Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 October 1907 — Shark Worship in Hawaii. [ARTICLE]

Shark Worship in Hawaii.

The shark has been perhaps the most universally worshiped of all the Hawaiian auimal gods. Strange as It may seem, the islanders formerly regarded the shark as being the friend and protector of aTf those who pay him devout attention. Each locality along the coast of the main islands of the Hawaiian group formerly had its patron shark, whose name, place of abode, history, etc., were all well known to his superstitious worshipers. The biggest and most celebrated of these shark divinities was a male, whose mouth was so large that he could easily swallow any other shark known to frequent those waters. According to the Hawaiian folklore stories, the bulk of this “god of the sea” was so great that he could not pass through the narrowest channels whiclj separate the different Islands, but spent liis time swimming around the whole group and looking after the welfare of the people.