Легенда менехунов: как гавайские духи отомстили акуле и поставили памятный камень

By Hank Soboleski Island History Long ago, in legendary times, one of the favorite swimming spots of the Menehunes was Paliku Beach, also historically referred to as Homaikawaa Beach, but most commonly known for quite some time now as Donkey Beach. It is located along the coast about 1.5 miles north of Kealia Beach, and named after the donkeys Lihue Plantation once kept in a pasture behind it. Long ago, in legendary times, one of the favorite swimming spots of the Menehunes was Paliku Beach, also historically referred to as Homaikawaa Beach, but most commonly known for quite some time now as Donkey Beach. It is located along the coast about 1.5 miles north of Kealia Beach, and named after the donkeys Lihue Plantation once kept in a pasture behind it. In olden days, on moonlight evenings, Menehunes would often frolic in the sea at Donkey Beach, until one night, when Aaka, one of the Menehunes, was caught and devoured by a shark. Fortunately, Aaka’s fellow Menehunes with him were able to swim safely to shore where they began devising a plan to avenge the death of Aaka. By dawn they’d made up their minds, and on the next night, under the direction of their chief Menehune, they took action. First, they gathered vines in the backcountry, brought them to Donkey Beach, and wove them into a large basket-trap. Next, they baited the trap with fish and lowered it into deep water off Donkey Beach, where the shark still lingered in hopes of eating yet another Menehune. The shark was unaware of the Menehunes while they set their trap, and as planned by the Menehunes, the shark was later enticed by the smell of the fish within the trap, and into the trap it went. The Menehunes then drew the trap shut, imprisoning the shark. Then they towed the trap, with its captive shark inside it, northward for several miles along the coast, until finally setting it upon the reef at Aliomanu. There, they killed the shark, removed it from the trap, and left it exposed on the reef as an example to other sharks who might consider eating a Menehune. Soon, birds swarmed around the shark’s carcass and ate it. To commemorate the event, the Menehunes set up a pile of rocks at Aliomanu and called it Kahaualiko. A heiau was also built by them in honor of one of the Hawaiian shark gods — the god who protected Menehunes from sharks that killed and ate Menehunes. Neither of these structures now exist.