Menehune

According to Hawaiian legend, the Menehune were a diminutive people who made their homes in the secluded forests, deep valleys, and remote regions of the Hawaiian Islands, deliberately keeping their distance from human communities.

Renowned for their exceptional craftsmanship, these mysterious beings constructed various structures including temples (known as heiau), elaborate fishponds, well-designed roads, seaworthy canoes, and sturdy dwellings. Hawaiian cultural heritage points to several existing ancient structures as the handiwork of these legendary craftspeople. Tradition holds that the Menehune inhabited the islands before the arrival of Polynesian voyagers hundreds of years ago.

The Menehune were particularly fond of bananas (maiʻa) and fish. These nocturnal beings would emerge only after sunset to create their architectural wonders, with the stipulation that any project must be completed within a single night—unfinished works would be abandoned at dawn. Their presence remained elusive to most humans, with only their own offspring and specially connected individuals possessing the ability to perceive them.