Tale of The Night Marchers

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Poetic Form: Narrative

Inspired: 2023 November 23

Image: Madam Pele by Pixabay & Beware of The Night Marchers by Goguide.com

It was a time of change for the islanders a time of letting go a time of ending things a time of confusion a time of saying no a time when love died It was a time of change for the islanders a time of broken traditions a time of knowing shame a time of hidden faces a time of broken families a time when love died It was a time of change for the islanders a time of their truths a time of influences a time of the outsiders a time to be one of them a time when love truly died The missionaries and their true mission ... Hewahewa was King Kamehameha's high priest or prime minister-like. Hewahewa embraced the new faith and convinced the King to destroy the Heiaus', or Hawaiian temples, of their gods and goddesses and so it was done and, of all the Heiaus, the King feared Waha Ula Heiau in Kalapana, which is my mom's village of the present time. Waha Ula Heiau is Madame Pele's temple. Waha means mouth, and Ula is red, which means this was the only Heiau where human sacrifices were made. The form of ancient Hawaiian execution was a single thrust club of one's head, hence 'red mouth.' The King's fear was for naught. He ordered the scared warriors who carried out the execution/sacrifices to destroy the last temple. Having completed their mission with fear gripping them the more, as many still hold to the old beliefs, as night fell upon their return to the King's village on the opposite side of the island, they ran helter-skelter, with their torches going out, hundreds of the King's warriors perished in the sulfur pots. Tales of the Night Marchers that some may actually have heard, continue to make their rounds at many campfires. The missionaries and their true mission ... ... in later years, their descendants, somewhat ashamed that the missionaries profited from the seemingly 'castration' of the Hawaiian people, have given away many of their ill-gotten gains through philanthropic donations. Mom's maiden/family last name carries her name within the context -- Pele. The villagers of Kalapana whose family were high priest and priestesses of Waha Ula Heiau, carries Pele's name.

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Brian Rusch

Date: 12/10/2023 10:14:00 AM

Interesting. I wrote about them too, as is your story. I visited the Islands quite a few times. Was a friend of Hale Makua. Also loved to eat in Cafe Pesto, in Hilo, a town where I learned about Pepper Waters, I still make at home. And the passion fruit Malasadas at the Punalu'u bakery in the South...All this, been decades now, names fading.. but not imprints cemented in my heart. The people... Big Island, Molokai, and Kauai, my favorites. Mahalo for your comments.

Hilo Poet
Date: 12/10/2023 10:45:00 AM

I live in Hilo now, my birthplace, hence my souper name. My home's 2 blocks from Cafe Pesto. The tremors continue daily here, but at unfelt levels or area of concentrations that are faraway. I believe Soup highlighted your poem, and now that I know more of you, I've thought to follow you, and see what happens on the way. Mahalo too, Brian.