Research source

There were ghost ancestors who made their homes near the places where the members of their families toiled;…

Date of account: Published 1915
Source: Legends of Gods and Ghosts (Hawaiian Mythology) Collected and Translated from the Hawaiian
Reference: Legends of Gods and Ghosts (Hawaiian Mythology) Collected and Translated from the Hawaiian · selected passage 144
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-25

Record summary

Published source text

Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.

Source passage

Source text · mention only

There were ghost ancestors who made their homes near the places where the members of their families toiled; there were ancestor-ghosts to take care of the tapa, or kapa, makers, or the calabash or house or canoe makers. There were special ancestor-ghosts called upon by name by the farmers, the fishermen, and the bird-hunters. These ghosts had their own kuleanas, or places to which they belonged, and in which they had their own peculiar duties and privileges. They became ancestor ghost-gods and dwelt on the islands near the homes of their worshippers, or in the air above, or in the trees around the houses, or in the ocean or in the glowing fires of volcanoes.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

This material belongs to a folklore tradition. Story type, collector, community, transmission and literary editing matter when comparing it with other sources.

Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

Lattice compares motifs and reported features without assuming that a traditional being is a biological species or that similar stories document one external cause.

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