Kauai's Menehune Mysteries
The lush valleys and dense forests of Kauai aren't just full of greenery and wonder – they may also contain a mystery of magical, mischievous, and small proportions. Because it is March, you may be thinking of a particular Irish giver of good luck, but we're not talking about Leprechauns.
According to Hawaiian oral traditions, the Menehune were an ancient race of Polynesian people who inhabited the Hawaiian Islands before the first voyagers arrived. While there are no written accounts or skeletal remains of the Menehune, many Hawaiian legends reference them as mythical people of small stature and great strength. According to mythology, Menehune lived deep in the forests of Kauai and the other Hawaiian Islands. Many stories detail their ability to build great feats of engineering like heiaus (stone temples), fishponds, dams, ditches, and irrigation systems in a single night of work.
What makes the legends and stories of the Menehune so intriguing are the many ancient structures still standing that archeologists have determined were constructed before the existence of any known Hawaiian population. If you are planning to visit Kauai Coffee during your stay on the Garden Island, there are a few mythical Menehune sites you can see along the way.
[caption id="attachment_3553" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Photo source: Wikimedia Commons[/caption]