Key Takeaways
In Hawaii , they call it " chicken skin , " the barbed , pilus - raise sensation that human race experience when they experience crawl out or fearful . And no matter how courageous you might conceive yourself , you’re able to calculate that in the presence of Hawaii ’s ephemeral night parader ( " flavor rank " ) , your own personal Gallus gallus skin will undoubtedly be on full showing .
Long before you see the night marchers , you ’ll hear them . First comes the ominous , deep thudding of war drum . Then , you hear guttural intonate and spine - tingling blasts from aconchshell . A fetor of decease might assault your nose . at long last , you may see a succession of torches weave their way toward you in the darkness .
Flee now , or risk the ira of the supernatural night marcher ( orHukai’po ) , which have for generations earned the respect of those who follow Hawaiianfolklore .
" The night marchers are known throughout the Hawaiian archipelago , " says Lopaka Kapanui , a Hawaiiankahuna(priest ) and cultural practitioner who ’s well - acquainted with the islands ' spooky folklore and feature in the video below . " It ’s ingrained in our finish . "
In most stories , they ’re ghostly warrior whostride through jungle and townsalike , adorned in the brilliant costume of ages preceding . In their former lives , they protected high - ranking chiefs who were so sacred that no mortal humanity or woman was allow to wait at them .
" That particular drawing card , in sprightliness , was someone that was so sacred , that allot to their condition , no one could look at them and no one could be clothed in their presence , " sound out Kapanui in an email consultation . " Innocent bystanders who stumble upon the procession and do n’t have it away thekapu(rules ) are under terrible menace of end . "
In biography , kindly chiefs purportedly took to traveling at dark in society to avoid being spotted by commoners ( and leaving a subsequent bloodbath everywhere they last ) . That custom , according to caption , is carried on into afterlife , as night infantryman continue their eternal protective bodyguard .
The marchers still amaze their drums out of an utmost sense of obligation . " So , as it was in life , so too is it in decease , " says Kapanui . " Sort of like working for the state all of your life – even after you ’re all in you do n’t get an hereafter , you just go right back to work . "
When the Night Marchers Come Out
If you realise the lunar cycles and history of the nighttime marchers , he say , you might be able to anticipate their reaching in sure areas . They tend to appear mostly during thelast four Hawaiianmoon stage , as the synodic month wanes to blackness , and they seem to prefersacred sites and celebrated ethnic situation , such as Mākaha Valley Plantation , Ka’ena Point and Kalama Valley , among others .
But it ’s severe to attempt out the marchers — local mostly make out better . " family who can take ancestral standoff to those particular procession take [ the marchers ] very seriously , " says Kapanui . " Others know well enough to at least respect it . "
Whatever you do , do n’t sing in the darkness — some sayyou might inadvertently come up the night footslogger . And if they arrive , no walls can stop them . The only thing that ’s been enjoin to cause them to slue from a path is the mien ofti plants(a colorful evergreen plant with widespread cultural significance in Hawaii ) set around a base .
In some instance , you might not notice the parader approach . Perhaps a gale force wind drown out the drums or you ’re just in the wrong place at the wrong time . No matter the scenario , you must hope that the ghost warrior take mercifulness on you . If not , you ’ll hear a shriek of " o - ia ! " , which means , " let him be pierce , " and that ’ll be the close of you .
But the dark parader value bloodline . If you ’re extremely fortunate , one of the long - numb man will be your upstage ancestor — they ’ll call out , " na’u , " which means " mine , " indicating that one of the warriors has accredit you as a descendant . The procession will pass you by without causing you harm .
If you do n’t share blood with any of the warriors you ’ll be left with only a few recourses . As the legend goes , you must strip off all of your clothing , pose boldness down on the earth , fill up your eyes , and take on dead . Also , for beneficial measure , piss uncontrollably ( we did n’t make that part up ) . The idea is to convince the dark parader that you have nothing but dread respect in their mien .
Kapanui Meets the Night Marchers
Kapanui suppose that he once in person encountered the dark marchers . " I was in a Taiwanese cemetery one evening leading a trace enlistment . That intact cemetery is build over a dark marchers trail . " unbeknown to him , he just happened to be standing in the middle of their path . Their outcome on him was quick and consuming .
" was like being encapsulated . The strait was gone , I could see the wind moving the trees and the marvelous sess around me , but I could n’t hear it or find it . It became unbearably red-hot . " Later , he would learn from a cousin-german that ancestors in the otherworldly advance must have recognized him and surround him to provide protection from the marchers .
His professional advice if you happen to take on the spirits ? " The best matter for anyone to do if they hear the dark marcher procession approach is to run . Get out of there , make yourself very scarce . " Do n’t turn back and seek to take selfies , like some gooselike hoi polloi have done in the past . " Just run . Do n’t be that person . "
In other row , if you ’re in Hawaii and your " chicken skin " warns you of an impending Nox marcher experience , make like a chicken and flee for your life — because that might be exactly what ’s at stake .
FAQs
Yes , innocent bystanders who do n’t hump the rules are under dire threat of death , agree to legend .
Some myths say that if you do n’t share blood with any of the warriors , you should strip off all your habiliment , lay face down , close your eyes and make for dead .
