Mano Ali'i - Hawaii's Shark Whisperers

For centuries, Hawaiians have worshipped, respected, and cared for the shark, or mano. Far from being vilified as the apex predator of the ocean, most sharks were seen as friendly guardians who would come to the aid of fishermen. In some families, sharks are acknowledged as aumakua,or spirit guardians. If a shark is your aumakua you may also have a mano ali'i, or shark chief, in your family.

To truly understand the idea of an aumakua, you must think back to what Hawaii was like before the arrival of Christian missionaries. Like many Native American cultures, Hawaiians believed that the spirits of their ancestors were omnipresent and could be called upon for help at any time. They strongly believed that certain talents were passed down through the generations, so that if your great grandfather was a skilled fisherman you might have that ability too. The most talented of their ancestors became aumakua, spirit guardians who would offer help or guidance when needed. Although aumakua couldn't be seen, they could inhabit inanimate objects, like rocks, or living creatures, like the owl, shark, or lizard. They served as the equivalent of guardian angels, warning their relatives of impending danger, providing support when times were difficult, or just checking on them like an aunt or uncle would. If a shark were your aumakua, it might chase fish into your fish net, guide your canoe to safety, or protect your from other sharks. This does not mean that a specific shark was your aumakua, but rather that your aumakua was inhabiting that shark. Although Hawaiians often used sharks for food, weapons, and drum covers, families who had a shark as an aumakua would never kill or eat a shark. Doing so might cause the aumakua to bring sickness or bad luck to the family.

A mano ali'i is a man or woman who has the ability to communicate with sharks. They are known to be the descendants of Kua, the first mano ali'i who is believed to have come to the Big Island of Hawaii from somewhere near Tahiti. Kua had the ability to take the form of a huge red shark. He mated with a descendant of his sister, who gave birth to two children - a boy named Pakaiea who took the form of a shark-man with brown skin and green markings, and a girl who would become Hawaii's first female mano ali'i. Her ability was passed down through the following generations.

The mano ali'i would be responsible for the ritual of feeding their aumakua and their mano-kanaka, or sharks that are related by blood. They would enter the ocean and chant a prayer to the major spirit, or akua, first. Then they would call on the aumakua and identify themselves by name. Stories are told of sharks appearing seemingly out of nowhere at the sound of a mano ali'i's chant, forming a beeline, and heading right for the mano ali'i to be fed by hand. A mano ali'i would never perform the chant in front of anyone who was disrespectful to sharks. Once Christianity started to take hold, mano ali'i had to be very secretive about their abilities. In the 1800's there was a mano ali'i in the Ka'u district of the Big Island of Hawaii who was actually married to a Christian reverend. She not only continued feeding the sharks, she trained two of her daughters to do so also, without her husband's knowledge. Even Hawaiians who converted to Christianity continued paying respects to their aumakua, since the bible does say "Honor thy father and mother" they saw no conflict in extending that respect to their ancestors.

It is still believed that there are mano ali'i who care for the sharks, but they do so in private. You will never see a video of a mano ali'i - that would be disrespectful to the ancestors. There are countless stories of warnings and rescues by a huge red shark (Kua) and a brown shark with green markings (Kua's son Pakaiea). If your grandma could talk to sharks, wouldn't she be the coolest grandma ever?