Post #24838 by emspace on Sat, Mar 1, 2003 6:44 PM

On 2003-02-21 13:47, Luckydesigns wrote:
I don't much appreciate the definition.>

Aloha Luckydesigns:

hey, maybe I can elaborate and make ya feel a little (no pun intended) better. New-school anthros feel that the Menehune may have been an aboriginal race of Hawaiians that preceded the great Polynesian migrations that brought the big, strong people we know today as the Hawaiians. Then, having displaced or assimilated the "little" guys, they created the folkloric Menehune (equivalent to the Leprechauns of Ireland - more on this): powerful and mischievious people not really dwarves, to alleviate some ancestral guilt. The folklore allows the Menehune to keep exacting subtle revenge on the Big Hawaiians who fail to show respect to the land, sacred places, things like that.

About Leprechauns and fairies, we know for certain that the Gaels (Celts) migrated to the island of Ireland from the mainland in several waves, displacing or assimilating the ancestral people who'd been there since after the last Ice Age. So: fairies, once again powerful and demanding of respect, not the little flitty critters you see in Disney, or the horrible "sneaky drunken Mick" caricatures you see in American Leprechaun lore.

Does this help? Menehune are nothing to be ashamed of! I hope somebody like Gecko might pick up this thread and correct all my errors, give us the real dope on Menehune...I would be happy to be told they are real! I already know Leprechauns are...:)

aloha,
emspace.