The Origin: Shark-Man

This is the story of how the famous Shark-Man came to the valley Waipio on the Big Island.

It all starts with a woman and her friends running to the ocean for a swim. Running through the Hawaiian foliage of bright green trees and beautiful flowers blooming on bushes, Hokulani called out to her friends, "Last one to the ocean owes everyone treats." The girls laughed and started teasing each other that they would be the last one to the ocean. The girls all dove into the ocean when they arrived at the beach, but Hokulani swam farther out than the rest. The girls played in the water for some time and then decided to go home after they grew tired. Unbeknown to them, the Shark god was passing them in the water that day. He saw Hokulani and fell in love with her beauty. Seeing her brown hair sparkle in the sun, he was in a trance.

The Shark god decided that he wanted her hand in marriage and transformed into a human. After transforming, he walked out of the ocean and towards the direction he saw Hokulani and her friends walking earlier. Not long after he came upon a village that was bustling with activity. Some of the people stopped and gawked when they saw him, mistaking him for a powerful warrior from another tribe. A crowd grew around him inquiring him what had brought him to their village. Some people ran to go tell the chief that a powerful man had arrived and that they must welcome him properly.

The chief walked over to the strange man and asked what his business was in their village. The man responded that he was searching for his true love that he had seen in the ocean a few hours ago, and that he had come to ask her hand in marriage. Overjoyed, the village celebrated and decided to throw a luau in his honor. They set up different contests of strength and had all the men of the luau compete against each other. The human Shark god won them all easily, which amazed the villagers looking on and competing against him.

After he had won all of the contests set up, the Shark god thought he had proven himself enough to the village. Walking over to Hokulani, who was very surprised he was coming over to her, he asked for her hand in marriage. Hokulani's friends sitting around her started giggling and telling her to say no so they could have him instead. Hokulani laughed at her friends’ silly teases, and told the Shark god that she accepted his proposal. The Shark god was overjoyed with her answer and spun her around over his head, while they both laughed with joy.

The two were wed and built a home over by a waterfall that was close to Hokulani's village. The waterfall had a pool at the bottom of it that the Shark god spent a lot of time in. Hokulani was always worried that he had drowned in the water because the Shark god spent so much time underwater. He reassured her that he would always come back up to her, no matter what and that he was preparing something for their child. Hokulani was surprised that he knew she was pregnant because she had not told him yet. They were both were happy and living peacefully in their hut by the waterfall.

Soon before she gave birth, the Shark god told her that he had to return home. He had been away for too long and was needed back immediately. The Shark god told Hokulani that there was trouble back at his home and he had to leave her. He couldn't tell her too much information because it was very sensitive. All he could tell her was there was a war he needed to go and prevent happening. The Shark god warned Hokulani that once the child was born, he would always have to keep a cloak around his back. The Shark god embraced Hokulani for what seemed like forever and then ran off into the forest. Saddened by his departure, Hokulani did not give much thought to the Shark god's warning. All she could do was wonder if her husband would ever return to her.

Hokulani later gave birth to a son and was greatly surprised when she did. The little baby had a shark mouth across his back. It was then that Hokulani knew that her husband was the powerful Shark god.

Author's Note: The Shark Man of Waipio is taken from The Legends of Old Hawaii as told by Tutu and her grandchildren by Betty Allen. I picked this story out of the others from my research because it was the most interesting to me.

I decided to tell only about how the shark man was born. I haven't decided to add the story about him in this page or to create one of its own. I kept all of the same story line as the original, but I just added more details that I wish the original had. For instance, giving the Shark god's wife a name made more sense to me to give her more life in the story. I picked Hokulani because it means divine star which I felt was appropriate for the story. I also added smaller details like the village crowding around the Shark god when he entered for the first time, as well as the running through the wilderness scene with the girls at the beginning. I thought that it would add more life to the story as well as set the scenes more to help the readers. I'm a fan of adding little details to stories I tell to help people follow along with them.

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Banner Image: Beginning of Waipoo falls