and style of writing for that time period.

WHEN HAWAII WAS PEOPLED BY GIANTS: A SCIENTIST MAKES AMAZING DISCOVERIES IN ISLAND CATACOMBS WHICH ARE OLDER THAN THOSE OF ROME

Coffin Berry

Much has been written regarding the subterranean excavations or catacombs which are found in all directions outside Rome and elsewhere, and which served as places of worship and refuge for the living and a final resting place for the dead: but it is not generally known that within our own Hawaiian territory an ancient and primitive people similarly obtained security for their departed. The excavations, passages and galleries about were hollowed out of dry, porous lava rock which served its purpose.

Those of the Hawaiian Islands antedate them by many centuries and unlike those of Rome, still remain in sealed storehouse of vast information awaiting scientific inspection and research. These Islands are a large sponge of lava and caves and volcano bubbles that one might search carefully for many weeks and months without finding even a suggestion of ancient habitation.

Several different methods of burial were practiced, depending: upon the person. The funeral rites of a high- chief differed widely from those of the common people; human sacrifices being offered that help enter the other world with attendance suitable to his rank. His cleansed bones, entirely 'freed from the flesh and neatly covered with "kapt" (red feathers), were eventually concealed in some secret and inaccessible cave by a trusty attendant, elected before death and sworn to secrecy. The bones were carried to the selected place of concealment by night when the attendants had fallen asleep and after the sorcerers had avenged the chiefs death, usually supposed to be due to evil spirits.

The common people also were buried in caves, or subterranean caverns, by night, and frequently we find the body embalmed by means of salt or some drying process, the upper part of the body, bent forward to the knees, with the head, hands and knees bound by means of a cord, the body w rapped in coarse matting and then placed in some open cave and surrounded by household effects, implements of war, canoes, treasure chests; articles of food, etc. The cave was then carefully concealed from view by means of loose stones, which were in turn concealed and protected by means of a thick growth of ‘kiawe’ with poisonous thorns, and which, when dry and brittle, penetrate the flesh like needles, break off and cause death.

The fact that Captain Cook discovered these islands in 1778 means as little to the cave hunting enthusiast as their later discovery by W. J. Bryan. The discovery of human bones under ancient coral beds and lava flows, as well; as certain cave discoveries leads to conclude that emigration to these Islands began as early as 500 A: D. Even long, before, this periods there must have been human habitation. Pioneers, having been' expelled from distant islands, of south or southwest, driven from their course by southerly gales which blow for months at a time. A Japanese fishing junk, which had. Been blown off its course in this way was wrecked upon the Island of Oahu in 1832, with four; men on board, all of whom were rescued by the Hawaiians. ‘Kadu’, a native of the Caroline Islands, drifted 100 miles due east of the Islands where he was rescued in 19I7. These and many other recorded instances show the chances of migration from west to east. Plants and animal life and dialects are similar from New Zealand to the Hawaiian islands which support this conclusion:

Hunting for Burial Caves.

Cave hunting equipment consists of a long stout rope for lowering one's self into holes or over precipices that look promising. Something to protect the face from the yellow jackets and bees. A lantern, gloves and a knife for cutting away vegetation. Frequently these caves present only a small opening into the wall hundreds of feet above the canyon, while in other cases one must be lowered directly into some dark hole at the risk of being stung to death again. Other caves are only reaching by diving beneath the ocean during calm weather.

In January 1905, after two weeks of physical exertion we finally came upon an ancient burial cave of some magnitude. I used a native boy to assist me. We found a small opening where bees were coming out among the cactus. After burning out the bees and yellow jackets I lowered the boy into the small opening about 5 feet where he gained a foothold. I was about to climb down to join him when he cursed about being stung. Yellow jackets had attacked him. His swearing was so loud and the echo of the cave made it sound like he was speaking in two languages.

I hauled him out and using netting we covered ourselves and re-entered. In the cave and now well protected and lighted by a calcium carbide lamp. This cave led gradually downhill for 100 feet to an opening in the sheer wall of a cliff where we could look of feet to a stream below where wild bananas were growing!

The entrance within the cave was thickly covered with disintegrated lava rock, but farther along we soon saw that the abode had been previously entered, and after /much searching that our path led through a small opening about four feet above the floor and into a much larger volcanic bubble which was the actual burial cave and which soon set my blood churning. At the farther end of the cave which must have been 300 feet in length sat five giant human forms wrapped in kapa cloth with head and arms resting upon the knees, covered with the dry dust of ages of rock disintegration and apparently asleep. For a moment I stood spellbound with my light thrown upon them, for it seemed that surely they must awaken at any moment, turn their parched and faded countenances toward me and demand an explanation. I was lost in that thought for a while until I was suddenly interrupted by a blood curdling moan which came from behind. Pau, attempting to escape in the dark had fallen through the small opening and was floundering about like a lost soul cast into the bottomless pit. He has lost his mosquito netting and was being stung again by the yellow jackets. The five giant forms before me were those of hardened warriors of the old school and had sat there waiting thus for 1000 years.

They all measured much over 6’ in height and weighed over 300 lbs the tallest being 6’5” in height. Near him was a calabash, a wooden plate and a poi pounder of lava rock off a pattern dating back to the earliest of Hawaiian occupation; also an enormous club of hardwood fitted with sharks' teeth. This war club I could barely lift by means of the smooth handle, using both hands and yet judging from the size of its owner's hands and the smallness of the handle, I am led to believe; that he managed to swing the weapon, using one hand only.

The average height of the present day Hawaiian is 5 feet 9. Judging by this and several others which followed I should place the height of the ancient race much above 6 feet. A skeleton found by others in a cave at Waimea measured 6 feet 7 inches, and early missionaries report having seen many that measured between 6 and 7 feet. These bodies, on closer inspection, resembled faded parchment and seemed to have been embalmed in some way with salt. The teeth were as beautiful as polished ivory, except in two cases, where two and three upper and lower front teeth had "been knocked out”. The other finds of the cave consisted of two rough lava lamps, a dozen stone adzes of various sizes, one mirror of highly polished store, and some other small stone and bone articles which I am unable to classify. The air in the cave soon became so stifling that I was compelled to make a hasty retreat, taking with me only a few of the lighter articles and leaving the warriors of old to continue their sleep, practically undisturbed.

After closing up and concealing the entrance to our cave Pan explained to me the use of the polished disk of atone used as a ‘mirror’ by placing it within a calabash and covering with water. Much to my astonishment the reflection was as perfect as mercury could possibly give. During 1905 we discovered four other caves, but three of these had been looted and nothing of importance was left, aside from a few bones, a fragment of kapa cloth and an adze or two. Late in March, however, while attempting to follow some wild goats up a cliff, I came upon an open cave which evidently had been used by the animals as a place of shelter and which afforded me good opportunity for scanning the opposite wall of the canyon for likely places.

Human Sacrifice Stone

Just below me and beyond this point I soon discovered the wall of an ancient "heiau" temple. An hour’s work with a sharp cane knife removed sufficient lantana to enable me to reach this wall which was about four feet high, three feet wide and enclosed about a half-acre. The enclosure was carefully paved with flat stones which had been well selected and put in place with skill. In the centre was a massive stone the size of a table and with a naturally flat surface. This had been used in ages past undoubtedly by the priest in offering up human sacrifices. Thick overgrowth and trees have entirely concealed this temple from one passing along the stream below. In the cliff just above the enclosure were two very promising caves which had been enlarged, and made symmetrical and were probably used by the priest.

Just beyond this we were compelled to use ropes to descend to the floor 50 feet below where we found three skeletons and but one mummified body wrapped in course matting. There seemed to be no plan of burial in this case, nor in the distribution of effects which were scattered about promiscuously. Here we found a crudely carved oblong wooden bowl supported by two distorted figures resembling those often seen In the ivory carving of the orient; also three stone lamps, one of which had been made from a broken poi pounder, a mortar and pestle; several adzes, some fish hooks of bone, several yards of coconut fibre rope, and the usual calabash containing some minor ornaments and decomposed foodstuff. The full extent of these caves I was never fully able to determine, for the air was stifling and seemed mixed with carbon dioxide which repeatedly extinguished our lights and made the task hazardous In more ways than one. At a later date, however, I found part of an idol just within the opening and hid beneath the stones. It had been burned and partly destroyed at some time and may have belonged to the temple.

In carrying on these rather superficial Investigations I was compelled to use the utmost caution and secrecy, as many of the natives are a till extremely superstitious and opposed to research along these lines. My observations led me to draw several conclusions regarding the ancient Hawaiian

1. They were much taller, larger and more powerful physically than at the present day.

2. Their carvings of figures upon idols and household articles are strongly suggestive of the Asiatic, while their decorations, or totems, resemble closely those of the Haida Indians.

3. Their stone Implements resemble those of our American Indians only to a limited degree, but this may result from there being a limited variety of rock material to select from, and very as with our Alaskan Indian, wood and bone were used when flint or metal would have served., better had they been available.

4. In the weaving of baskets and matting, they resembled both the Astatic and our Northwestern Indians as well as the cliff dwellers of Arizona and Utah.

5. In the making of finely woven string from human hair they resemble again the cliff dwellers, while In weaving of flowers and feathers they resemble our Indians, although unlike them they never attempted pottery making.

6. In the use of bow and arrow as well as use of drum, flute and rattle, they resemble the Indians. (TW16: there are no bow and arrows in Hawaii)

7. Their common burials suggest again the cliff dweller. These and many other resemblances too numerous to be given suggest a relationship between the primitive and scattered races, and one's of Asiatic origin, and yet this may be due in part to environment. A study of the forms of decoration, burials etc observed in excavating the ancient ruins of old Mexico for example, have told us approximately at what period these places were inhabited by comparison with similar ruins of known age in other countries. But in the case of the Hawaiian Islands the excavation is still to be done and material at hand is insufficient to allow a positive statement.

From elsewhere...

Anthropologists agree that the ancient Hawaiian was one of the finest physical types in the Pacific, and compared very favorably with the best types from any other part of the world. They were tall and well developed, with splendidly shaped torsos, and fine muscular limbs of excellent proportions. According to measurements compiled by Topinard, the Hawaiians have greater manual strength than the Micronesians, Australians, Negroes, Iroquois, Chinese, French seamen, or American soldiers, and are only surpassed by the Iroquois in strength of back. The average height was about five feet ten inches, and many of the chiefs were over six feet. A skeleton from one of the ancient burial caves measured six feet seven and three quarters inches, and, as Bryan states, " there is sufficient evidence to establish the fact that men of even larger stature were by no means unusual." The physique of the chiefs and their families was so superior to that of the common people that some anthropologists have thought them to be of a different tribe or race. The difference is not to be accounted for in this way, however, but rather to the excellent care taken of the children of the nobility, their better food and other conditions of life, and their healthful sports and exercises. The drudgery was done by the common

From Garry Nelson, Oahu

Red-Haired Giants of Hawaii.

For over 20 years now I have been living in the islands of Hawaii. Only a few years after I had first moved here (1985) I again heard about red-haired giants. Two giant 10 and 12 foot red-haired skeletons were found in a lava cave in a canyon behind Olowalu Hawaii.

I drove out to Olowalu to see what I could find out. After making my way off the main road onto the old road. I turned up the canyon in which I had been told the research was happening. After a little exploring I found some excellent though strange petroglyphs on the side of a rock out cropping. I was just able to take a few pictures before a white SUV drove up with a man and a woman in it. The woman was driving. The woman told me that I would have to leave the area. After talking with her for a few minutes she admitted that Red-haired skeletons had been found and that they were much larger than they should be. She would not tell me any exact measurements. She did say that they did not want to upset the Hawaiians with their discoveries. The man never spoke even when I greeted him.

It should be noted that although there is the spirit of Pele that is the Goddess of fire believed to live in the volcano. Pele started out as a physical Pele that traveled the islands. She is described as extremely tall with fiery red hair, fair skin, great strength, incredible beauty, veracious sexual appetite and a deadly temper. It is mentioned that Pele's father is the man-eater Ku-waha-ilo who dwells in the far off heavens. Pele traveled the islands of Hawaii digging underground tunnels in an effort to find a spot that she could dig deep caves that did not flood with water so she could make a safe home for her family.

Several days after meeting the man and woman in the SUV, I went back at night. More than anything I wanted to see exactly where the discovery was. This time I took a sugar cane road in from another direction. I four wheeled it in so that I would be on the ridge above the canyon on top of the rock outcropping with the petroglyphs. I was not there very long before headlights came on below me and started working their way to me. I knew I could be gone before they could get to me but I figured I just as well go meet them. It turned out to be a local guy who was hired as security to guard the site. He told me that Yes, two giants were found. A man and a woman, the big one was easily 12 feet. He did not like staying all night in the canyon it gave him the willies. I kept him company for a while and he told me where the cave was. Not that it mattered they covered it completely when they were done. Even now the area where I had driven my truck on the ridge to look into the canyon is a housing development. Close but no cigar. Now, as interesting as the Hawaiian part of my story is the giant's size is not first-hand and there is no evidence. So, it does not really count as proof of a race of giants. It could be true but covered up? (TW16: This is why we keep saying that absence of evidence is not always evidence of absence.)

This site across and up the valley from the petroglyph site was being developed when the cave was found.

More from Garry Nelson, Oahu

In addition to the tiny, dwarfish Menehune, there have also been reports from Hawaii of something more similar to the hulking mainstream image of Bigfoot. In 1973, a 35-year-old Rob Carlson reported that he had had a curious and frightening encounter while out fishing for catfish with a friend in Whitmore Village, by the Wahiawa Mountains. According to the account, the two had just finished setting up some catfish traps and were preparing to go home for the night when they heard an otherworldly howl blast forth from the surrounding wilderness, which sounded like a “wild man.” At first they thought it was a joke being played on them by their friends, but as the wailing intensified they ran away in a panic. As the two friends ran down the hill along a trail they reached a curve in the path, and it was then that the source of the alien howling made itself known. According to Carlson, a huge, 7 to 8 foot-tall hairy female creature, naked except for a cloth around the waist, lumbered into view. Carlson would describe the escalating chaos thus: “I tell you, he was coming right for us! So we turned and ran back to the river. As he stumbled down the side of the embankment, a giant woman stepped out from behind a tree. She must have been at least seven feet tall!” The friends reportedly made their way home, where they were unable to sleep with all that had happened weighing heavily on their minds. When they awoke the next morning, they allegedly went back to where their encounter had taken place to go retrieve their catfish traps, and were able to find a series of massive tracks that measured around 20 inches long. It was then that they swore to never go fishing in the area ever again. The creature in this case was decidedly more in keeping with the traditional physical description of North America’s Bigfoot, being a massive, hair covered wild man type of beast, rather than the smaller, dwarfish Menehune.

From Greater Ancestors World Musuem

An anonymous source said he was security when they loaded the Olowalu giants onto the ship bound for Australian labs, suspected they might be animal bones, but there is one important fact: What animal on Hawaii is or has EVER been even 10 or 12 feet long? There have never been any Dinosaur fossils found on Hawaii, nor any fossils of Megafauna animals i.e. mammals over 200 lbs, because the Islands were too remote from the mainlands. What sort of “unknown” animal existed on Hawaii that would require (assuming the rumor is true) 12 foot long cargo crates to be sent to Australia?

*****

The above are all unsubstantiated stories but we began to research all about Olowalu as a result. Olowalu can have different meaning depending on whether you look at the ancient, traditional or modern use. It can mean eight towers (there are nine raised rock platforms). This area was an Ahupua`a. This was where offering to the king, most often a pig, were make on stone heaps. These are not well formed like on the stacked stone temples large island of Hawaii which were only built around the late 1700's after Kamehameha conquered all the islands. Ironically Kamehameha only conquered these islands after obtaining weapons from a captured American ship as a result of an American massacre at the village Olowalu (in similar fashion to NgaPuhi's massacres with the musket in Aotearoa in the early 1880s'). (we will have an article on that massacre this week). Kamehamea would have seen these structures himself but prior to his campaign, the various islands were all ruled separately and in slightly different ways. The islanders were Hawaiian - but they were not unified.

As this site contained the bones of Pele and her mate, (the giant skeletons) and the sacred nature of the site meant it only succumbed because the kapu' was already gone. These structures at Olowalu were huge piles of thrown stones, but large enough to have a house upon the level platform and big enough to match the reputation of the giants king and gods that lay a few hundred metres away in their cavern. This cavern is now covered over with a building and a water tank. Nearby is another gated and locked cave leading to a cavern with the purest water inside. There are concrete steps leading down into it (?) but the cavern is hewn out of rock and is not a natural cavern according to one who has managed to get inside.

(TW16: The story of these two large skeletons mentions they wanted to cover it up so as not to upset the Hawaiians. Of course making this public would have revealed that there were a race of people in Hawaii before the Marquesans arrived around 400AD and the Tahitians around 1200AD).

EDIT: Now a day after writing the above and doing some lengthy investigation, we discovered that in fact the 'horseshoe' mounds only look that way because of the rock sides and being built on a slope. They were square but are now round rock piles resulting from clearing the plantation fields of rocks in the 1940's. They were built over smaller rock piles built during rock clearing of the sugar cane days. Few 'original' Hawaiian ahu are to be seen. So you see, for some unusual things we assume are something else, or what we (want) them to be - there is often a logical explanation (as with the rock mounds at Tapapakanga Regional Park near Auckland). I then found out that the carved cavern mentioned above was in fact exactly that - carved, but by Europeans as a water storage area. What about the cave with the supposed giant skeletons? It was very close to another set of petroglyphs few know that exist in a rock shelter just behind the water tank pictured above. I'd like to see these to see if the figures appeared elongated like this one below. If there were 10' humans there once they would be in legend right?

The I found some local stories from an old local of Olowalu. They told stories about the ancient one,s who on the nights of Pō Kane, would walk at night to the ocean in preparation for war. In the old days, the warriors would walk in the early morning to the ocean by torch light to hi‘uwai (cleanse or purify) their weapons in the water and at the same time they would hi‘uwai themselves. By carrying the torch light during, the warriors would also let those at the heiau know that they are ready both physically and spiritually. Today, the "spirits of these 10 to 15 foot tall warriors" would manifest during the Rising of Kū and walk mauka to makai, between the heiau and the sea. Those nights that are sacred to Kū fall on the 3rd to 6th night of the lunar calendar. (Note the story doesn't say 10-15' spirits, but spirits of the 10-15' warriors - as in they were once living). But that still provides no real proof does it? It's all conjecture!

*****

Now while all the above stories in italics were from various old newspapers and other reports, all are interesting. Some may be true or they all may be false. But there is not one single photo to justify anything. Granted, the first story from 1905 can be excused due to the bulky nature of photographic equipment.

Even a single photo can easily be manipulated and even on this website we debunked many that were obvious; and many that were not. A single photo is nothing. Neither is a single photo of a footprint that shows no sign of front foot pressure. Do people think some readers are idiots, (apparently so!).

A few photos of an interesting find, from different angles, would be handy. At least that would be harder to manipulate. But is there when we see supposed finds of giant skeletons? No, there is not one set of multiple angle photos of anything resembling a tall skeleton (other than the Irish Giant which sits in a museum). Sure there is the art installation in Khao Khanap Nam Cave in Thailand, that amazingly, some believe is real even when Taiwan artist, Tu Wei-cheng, says he made it. Unfortunately some people you couldn't change even if you slapped them into reality for they live in a fantasy world all of their own.

What about use of video. Nope, none exists. But would video convince people? Not if one was standing still. So what about a walk around, showing the skeleton and people, and equipment and movement and light and shadow and sound? Would that be convincing enough? It should be.

Yes, it should be, but I’m sure some would say a clever person from Weta workshops could do the same. You know what? They could! But it would be unlikely that someone would spend years and eight hundred thousand dollars producing something that brings them no profit - (for their would be no profit in it; and 'a Ferengi without profit is no Ferengi at all').

So, while we will produce a single photo to feed the frenzy at first, we will also produce multiples, and then a standing video and then a roving video and finally physical, tested proof. It has to be that way or all these stories are just stories.