There are few pieces of Hawaiian folklore as beloved as the tales of the Menehune. This group of pint-sized magical wonderworkers have been given credit for building a number of Hawaii’s oldest structures. Legend has it that this group of dwarves were contracted by early Hawaiian chiefs to complete great feats of engineering in just one night. While these magical tales may seem fantastic, some have argued that they may contain kernels of historical truth. Were the Menehune actually the first Hawaiian settlers whose achievement have been literally dwarfed through storytelling? Or is there something else going on in this tradition? Tune-in and find out how shrimp payments, tiny Neanderthals, and mythical invasive species all play a role in the story.

Works Cited

Nordyke, Eleanor C. The Peopling of Hawaiʻi. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1989.

Loumala, Katherine. The Menehune of Polynesia and Other Mythical Little People of Oceania. Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, 1951. 

TenBruggencate, Jan. Menehune Mystery: The Original Tales and the Origins of the Myth. Bridgehouse, Lihu’e, Kua’i, 1951.

Thrum, Thomas. Hawaiian Folk Tales. A. C. McClurg & Company, Chicago, 1907.