Hawaii, known as the Aloha State, is a place of immense natural beauty and mystical legends. One of the intriguing legends that surround the islands is the Hawaii lava rock curse stories. These tales revolve around the belief that taking a lava rock from the Hawaiian islands brings bad luck and misfortune upon those who do so. In Hawaiian culture, Pele, the goddess of fire and volcanoes, is revered and feared. It is believed that the rocks and minerals, particularly the lava rocks, belong to her. Taking these rocks away from their natural environment is seen as an act of disrespect and can anger the goddess.
Hawaii lava rock curse stories
It is an old legend that taking lava rocks from Hawaii results in being followed by bad luck. Here are some of the stories people have sent to us. If you would like to add your story, please EMAIL US and we will post it on this page. Aloha!
I am sending your land back. Once back in L.A., I realized how terrible it was to steal your Volcano, My apololgies. Thank You, Kristen, L.A., CA
Since returning to Canada from Maui in December of 1999 we have had no thing but bad luck. Please return these lava rocks to the Goddess Pele. We did not know of the legend when we took the rocks, but have certainly learned since that taking the rocks can bring misfortune. We are building a house and since returning home from Hawaii have discovered that the basement floor has heaved. All of the interior walls have had to be re-straightened. All of the windows cam in the wrong sizes. Yesterday one of the workers put a nail through his wrist. This morning my father-in-law fell off of his roof and broke several ribs - he's going to be alright. Please return these rocks!! Thank you. M.K., Bothwell, CANADA
Please see that our lava and sand is respectfully returned tot he goddess. The friends that brought them to me from their trip meant no harm. Larry & Robin
We took these rocks during a recent trip & want to return them. Sorry Richmond Heights, OH
I have enclosed three lava rocks that my husband and I brought back from our honeymoon in July of 1997. Please help us retune these rocks to their proper place. F.&K., Lake Orion, Michigan
My mom brought this back to me from Hawaii, knowing that I like rocks - but not knowing about Pele. I treasured the rock until I found your website - so I can send her home. C.M., Kansas City, KS
I was visiting the Big Island of Hawaii with my family in February of this year. We brought back with us a few small pieces of volcano rock. After we arrived back home we learned that the volcano rocks from Hawaii are not to be removed from the island. I am therefore returning the rocks to Hawaii. It would be very kind of you if you could return these rocks to their original homeland. Your help is much appreciated. Please accept my thanks in advance. A visitor to Hawaii, San Jose, CA
My family took this lava rock as a mementos of a lovely trip. Returning it to you after much bad luck. Hope this will turn things around for us. P&J, Arlington Heights, IL
Please accept our apologies and return the enclosed lava back to the State Park. We honestly took the lava unknowingly aware of the legends of the island, and by no means meant any disrespect to the native beliefs of the island. Schofield, HI
Thank you for returning the green sand to Green Sand Beach and since you did so, it appears good fortunes are on the horizon. TGSMW", CA
Thanks by helping us to return the lava rock. Our bad luck is on the economic, where my wife and me had lossed money in this time frame. We appreciate your help. Jose and Claudia, Mexico
Dear Pele, Hawaiian Fire Goddess and Creator of Lava,
Although we greatly appreciated the souvenir Lava that was given to me as a gift from a friend, I feel it is best at this time to return your property to you. In exchange for returning this Lava we would apprecaite any bad luck that we have been experiencing over the last couple years end as soon as possible. Thank you and looking forward to the future.
RJ and his MPS Friends, Michigan
The enclosed rocks came from Black Sand Beach in Maui. I got them while on my honeymoon in March of this year. Since obtaining them, I have had more terrible things happen than one person should have to handle. I have been advised by a friend to return the stones. I was unaware of the folklore surrounding lava stones. Please put these some place acceptable. They are not happy with me. Thanks LD, Ohio
An Aunt of my dad's gave him this lava rock pen holder years ago. Thank you so much for bringing them back. Sincerely, JN
Dear Hawaii, please return this lava rock to the goddess. Thank you.
Enclosed some Lava Rocks taken off of Maui by my husband. Anyway he also took some sand from the black sand beach and Hana Bay. I hope you will return this as well. I think it would be considered from Lava. Better safe than sorry. Thank you, NC, California
We woul dlike to return these lava rocks my wife picked up while we were on vacation in 1998. D&B C, California
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Flight attendant's post about visiting family's lava rock stash goes viral
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Many Hawaii residents have heard the legend that it's bad luck to take lava rocks from Kilauea volcano. That's probably something a Hawaiian Airlines flight attendant was thinking when she spotted a child with a lava rock sticking out of his backpack Wednesday morning at Kahului Airport.
In a Facebook post that's gone viral, the flight attendant asked the boy where he had gotten the rock. He replied that it was from the Big Island and that it was being taken home as a souvenir.
She explained to the boy why he shouldn't take it home with him. And a few minutes later, the boy and his family returned several large lava rocks and two bags and black sand that they had in their carry-on bags.
"O.M.G. What is she going to do with all this stuff?" asked Hawaiian cultural practitioner Vicky Holt Takamine of the Pa`i Foundation, when she was shown a photo of the rocks and sand.
"I have no idea what they're going to do with all of this," she said. "What are they going to do? Are they building an 'ahu (altar)? or are they just going to make a little sand pile in the back of their yard and say, 'We went to Hawaii and here's our little corner'?"
The box was taken back to Hilo, and the rocks and sand returned. A follow-up video was posted showing the return of the materials.
"If you're planning on coming to Hawaii, you do not take no rocks, you don't take no sand back home, 'cause it's bad luck," says a man in the video, holding the box with the rocks and sand.
"It's true! The goddess Pele, especially on Hawaii island," said Takamine. "Well, all of these islands. These islands have been formed by the goddess Pele."
It's also illegal to take rocks and minerals from any national park. Taking such things as black sand and lava rock depletes a geological resource -- another reason to leave the rocks undisturbed.
Even if the rocks and sand did not come from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources said it is also illegal to take sand and rock from any public beach.
Whether or not you believe the legend, Volcanoes National Park does get a lot of rocks returned to it from people, with many saying they've experienced bad luck.
"The tourists need to understand you don't just come in, take what you want and leave," said Takamine. "Because it may come back to bite you."
Copyright 2016 HawaiiNewsNow. All rights reserved.
Nightmares and Hawaiian Stones
In my last post I shared the legend of Pele’s curse: the belief that taking lava rocks or sand from volcanos in Hawaii (especially Kilauea) brings bad luck because of the goddess Pele’s anger. As I mentioned, this legend is a tourist legend, and not a part of traditional Hawaiian folklore or mythology. As far as I can tell, it’s not particularly believed by non-indigenous residents of Hawaii, either.
But I did find a fairly similar item in a collection of local-but-non-indigenous folk stories. This anecdote is interesting to me, for a few reasons. First, the story.
My mother told me. One day when a man was walking he kick a stone. The stone roll away [from] where it was. That night when the man was sleeping the stone came to him and started to smash him. The wife thought why he was struggling on so she asked him what he did today but the man said nothing. The second night it happen the same way but when the wife asked him the same question he said nothing. The third night the wife couldn’t stand it so she prayed. Then the man knew what he did so he went back to where he kick the stone and put it where it was. This stone was a stone which belong to the old Hawaiian.
Gwladys F. Hughes collected this story from a 14 year old, Kauai-born, ethnically Japanese girl in Waialua, Oahu, in the winter of 1946-1947. The girl was an eighth grader at Waialua High and Intermediate School.
This story caught my attention because it’s somewhat similar to the “take a rock, suffer bad luck” tourist legend that I had been researching: sort of the “locals’ version” of that belief. But then I realized it’s also similar to another piece of folklore that I explored before starting on the Pele legends: the Filipino stories of the batibat, and the phenomenon of bangugot.
As I mentioned in my batibat post, the batibat is a large, hulking creature that lives in bamboo groves and large trees. If you accidentally cut down a tree where a batibat lives to make a support post for your house, the batibat may stay in the post. And if it does, it can come out at night to terrorize the residents of the house. It does this by sitting on a person’s chest as they sleep, smothering them. Bangugot, or nightmare, is the sensation of being pinned down or smothered by a batibat.
One thing that distinguishes bangugot from run-of-the-mill sleep paralysis is its connection to SUNDS: sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome, a condition that strikes mostly young, ostensibly healthy, men in their late 20s to mid 30s. These men die in their sleep for no reason, often after suffering bangugot episodes, leading to the conclusion that they died in the middle of another such nightmare. Reports of SUNDS/bangugot-style deaths appear not only among Filipino men, but also among Thai, Hmong, and Japanese men, especially in immigrant or migrant worker populations. And that’s why the story above interests me.
The storyteller above wrote that she’d heard this story from her mother, so it’s reasonable to guess that the man who kicked the stone was also Japanese — possibly a Japanese immigrant, maybe a worker in the sugar plantations. And the stone coming to smash him in his sleep sure sounds like bangugot. This lucky bangugot victim avoided death (at least I think he did; the story doesn’t say). By the logic of the folklore, he managed to placate the spirit that he’d angered.
It’s interesting to me that the rock in this story is specifically sacred to the “old Hawaiians”. Animist beliefs were part of early Japanese religion, and vestiges of those beliefs still exist in modern cultural traditions. Is this story an example of Japanese animist tradition to interpret Hawaiian tradition? Or is it, as I first thought, a locals’ version of Pele’s curse?
Either way, I’m sticking to my theory that this is a bangugot story.
References
Hughes, Gwaldys F. “Folk Beliefs and Customs in an Hawaiian Community,” The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 62, No. 245 (Jul. – Sep., 1949)
Zumel, Nina. Hunting for the (Male) Batibat. Multo(Ghost), October 31, 2017
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Wall of Kawaewae Heiau (Hawaiian temple) — looking up Windward coast, Kaneohe, on Oahu, Hawaii. Joel Bradshaw. Source: Wikimedia
Taking these rocks away from their natural environment is seen as an act of disrespect and can anger the goddess. The curse stories associated with taking lava rocks from Hawaii are numerous and varied. Many people claim that after taking a lava rock, they experienced a string of unfortunate events, such as accidents, financial difficulties, or even health problems.
These stories are often relayed as cautionary tales to dissuade others from taking lava rocks. One such story involves a tourist who took a lava rock as a souvenir and found herself suffering from a series of bizarre accidents and misfortunes. She tripped and broke her ankle, her car broke down multiple times, and she lost her job. Desperate, she decided to return the lava rock to Hawaii, believing that it would end her string of bad luck. Miraculously, her misfortunes subsided once the rock was returned. Another story tells of a family that took a lava rock as a memento from their Hawaiian vacation. Soon after returning home, they experienced a series of financial setbacks. They lost their jobs, their investments failed, and their home was foreclosed. Desperate and traumatized, they traveled back to Hawaii to return the lava rock, hoping to reverse their fortunes. While it is uncertain whether their luck truly changed, the family believed that the rock was the cause of their misfortunes. These tales of the Hawaii lava rock curse stories have become cautionary reminders for visitors to the islands. Many hotels, rental car companies, and tourist agencies now include warnings about the curse when selling souvenirs or tourists taking lava rocks. The intent is to discourage people from taking the rocks and to respect the land and culture of Hawaii. While some may dismiss these curse stories as mere superstition, the belief in the lava rock curse persists among many locals and visitors alike. Whether it is rooted in genuine supernatural occurrences or simply a result of coincidence and heightened awareness, it serves as a reminder of the deep respect Hawaiians have for their land and legends. So, the next time you visit Hawaii, think twice before taking that tempting lava rock souvenir..
Reviews for "Exploring Hawaiian Folklore: The Lava Rock Curse"
1. Samantha - 2/5 - I was really excited to read "Hawaii lava rock curse stories" as I've always been fascinated by Hawaiian folklore. However, this book was a huge disappointment. The stories felt repetitive and lacked depth. It seemed like the same curse was being repeated in different settings, just with different characters. Additionally, the writing style was dull and lacked the necessary suspense and engagement. Overall, the book fell flat and failed to captivate me as a reader.
2. Mark - 1/5 - I don't understand the hype around "Hawaii lava rock curse stories." The stories were predictable and lacked originality. It felt like the author was relying on clichéd tropes and repetitive plotlines. The characters were one-dimensional and the dialogue was forced and unrealistic. I couldn't connect with any of the stories, and the whole book left me feeling underwhelmed. I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for an engaging and unique reading experience.
3. Rachel - 3/5 - While "Hawaii lava rock curse stories" had a promising concept, it fell short in execution. The stories had potential, but the pacing was inconsistent. Some stories dragged on, while others felt rushed. The lack of character development also made it difficult to connect with the protagonists. Additionally, the book could have benefited from more atmospheric descriptions of the Hawaiian setting to truly immerse readers in the cursed world. Overall, it was an average read that didn't leave a lasting impression.
4. John - 2/5 - I found "Hawaii lava rock curse stories" to be quite underwhelming. The stories lacked a cohesive narrative and were scattered in their approach. It was hard to keep track of the different curses and their significance. The writing style was also monotonous and failed to evoke any sense of suspense or fear. I expected more from this anthology, but unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. I would recommend looking for other books that explore Hawaiian folklore more effectively.