'Oi'o: The Nightmarchers

Picture generated with AI

Location: Hawaii, United States of America
Dates Active: Unknown
Category: Mysterious Sounds, Omens, Wandering Ghosts
Cause: Unknown
Status: Ongoing
Entry ID: 022424H-00077

Summery: 

This procession of ancestral ghosts has remained a cultural phenomenon on the Hawaiian islands.

In Depth:

Stemming from the oral traditions of native Hawaiian residents passed down from generation to generation, the nightmarchers are a large group of ghosts made up of ancestral warriors that march along the islands at night. They are known by many names, such as 'Oi'o or Na huaka‘i o ka Pō in Hawaiian, or Nightmarchers and Spirit Ranks in English.

Such marches are traditionally claimed to happen on nights that honor Hawaiian gods Kane, Kanaloak, Ku, or Lono, where the spirits of the dead rise from their burial sites and march to sacred places all over the islands. There have been hundreds of witnesses to this strange spiritual procession over the years, with locals and outsiders alike spying a look at this otherworldly march.

Spirits that make up the 'Oi'o are all warriors dressed for battle. Individually they are known as 'lapu', but are never seen alone. Instead, they all march in a large group, in a long procession, accompanied by the sounds instruments such as the a conch shell (or pū), drums, and nose flutes. These act as a warning to those nearby that you should steer clear of their path. You might also feel the ground shaking under the influence of the marching spirits, or experience the smells of sulfur or death. From a distance they can appear as a string of torches wondering through the jungles, or sometimes just a column of mist or smoke.

The Nightmarchers are not peaceful warriors either. Legend says that if you find yourself in their path that you should run to avoid them. If you can't or find you've been caught by the 'Oi'o that you should close your eyes and chant the names of your ancestors and hope and pray that one of them happens to be among the dead to vouch for you. If there isn't, there is still a chance that you might be able to save yourself by ripping off your clothes and writhing on the ground like you are crazy or drenching yourself in urine. The idea here is to try to make the ghosts have pity on you, otherwise you're likely to find yourself as a target for their spears.

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Last Update: April 7, 2024

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