Pearl Harbor Shark Caves, Shark Gods and Goddesses
And are huge sea caves under Oahu really possible? Worldwide evidence shows
how little we may really know about Oahu's sea caves where fish regularly migrated
from one sea cave to another underneath the island.
how little we may really know about Oahu's sea caves where fish regularly migrated
from one sea cave to another underneath the island.
By John Bond, Kanehili Hui
Were there really sharks that were hand feed, allowed people to ride them like horses and protected Ewa swimmers from the bad man eating sharks? As hard as it may be for some to believe, sharks can be as loyal and well trained as pet dogs and even much more.
Most of the world has the impression that sharks are all dangerous killers and to a certain extent the way they are treated by us only fuels their own fear and distrust. In the wilds of the sea these animals are just looking for their next meal, just like wild dogs. But just like with ancient man, dogs learned to have a mutual relationship with man that developed into a trusting dependency.
Most of the world has the impression that sharks are all dangerous killers and to a certain extent the way they are treated by us only fuels their own fear and distrust. In the wilds of the sea these animals are just looking for their next meal, just like wild dogs. But just like with ancient man, dogs learned to have a mutual relationship with man that developed into a trusting dependency.
Like wild dogs, sharks will work for food and develop a relationship - Sea World Photo
As with dogs that learned to live by early humans and then become part of the human family,
sharks could be trained from "pups" (which is what baby sharks are called) to be very human
friendly with no instinct for eating human flesh. This was largely due to being hand fed and
petted just like today's dog companions.
sharks could be trained from "pups" (which is what baby sharks are called) to be very human
friendly with no instinct for eating human flesh. This was largely due to being hand fed and
petted just like today's dog companions.
This is also why many today who have learned more about sharks and the type of relationship that native Hawaiians living around Pearl Harbor had with large sharks no longer see them as the vicious evil creatures the world has made them out to be. However developing a friendly relationship with a shark would require hand feeding them from pups but would be a interesting project.
Ewa's sharks lived in the submerged coral reef caves that make up the Ewa Plain and the ancient coral shelf that surrounds Pearl Harbor and the south Oahu shore. In pre-Western times there were many coral sea caves large and small, and often with sharks in them.
Why would sharks want to spend quality time in coral caves? Because the fresh water coming down from the mountains and through lava tubes fed into the coral caves created an ideal narcotic like trance state for them where they can lie still (which they can't do out in the open sea) and "breath" a highly oxygenated fresh-salt water mix.
Their happy life was further enriched by native Hawaiians who hand fed them, massaged them and basically turned them into family pets- very large and potentially very dangerous, but none the less completely loyal and submissive to those who took care of them. This is why some Hawaiian families consider the shark their aumakua - their family guardian and why they continue to feed and respect them.
Only in recent decades have the "sleeping sharks" in caves off Cancun, Mexico caught the attention of dive tours. Cancun has an ancient coral reef system like Oahu where aerated spring water pours into the sea caves creating an ideal shark "sleeping" environment. This would have been a very common scene in Pearl Harbor 125 years ago when native people then thought nothing unusual about swimming with large sharks in Ewa.
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Ewa's Statue To Ka'ahupahau, the Shark Goddess
In Ewa there is even a statue to the shark goddess Ka'ahupahau who represents the communities belief in sacred protective sharks that protected swimmers in Pearl Harbor and the Ewa shore from the bad marauding from other areas that were man eaters.
Pearl Harbor is the source of many ancient stories.
Sterling and Summers (1978) offer several stories about the shark goddess,
Ka‘ahupahau (translated as Cloak-well-cared-for), her origin having
several interpretations.
In one interpretation, Ka‘ahupahau was thought to have been a miscarriage by her
mother and left in the waters of Pearl Harbor, but still alive, she transformed
into a shark. In another version, Ka‘ahupahau and her brother were born as human, but
were later transformed into sharks by a shark god.
The two remained in Pearl Harbor, where they were fed ‘awa by their human relatives.
In return, Ka‘ahupahau protected her human kin from other sharks.
(Sterling & Summers 1978: 54-56).
In the coral caves of Cancun Mexico the sharks are often seen relaxing and sleeping in the
highly aerated fresh water entering the shore waters through karst caves like Ewa has, and Pearl Harbor once had, having since been filled in and concreted over.
Even the US Navy learned to be respectful of Hawaiian cultural belief in shark gods
and goddesses after a major disaster that defiled an important shark cave.
West Oahu Eco-Disaster: HART Rail Hitting Karst Water And Polluting Ewa-Honoululi-Waipahu Wetlands
Some of the worlds larger caves, many resulting from ancient coral
karst reef systems eroded by large volumes of water over thousands of years.
Reasons behind increased shark attacks
By Terry Lilley
Notice all the shark attacks lately off the island of Maui?
I know why they are happening. I have been buzzed by 18-foot hammer heads, Galapagos sharks, aggressive sand bar sharks and tiger sharks all within the last year while spear fishing or kayak fishing.
Just ask the dive shop owners. The increase in spear fishing has more than tripled in the last few years. It has become very popular and the sharks know it.
The sharks are learning to follow spear fishermen and kayak fishermen to get a free meal. I have had many fish taken by these sharks right off the end of my spear, including an attempt on Thanksgiving day.
We fishermen should rotate where we spear fish. If you go out at the same places every time, the sharks will wait for humans to catch their food for them. They look at a kayak or spear gun as a source for food.
I do not spear fish at Tunnels off Kauai any longer because the one 10-foot female Galapagos follows me around like a puppy waiting for me to spear a fish and then she steals it. If my arm is in the way, I would be bit.
In old Hawaiian times, fishermen rotated where they fished so the sharks would not be trained by the people as to where they are going to find dinner.
The sharks never try to harm humans and I have made friends with a number of large sharks that I dive with and video. They are just doing what sharks should do. Eat wounded fish. Killing the sharks would be stupid and would ruin our marine ecosystem.
If you feed the neighborhood dogs free steaks everyday at the park, you better believe the dogs will be there waiting for you. They will soon jump right in your car window to get food.
We need to rotate where we fish like the Hawaiians have done for thousands of years.
