Bronze Age rock cutting skill was
not a Polynesian trait. Thus we have real proof of their existence.
Otherwise, the Hawaiian chain was
a single land sturcture in the recent past. It was then surely
occupied by Bronze Age settlers by at least three thousand years ago
and possibly several thousand years before that. However the
technolgy suggest Atlantean or Bronze Age instead. Thus enough time
was available for the sites and the large population as well.
We need to look harder and we
need to listen to the old stories better.
The
Menhune of Hawaii – Ancient Race or Fictional Fairytale?
11
JUNE, 2014 - 01:38 APRILHOLLOWAY
In
Hawaiian mythology, the Menehune are said to be an ancient race of
people small in stature, who lived in Hawaii before settlers arrived
from Polynesia. Many scholars attribute ancient structures found on
the Hawaiian Islands to the Menehune. However, others have argued
that the legends of the Menehune are a post-European contact
mythology and that no such race existed.
The
mythology of the Menehune is as old as the beginnings of Polynesian
history. When
the first Polynesians arrived in Hawaii, they found dams, fish-ponds,
roads, and even temples, all said to have been built by the Menehune
who were superb craftspeople. Some of these structures still exist,
and the highly-skilled craftsmanship is evident.
According to legend, each Menehune was a master of a certain craft
and had one special function they accomplished with great precision
and expertise. They would set out at dusk to build something in one
night, and if this was not achieved, it would be abandoned.
Some
scholars, such as folklorist Katharine Luomala, theorize that the
Menehune were the first settlers of Hawaii, descendants of the
Marquesas islanders who were believed to have first occupied the
Hawaiian Islands from around 0 to 350 AD. When the Tahitian invasion
occurred in about 1100 AD, the first settlers were subdued by the
Tahitians, who referred to the inhabitants as ‘manahune’ (which
means ‘lowly people’ or ‘low social status’ and not
diminutive in stature). They fled to the mountains and later came to
be called ‘Menehune’. Proponents of this theory point to an
1820 census which listed 65 people as Menehune.
Luomala
claims that the Menehune are not mentioned in pre-contact mythology
and therefore the name does not refer to an ancient race of people.
However, this argument holds little weight as most accounts of the
past were passed down through word-of-mouth from one generation to
the next.
If
Luomala, and other scholars in her camp, is correct, and there was no
ancient race of skilled craftspeople that predated the Polynesians,
then there must be an alternative explanation for the ancient
constructions of advanced design, which predated any known population
in Hawaii. However, no alternative explanations exist and most
history books still maintain that the Polynesians were the first
inhabitants of Hawaii, some 1,500 years ago. So let’s examine some
of the ancient constructions that have been attributed to the
Menehune in the mythology of the region.
Alekoko
Fishpond Wall at Niumalu, Kaua?i
Alekoko,
Kauai: Menehune Fishpond. Photo source.
The
Alekoko Fishpond, sometimes called the Menhune Fishpond, is one of
the finest examples of ancient Hawaiian aquaculture. A lava rock wall
between the pond and the Hulei’a River, which is 900
feet (274 m) long and 5 feet (1.5 m) high, was built to create a dam
across a portion of the river in order to trap young fish until they
grew large enough to consume. The stones that were used come
from Makaweli village, some 25 miles (40 km) away.
It is considered to be an unexplained engineering achievement and was
placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Hawaiian
legend states that the pond was built in one night by the Menehune,
who formed an assembly line from the fishpond location to Makaweli,
passing stones one-by-one from start to end point.
[
this proposed method would need 10,000 individuals to execute and
that is not an impossibility. The rocks themselves need to be small
generally but then that allows a general quickness in which the rock
is likely tossed about four meters. Thus we likely can move perhaps
five per minute or around 300 per hour or 3,000 per night which is
still slow. That is still around 50,000 pounds or twenty five tons
per night. This would make around ten feet per night of dam and
likely twice that. This means that the whole thing could be built in
less than three months. Either way it means a significant population
of men women and even stronger children that could be so organized.
- arclein ]
The
Ceremonial Site of Necker Island
Heiau
at Mokumanamana (Necker Island). Photo source.
Necker
Island is part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Few signs of
long-term human habitation have been found. However, the island
contains 52 archaeological site with 33 ceremonial heiau (basalt
upright stones), believed to be celestially oriented, and stone
artifacts much like those found in the main Hawaiian Islands. The
heiau vary only slightly in design, but generally feature rectangular
platforms, courts and upright stones. One of the largest of these
ceremonial sites measures 18.6 meters by 8.2 meters. Eleven upright
stones, of what are believed to be the original 19, are still
standing.
Many
anthropologists believe that the island was a ceremonial and
religious site. According to the myths and legends of the people of
Kauai, which lies to the southeast, Necker Island was the last known
refuge for the Menehune. According to the legend, the Menehune
settled on Necker after being chased off Kaua'i by the stronger
Polynesians and subsequently built the various stone structures
there. Visits to the island are said to have started a few hundred
years after the main Hawaiian Islands were inhabited, and ended a few
hundred years before European contact.
The
K?k?aola Ditch at Waimea, Kaua?i
Kikiaola
facing stones. Photo source.
K?k?aola
is a historic irrigation ditch located near Waimea on the island of
Kauai. Also known as the Menehune Ditch, it was added to the National
Register of Historic Places on November 16, 1984. Hawaiians
built many stone-lined ditches to irrigate ponds for growing taro
(kalo), but very rarely employed dressed stone to line ditches. The
120 finely cut basalt blocks that line about 200 feet of the outer
wall of the Menehune Ditch make it not just exceptional, but "the
acme of stone-faced ditches"
in the words of archaeologist Wendell C. Bennett. It is purported to
have been built by the Menehune.
To
date, no human skeletal remains of a physically small race of people
have ever been found on Kaua’I or on any other Hawaiian islands.
While this does not disprove that a race of small people existed, it
does draw the truth behind the legend into question. Nevertheless,
there is compelling evidence, both archaeological and in the numerous
legends passed down over generations, that suggests that there was
indeed an ancient race of highly skilled people who inhabited the
Hawaiian islands long before the Polynesians arrived.
Featured
image: The Menhune. Credit: butterfrog
By April
Holloway
References
The
Menehune: An Ancient Race – Hawaiian Encyclopaedia
Legend
of the Menehunes no small part of Hawaii – by Arthur Ribbel
Menehune –
Encyclopedia Mythica
Stories
of the Menehunes – by Thos G. Thrum
Alekoko,
Menehune Fishpond, Kauai – GoHawaii.com
The
Menehune – Mythical Realm
-
See more at:
http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/menhune-hawaii-ancient-race-or-fictional-fairytale-001741#!bfjPl5
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