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Ancient Human Remains Uncovered by Big Surf on Maui (Video)

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated Dec 26, 2024 1:18 PM ET

While strolling on a beach in Maui over the weekend before Christmas, admiring the massive waves that were pounding the coast – the same ones that were fueling the iconic Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational over on Oahu – a pair of siblings stumbled upon a sacred remnant of Hawaiian tradition.

They found bones. Ancient ones. Unearthed by the extra-large swell unloading on the sand.

“We were out there just to check out the huge surf that was going on, and to see the waves,” Benjamin Medler told Hawaii News Now. “But then it turned out to be this whole exploration after Danielle [his sister] found a bone on the ground.”

Danielle continued:

“At first I just thought it was just like another animal bone. Then, the waves started uncovering more of them. We started to explore more and found out it wasn’t an animal bone.”

It turned out to be an entire burial ground, or iwi kupuna, an ancient Hawaiian cemetery, which experts speculate could date back to the 18th century. According to a historical documentation of pre-contact Hawaiian traditions, as related to iwi kupuna, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs describes:

“In pre-Christian creeds of Hawai‘i, man’s immortality was manifest in his bones. Man’s blood, even bright drops shed by the living, was haumia (defiled and defiling). Man’s body, when death made flesh corrupt, was an abomination and kapu (taboo). The iwi survived decaying flesh. The bones remained, and cleanly, lasting portion of the man or woman who once lived.”

There was no mention of what will happen to these newly unearthed remains. Maybe they’ll go to a lab for further studies, followed by a preservation site away from the public? Who knows. But one local with a long native lineage, Kiai Colliar, hopes the remains will be respected above all else.

“Just be very respectful,” he said. “Honor the descendants.”

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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