The Night Marchers of Hawaii

Posted: 05.12.2024 | Updated: 04.15.2025

The Hawaiian Night Marchers are among the most talked about aspects of Hawaiian folklore. These powerful and engimatic warriors protect Hawaiian Kings and Queens from the afterlife and have been reported on almost every island. Their presence is enough to make any one quiver and fall to the ground. Consequentially, according to local Hawaiians, this tactic is all you can do to avoid an imminent death.

But, let’s be honest, our collective Middle-American understanding of Hawaiian culture and traditions can be summed up in the following string of non-sequiturs: Moana, Lilo and Stich, surf music, tiki-bars, and Elvis with a Uke. Given that black hole of understanding, here’s a cheat-sheet on the Hawaiian Islands and their most famous legend, the Night Marchers.

Learn more about Hawaii’s many legends and haunts on a Honolulu ghost tour with Honolulu Haunts!

What is a Night Marcher?

Night Marchers are ancestral and spiritual Hawaiian warriors who march through the dense jungles of the Hawaiian islands. They eternally uphold their vows to protect Hawaiian royality. Any who come across their path must fall to the ground in reverance otherwise face an untimely death.

Hawaiian Religion: A Crash Course

Before we screech down the highway of Island nasties and start relating the tale of the Hawaiian Night Marchers, we first need a crash course on Hawaiian religion. 

Hawaiian religion meshes together the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of Native Hawaiians. It is polytheistic and animistic. The religion is composed of a rich belief system with many deities and spirits. They often take the shape of non-human entities and objects such as animals, the surf, and the sky.

The Hawaiian religious melting pot originated with the Tahitians and other Pacific Islanders. These crafty seafaring peoples landed in the dreamy Hawiian Islands between 500 and 1300 AD.

Today, Hawaiian religious traditions are protected by the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, but during a period of their history Hawaiians were heavily persecuted for their beliefs. 

The main pantheon of over 500 ghosts, spirits, and minor deities, of the Hawaiian polytheistic belief includes: Kāne, Kū, Lono, and Kanaloa, Laka, Kihawahine, Haumea, Papahānaumoku, and, most famously, Pele.

Also, each family is estimated to have one or more guardian spirits known as ʻaumakua who shields them from harm. This is a common practice among certain old world religions within the Pacific Ocean and Japanese Shinto (also known as kami-no-michi). 

It’s really a highly diverse spiritual pantheon and unlike any other in the modern world. It’s not a close loop system whose laws, doctrines, and dogmas are set, but one that constantly flexing and evolving with the times.

Now that we understand the overall picture, let’s dive into the most terrifying aspect of this panetheon, the Night Marchers.

Hawaiian Night Marchers

In Hawaiian lore, the Night Marchers (huaka’i pō or “Spirit Ranks,” ‘oi’o) are the murderous shades, demons, revenants that haunt the island. They are the rabid galvanized specters of ancient Hawaiian fighters, heroes, and warriors.

Legend has it that the Nightmarchers spring forth from their burial sites, or rise up from the sea on nights devoted to worshiping the Hawaiian god of the sea, Kanaloa. They don their battle regalia and march towards classical Hawaiian battles sites or to other holy sites. 

Old-timers say the Nightmarchers are normal-size warriors, dressed for battle, bearing lances, maces, and other classical Hawaiian weaponry. They are accompanied by a marching band, beating on war drums and blowing tones from conch shells. The wind carries their song and all who hear their advancing march meet a tragic end. 

The tale further states that the Night Marchers of Hawaii float as they cross into the night. But, they vanish before dawn and leave no evidence of their visitations. All that is left is the dead and missing that might have crossed their path. 

The Night Marchers travel in darkness right after sunset and march as an assembly of murderous wraiths until just before sunrise. Nothing stops them. Nothing is able to halt their mass. They are an unstoppable horde with the intelligence and ferocity of the warrior spirit within.

Protection from Hawaii’s Night Marchers

Anyone living along their route who hears their chanting, their conch shell, or even their feet on the night wind, must be cautious. Mortals must find refuge immediately, lay on the floor, and never look up or towards the racket. They must avoid being noticed by Nightmarchers; otherwise, harm or even death might be their reward. 

Ancient Hawaiian tenets assert that any mortal gazing upon or being viewed in defiance to the marchers will die horribly and violently. 

Some people declare that if they lie still, down on the ground, they will be forgiven and spared. Giving proper respect, fear, and reverence to the Nightmarchers is the only option if you want to survive the night.  

Also, mortals can circumvent any harm or death from the Night Marchers by being lucky enough to having an ancient soldier within their family tree. If a Nightmarcher encounters a familal mortal, they’ll call out “Na’u!” (mine” in Hawaiian). They claim that soul, telling the procession that it’s their property and not to harm them. 

Another way to avoid the Nightmarchers is by planting living ti (Cordyline sp.) ferns around the house. It is a powerful amulet said to keep evil spirits, huaka’i pō ,at bay.

Protecting Hawaiian Royality

In old Hawaiian folklore, the laws held that body parts of a King or Chief, were sacred, and could not to be seen by a commoners. The penalty for viewing their dead bodies was always instant death.

Protecting this kapu or Hawaiian taboo, is why witnessing the Night Marchers ghastly parade is punishable by death. Common people were not allowed to lay eyes upon these god-like rulers. But the dedication these Hawaiian warriors have for their rulers extends even further than that.

A Hawaiian King or Chief known to be enamored of music would be honored with drumming and chanting. If the honored meanwhile loved the sound of silence, then the march would walk with cat’s feet through the island. Likewise, if the warrior valued peace, then the march would spare the mortals it might cross. 

Furthermore, Hawaiian gods are often present during the marches. If a god is present, the Nightmarchers’ torches are said to burn brighter; their fanfare more electric and magical. 

Where Are The Night Marchers In Hawaii?

The Night Marchers uphold a testament to their duty to protect their sacred lands. As such, they have been spotted all across the Hawaiian Islands. They are tethered to the island rulers they served under and march these same paths eternally.

Common Places

• Oahu’s Pali Highway
• The Kamehameha Schools campus in Kapalama on Oahu
• Kualoa Ranch on Oahu’s windward coast
• La Perouse Bay, an area in the Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Preserve in South Maui
• The town of Kaunakakai on Molokai
• La’ie on Oahu
• Nu’uanu Pali Lookout
• Ka’a’awa Valley
• Kalihi Valley

Haunted Honolulu

Hawaiians are very cautious of the Nighmarchers, afraid by their awesome power. Families constantly honor these fallen warriors. They do their best to have these spirits on their side. But it is not always possible. Reports of Hawaiian Night Marchers continue to do this day. However, many stories are never reported.

Hear all about the Night Marchers and other Hawaiian legends on a Honolulu ghost tour with Honolulu Haunts! Read our blog to keep up with these fascinating tales before hitting the streets of Oahu’s most haunted city. Check out our Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to experience everything spooky from across the United States.

Source:

• https://www.to-hawaii.com/legends/night-marchers.php
• https://vagobond.com/traditional-hawaiian-religion/
• https://www.hawaii.edu/kawaihapai/akua-list/kanaloa/
• https://kealakai.byuh.edu/hawaiian-legends-say-one-glance-at-the-night-marchers-could-mean-the-end-of-your-life
• https://usghostadventures.com/most-recent-blog-posts/the-night-marchers-of-hawaii/