Sharktail necklace in Hawaiian Lore?

[aluokaloo]

My boyfriend recieved a sharktail necklace made out of bone, he knows it's a Hawaiian thing but doesn't know any myths behind it. Is there anyone familiar with Hawaiian lore that could give some insight please? Because whenever I look I just get necklaces for sale links.

Thanks!

[Belgalad]

Just what we need. More reasons to kill sharks.

[aluokaloo]

What? Dude it's the carving of a shark's tail. Not something someone hacked off a shark. Someone took a bone of some animal or other and carved it into the shape of a shark's tail. Sharks have cartilage. That's why the only thing remaining of them in fossil records is their teeth.

[Lupabitch]

Just what we need. More reasons to kill sharks.

The OP said it was made of bone. Sharks don't have bones; they have cartilage. The sharktail necklace the OP is referring to is probably made of cow or pig bone, carved into the shape of a shark's tail.

[-Sky-]

My uncle gave me a similar necklace when he came back from Cuba. It has black beads and a shark's tooth but it might as well be from a different material and not an original one although my uncle said so. Such traditional necklaces don't only appear in Hawai but also in Cuba and the Carribean. Given that shark is a hunter and a very powerful animal the necklace is supposed to provide strength and ward off evil.

[aluokaloo]

thanks Sky! My boyfriend says thanks too! :)

[TheWomanMonster]

My uncle gave me a similar necklace when he came back from Cuba. It has black beads and a shark's tooth but it might as well be from a different material and not an original one although my uncle said so. Such traditional necklaces don't only appear in Hawai but also in Cuba and the Carribean. Given that shark is a hunter and a very powerful animal the necklace is supposed to provide strength and ward off evil.

Your necklace probably is a real shark tooth, they shed teeth as new ones push in from the rows behind them.

I had one too, my Dad got it in Hawaii
I think it was for protection.

[Meadhbh]

Stewards of the Reef by Kumu Patrick Makuakane of Na lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu. http://www.naleihulu.org/index.htm

This myth tells of the shark god guiding his sister Pele, goddess of fire across the oceans from the mythical homeland to Hawaii.

Ke Ka’ao A Pele I Ha’awi ia Kamohoali’i I ka ha’alele ana ia Kahiki
Pele’s Account to Kamohoali’i of the Departure from Kahiki

Ku makou e hele me ku’u mau poki’i aloha
We stood to sail with my kindred beloved
Ka ‘aina a makou i ike ole ai malalo aku nei
To an unknown land below the horizon
A’e makou me ku’u poki’i, kau i ka wa’a
We boarded, my kinsmen and I, our craft
No’iau ka hoe a Kamohoali’i
Our pilot well skilled, Kamohoali’i
A’ea’e, kau i ka nalu
Our craft o’ermounted and mastered the waves
He nalu haki kakala
The sea was rough and choppy, but the waves
He nalu e imi ana i ka ‘aina e hiki aku ai
Bore us surely on to our destined shore
O Nihoa ka ‘aina a makou i pae mua aku ai
The rock, Nihoa, the first land we touched
Lele a’e nei makou, kau i uka o Nihoa
Gladly we landed and climbed the cliffs of Nihoa
O ka hana no a ko’u poli’i, a Kaneapua
Fault of the youngster, Kaneapua
O ka ho’oili i ka ihu o ka wa’a a nou i ke kai
He loaded the bow till it ducked in the waves
Waiho anei o Kamohoali’i ia Kaneapua i uka o Nihoa
Left the boy on the islet Nihoa
No’iau ka hoe a Kamohoali’i
And, pilot well skilled, he sailed away
A pae i ka ‘aina i kapa ia o Lehua
Till we found the land we christened Lehua

Aumakua
Other stories tell of tell of a family god called an Aumakua in the Hawaiian language. Aumakua is a totem often believed to be an ancestral spirit that watched over fishermen and paddlers of canoes. One story recounted by Beckwith tells of a fishing family on the Big Island of Hawaii named Puhi and their Aumakua:

“When the Puhi go fishing, the shark appears. The 'aumakua obeys the voice of man; name the kind of fish you want and it will bring it. The men give it some of the first catch, then it disappears, and they always come back with full nets. Only when the shark appears do they have luck (hence they recognize the god's intervention). Sometimes the 'aumakua tells them beforehand in a dream that it has gathered the fish together. Besides this, the Puhi family can never be drowned. If there is a storm and the boat capsizes, the shark appears and the man rides in on its back.”

[aluokaloo]

thanks for all the interesting answers you guys! :D I really appreciate it.

[Belgalad]

The OP said it was made of bone. Sharks don't have bones; they have cartilage. The sharktail necklace the OP is referring to is probably made of cow or pig bone, carved into the shape of a shark's tail.

Oh.


Um, yeah. I totally knew that. I mean, duh, who doesn't know that? Sheesh, what do you think I am, a moron or something?

Yeah, uh... my bad. Sorry, aluokaloo.

[aluokaloo]

don't worry about belgalad. No need to apologize