The Hawaiian Night Marchers

Night Marchers, also known as huaka’i pō in Hawaiian, are a part of Hawaiian folklore so terrifying that looking at them could be your doom. The Night Marchers, at one time, were more or less actual flesh and blood people. When an ali’i (chief) passed through a village in Hawaii his warriors would blow conch shells, chanted, beat pahu drums, and march around him. As this caravan passed, commoners were ordered to look at the ground and never make eye contact, especially with the chief. The consequence of disobeying this order? Death.

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The rules about looking at chiefs, in Hawaiian lore, were important because these chiefs weren’t just seen as men. They were believed to hold intense mana and were often thought of as a flesh and blood manifestation of the gods. They had to be protected and respected in order to continue blessing and helping the people of Hawaii. Some believe that those who became Night Marchers had agreed to continue their duties of protection into the afterlife. And that’s why they still march today.

It is important to remember that, at the time of western contact, Hawaiian was an oral language and tradition. The oral stories of these beings are even told today. But, that means the first written account of the Night Marchers until 1883. However, it is believed that the ghostly Night Marchers were likely seen and afeared well before the late 19th century. 

The document we do have describes a variety of accounts focused on ghostly soldiers on the Big Island following the spirit of King Kamehameha the Great. Usually, sightings of Night Marchers include seeing a line of torches moving steadily down a mountain. While this might not seem too out of the ordinary, usually the sightings are on cliffs or places on the mountain in the middle of the wilderness, bereft of trails. In addition to the torches, if you have the unfortunate luck of being even closer, you may hear their eerie chants, conch shells, and marching feet. In fact, some sightings claim that they leave behind footprints.

One thing you need to know? Never, ever cross a Night Marcher’s path. And if you do, keep your eyes on the ground.

In fact, the stories of the Night Marchers have become so infamous that there are actually directions on what to do if you have the misfortune of running into them. Before you see them, when you hear them, you are to strip naked and lay flat on the ground. Some stories even say that urinating on yourself may help (perhaps in an act of ultimate humbling/humiliation). Once on the ground, do not get up and do not open your eyes or look at them until after they have passed and the noise has dissipated. 

You can actively avoid them, too. They are apparently most active during the new moon and especially by sacred sites that were once reserved only for the chiefs. The reason for the high number of sightings may be due to the ancient routes they are following, one of which cuts right through downtown Honolulu. It is believed they may be protecting the chiefs as they make their way from their burial mounds to sacred sites across Hawaii, including temples, palaces, and important natural sites like the Diamond Head Crater. In particular, there is a large concentration of Night Marchers along Oahu’s coast at Kualoa Ranch, which is a place said to hold the remains of dozens of Hawaiian Chiefs. Night Marchers are often seen and sometimes cause car accidents along the road during the night.

Sightings are still recorded today. Honolulu Magazine tells one of those stories:

“Ricky, a security guard at the Cades Schutte building, claims he once caught a glimpse of the night marchers during a brief trip to Waialua some 19 years ago. Ricky and his then-girlfriend, Jennifer, visited their friend Richard and his son Ryan, who were camping on Mokulēʻia Beach. Ricky remembers the exact date: July 5, 1995. They arrived on the beach between 10 and 11 p.m. A distant flash of light caught their attention in the dark: It looked like a line of fire ants marching down the mountain by Dillingham Airfield.

“I thought people were hunting, but there was a long line of torches,” he says.

It was a strange sight at first, because it looked like a endless line of torches disappearing off the mountain ridge. But he later realized those weren’t hunters, but night marchers. He recalls hearing the legend of the night marchers as a kid at YMCA Camp Erdman. One staffer always used to warn young campers about a night marchers path in the same spot he saw them. Luckily, Ricky and his friends survived to tell the tale.”

He never returned.

The blog image is of Kualoa Ranch and is in the public domain.

Thanks to Hazel D for the blogstonishing suggestion!