Hawaii’s Spiritual Connection to the Shark

Sharks play an important role in art, legends, and even spiritual beliefs. Throughout Hawaiian folklore, stories, legends and myths feature sharks as deities and their interactions with humans. Sharks as individuals, and as symbols, are even revered by many native Hawaiians. Some species of sharks, like the Tiger shark, have a special status as ‘aumakua, or family guardians.

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 The Tigers of the Sea

While the tiger shark ranks second on the list of number of recorded shark attacks on humans, behind the great white shark, such attacks are few and very seldom fatal. Known as Mano Niuhi in Hawaiian, these sharks are well documented in oral history and Hawaiian cultural lore. There are between two to four shark bites in Hawaiian waters every year, most on the islands of Oahu and Maui.

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