Hidden for Centuries: Ancient Hawaiian Petroglyphs Emerge from Shifting Sands, Unlocking Mysteries of the Past
But wow, they’ve resurfaced.
The Significance Of The Hawaiian Petroglyphs At Waianae
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural ResourcesOne of the Hawaiian petroglyphs as seen from above. Some of the figures had fingers, which is rare among Hawaiian petroglyphs.
Back in 2016, the petroglyphs were exposed after a series of late spring and summer storms, including hurricanes, which shifted the sands in Waianae. This time, their emergence appears to be due to a normal set of seasonal circumstances, namely the low-pressure weather systems that form in the Pacific Ocean between May and November. These have the effect of pulling loose sand from the shoreline deeper into the ocean.
But according to Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner Glen Kila, whose family has been in Waianae for generations, there may be another reason that the petroglyphs were exposed.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Kila suggested that the emergence of the petroglyphs was a sign from his ancestors: “It’s telling the community that the ocean is rising.”
Furthermore, according to Kila, the petroglyphs tell a story. He suggested that the largest figure among the petroglyphs — one of the figures with fingers — has one arm up and one arm down, meant to represent the sunrise and sunset, a nod to the importance of natural cycles in Indigenous Hawaiian beliefs. Kila has also stated that this large figure may be the legendary folk hero and demigod Maui, who is said to have pulled the Hawaiian Islands up from the ocean’s depths using his magic fishhook.
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