In 1954, I was a 10 years old tomboy who likes to play rough games with boys and never afraid of anything. I lived in a small countryside town on the west side of the island on Kauai which is Kekaha-"ThePlace". My house was on the beachfront. I have many childhood playmates from next door neighbor & neighborhood. They are boys and girls ages 4 years - 11 years old.
On weekends, when no school, we all run down to the beach to play in the sand, sun and surf. There is a big sandy area where we all play which is an old Hawaiian graveyard since the 1800s. There are no markings or headstones, but some barbed wire fence enclosures. On this one Saturday, the weather was beautiful with clear blue skies as usual in Hawaii.
Upon playing and running on the sand towards the highway, the sand caved down on me and I fell through a wooden coffin.
When I looked in, it was a tall skeleton intact remains with its both hands crossed below its belly button. One of the boys said to me to give him a front tooth which I did. Then he wanted the skull, two arm bones & 2 leg bones. I passed them up to him.
Later, I ask them to help pull me up. After gathering skeletal remains, the boys say let's play baseball.
I was the pitcher holding the skull and the 11 years old boy was the batter. I pitched the skull under hand. The boy missed hitting the skull. Then when I pitched again he hit the skull & it cracked on the forehead area with a hole.
A few minutes later dark clouds gathered with light thunder then started to rain. We all grabbed the skeletal remains and started to run home across the Highway. Suddenly Drums sounded BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The Hawaiian Warriors plays drums during ceremonies.
We all ran so fast to my next door neighbor house. We put the skeletal remains on the old Hawaiian man's porch. It was pouring hard and the thunder stopped, but the drums continued. Then Tutu (old Hawaiian man) came out and saw the skeletal bones & Yelled to us kids by saying; What you kids did? TAKE these bones back as they are Kapu sacred!
Then the other Hawaiian man came out after hearing all the commotion. He then told us kids we all going back to the place to bury the bones. He put the bones in a burlap brown bag and drove a grader to dig a hole across where the gravesite is. We pray & ask for forgiveness.
When me, and my two sisters went home, we got scolding from my father. That evening while we were having dinner in the dining room, the lights flickered in & out! My father explained to us three girls about Hawaiian graveyard & to respect.
For us innocent kids did not know better.
That night me & my two sisters got sick with fever which subsided the next day. Our dogs were HOWLING for awhile!
The following day us kids went back to look at the place where the brown burlap bag was buried. To all of our dismay, the hole was opened. We all walked across to where I fell through on the gravesite & seen the hole covered with the brown burlap bag of bones empty on the sand. Suddenly a strong wind blew down on us. We all looked at each other! SPOOKY!
Later we walked toward the beach to sit & talk story. This tall Hawaiian bearded man approached us kids & said behave kids & no be Kolohe (Troublemaker). He walked away & disappeared & never see him again there.
We all had a very haunting weekend! Now we are older & have our own family & lives, but we connect with each other time to time.
Whenever, I do go back to my hometown of Kekaha, Kauai, I do visit that Hawaiian gravesite for respect. I noticed that there are Real Estate for sale signs posted. I later put in a call to one of the Realtors to meet with her regarding the property sale across my old home. Upon giving her details of that beachfront property, she decided to remove the sale sign.
Private Property- Hawaiian Graveyard.
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In due respect for that dead Hawaiian person, I DO NOT LIKE to discuss any further.
Let his soul Rest In Peace.
Aloha