Menehune

Origin and tradition

Menehune are small people of Hawaiian storytelling, remembered for remarkable building work, including fishponds and stone structures. Accounts differ about their place in Hawaiian history and imagination. They should not be equated with European dwarfs or treated as a proven lost population.

Illustration in this atlas

A small humanlike stoneworker builds a fishpond wall at night. The plate emphasizes the Menehune's craftsmanship in Hawaiian stories, rather than giving these little people an ape's face or body.

References and further reading

1. en.wikipedia.org — Menehune
2. manoaheritagecenter.org — Menehune
3. folklore.usc.edu — Menehune
4. journeys.dartmouth.edu — Menehune

These references offer further reading. Accounts and depictions vary; the atlas illustration is interpretive artwork, rather than historical or scientific evidence.