WEBVTT - What Is the Legend of the Hawaiian Night Marchers?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren bogel Bomb. Here in Hawaii they call

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<v Speaker 1>it chicken skin, the prickly, hair raising sensation that we

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<v Speaker 1>humans experience when we feel creeped out. And no matter

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<v Speaker 1>how courageous you might think yourself, you can bet the

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<v Speaker 1>in the presence of Hawaii's ephemeral night marchers or Kaipo,

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<v Speaker 1>your own personal chicken skin would be on full display.

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<v Speaker 1>Long before you see the night marchers, you'll hear them.

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<v Speaker 1>First comes the ominous, deep thudding of war drums. Then

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<v Speaker 1>you hear the guttural chanting and spine tangling blares from

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<v Speaker 1>a conk shell. A stench of death might as salt

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<v Speaker 1>your nose. Finally, you may see a succession of torches

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<v Speaker 1>winding their way towards you in the darkness. Flee now,

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<v Speaker 1>or risk the wrath of the supernatural night marchers, which

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<v Speaker 1>have for generations earned the respect of those who follow

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<v Speaker 1>Hawaiian folklore. We spoke via email with Lopaka Kapanui, Hawaiian

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<v Speaker 1>kuna or priest and cultural practitioner who is well acquainted

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<v Speaker 1>with the island spooky folklore. He said the night marchers

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<v Speaker 1>are known throughout the Hawaiian archipelago. It's ingrained in our culture.

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<v Speaker 1>In most stories, they're ghostly warriors who stride through jungles

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<v Speaker 1>and towns alike, adorned in brilliant costumes of ages past.

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<v Speaker 1>In their former lives, they protected high ranking chiefs. Kind

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<v Speaker 1>Of Polly said that particular leader in life was someone

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<v Speaker 1>that was so sacred that, according to their status, no

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<v Speaker 1>one could look at them and no one could be

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<v Speaker 1>clothed in their presence. Innocent bystanders who stumble upon the

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<v Speaker 1>procession and don't know the kupu or rules are under

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<v Speaker 1>dire threat of death. In life, kindly chiefs supposedly took

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<v Speaker 1>to traveling at night in order to avoid being spotted

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<v Speaker 1>by commoners and leaving a subsequent blood bath everywhere they went.

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<v Speaker 1>That tradition, according to legend, is carried out into afterlife

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<v Speaker 1>as night marchers continue their eternal protective escort, continuing to

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<v Speaker 1>beat their drums out of an extreme sense of duty.

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<v Speaker 1>Kind Of Polly said, so as it was in life,

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<v Speaker 1>so too is it in death. Sort Of like working

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<v Speaker 1>for the state all your life, even after you're dead,

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<v Speaker 1>you don't get an afterlife. You just go right back

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<v Speaker 1>to work. If you understand the lunar cycles and history

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<v Speaker 1>of the night Marchers, he says, you might be able

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<v Speaker 1>to anticipate their arrival in certain areas. They tend to

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<v Speaker 1>appear mostly during the last four Hawaiian moon phases as

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<v Speaker 1>the moon wanes to blackness, and they seem to prefer

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<v Speaker 1>sacred sites and notable cultural spots. But it's dangerous to

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<v Speaker 1>seek out the marchers. Locals mostly no better, Kanapui said.

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<v Speaker 1>Families who claim ancestral ties to these particular processions take

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<v Speaker 1>the marchers very seriously. Others know well enough to at

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<v Speaker 1>least respect it, and whatever you do, don't whistle in

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<v Speaker 1>the dark. Some say you might inadvertently summon the night Marchers,

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<v Speaker 1>and if they arrive, no walls can stop them. The

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<v Speaker 1>only thing that's been said to cause them to veer

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<v Speaker 1>from a path is presence of tea plants around a home.

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<v Speaker 1>That's t I, not t e a. It's a colorful

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<v Speaker 1>evergreen plant with cultural significance in Hawaii as a food stuff, medicine,

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<v Speaker 1>and more. In some instances, you might not notice the

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<v Speaker 1>marchers approaching. Perhaps a gael force wind drowns out the drums,

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<v Speaker 1>or you're simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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<v Speaker 1>No matter the scenario, you must hope that the ghost

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<v Speaker 1>warriors will take mercy on you. If not, you'll hear

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<v Speaker 1>a shriek and that will be the end of you.

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<v Speaker 1>But the night Marchers respect bloodlines. If you're extremely fortunate,

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<v Speaker 1>one of the long dead men will be your distant

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<v Speaker 1>ancestor they'll shout out that you're one of theirs, indicating

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<v Speaker 1>that the warrior has recognized you as a descendant. The

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<v Speaker 1>procession will pass you by without causing you harm. If

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<v Speaker 1>you don't share blood with any of the warriors, you'll

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<v Speaker 1>be left with only a few resources. As the legend goes,

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<v Speaker 1>you must strip off all your clothing, lay face down

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<v Speaker 1>on the ground, close your eyes, and play dead. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>for good measure, urinate uncontrollably. We did not make that

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<v Speaker 1>part up. The idea is to convince the night Marchers

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<v Speaker 1>that you have nothing but fearful respect in their presence.

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<v Speaker 1>Kind of pool. He says that he once personally encountered

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<v Speaker 1>the night Marchers. He said, I was in a Chinese

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<v Speaker 1>cemetery one evening leading a ghost tour. The entire cemeteries

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<v Speaker 1>built over a night Marchers trail unbeknownst to him, he

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<v Speaker 1>just happened to be standing in the middle of their path.

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<v Speaker 1>Their effect on him was immediate and overwhelming. He said,

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<v Speaker 1>it was like being encapsulated. The sound was gone. I

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<v Speaker 1>could see the wind moving the trees and the tall

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<v Speaker 1>grass around me, but couldn't hear it or feel it.

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<v Speaker 1>It became unbearably hot. Later he would learn from a

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<v Speaker 1>cousin that ancestors and the other worldly procession must have

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<v Speaker 1>recognized him and surrounded him to provide protection from the marchers.

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<v Speaker 1>His professional advice if you happen to encounter the spirits

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<v Speaker 1>quote the best thing for anyone to do if they

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<v Speaker 1>hear the night marcher procession approach is to run. Get

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<v Speaker 1>out of there. Make yourself very scarce. Don't, he says,

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<v Speaker 1>stop to try to take selfies like some foolish people

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<v Speaker 1>have done in the past. He said, just run. Don't

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<v Speaker 1>be that person. In other words, if you're in Hawaii

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<v Speaker 1>and your chicken skin warns you of an impending night

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<v Speaker 1>marcher experience, make like a chicken and flee for your life,

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<v Speaker 1>because that might be exactly what's at stake. Lapaca Cup

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<v Speaker 1>of Newi diligently chronicles the many ghost stories of Hawaii.

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<v Speaker 1>He's collected hundreds of stories on his blog Ghosts Next

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<v Speaker 1>Store and adds more regularly. Today's episode was written by

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<v Speaker 1>Nathan Chandler and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of iHeart Radios How Stuff Works. For more

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<v Speaker 1>in this and lots of other topics, visit our home planet,

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff Works dot com to learn more about the

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<v Speaker 1>cultures of Hawaii. Check out my other podcast Saber. We

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<v Speaker 1>took a field trip to Oahu and are doing episodes

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<v Speaker 1>on the science, history, and culture of the food and

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<v Speaker 1>drinks there, from coffee to passion, fruit to poi. And

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from My Heart Radio, visit the iHeart

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<v Speaker 1>Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

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