Menehune, Brownies, Gnomes, and Elves

Are you a believer?  I can go either way - I like to keep my options open.  I was watching a program on History 2 channel about the Menehune (little people of Hawaii - not those little people) - the hobbit-type people that supposedly lived on the islands prior to the Hawaiians.  I have been to the islands plenty of times and I have never heard of the Menehune, but then again I'm not sure if this is a conversation a Hawaiian would have with a Haole (Hawaiian for white people).

During the commercials, I check on the Internet to see what other cultures have Menehune-type legends - a word - tons:

• Native Americans - Pukwudgie
• Irish - Leprechaun
• German - Elves and Gnomes
• Norwegian - Pixies
• Scandinavians - Trolls
• Scottish - Brownies

The show about the Menehune ends up being really interesting; however, he did not debunk the myth of the Menehune as I think he might have hoped.  He did conclude that later Hawaiians may have referred to a lower class person as Menehune vs. the Menehune being mythical little people.

I will tell you that you never, ever, ever mess with Pele, Goddess of the Volcano - she is real.  On my first trip to the islands, I took a piece of lava back our condo as I was going to take it home as a souvenir; even though I had been told "Don't mess with Pele".  The next day while snorkeling, I got pummeled into the rocks and came out of the ocean with a pretty good gash across my knee.  I limped like Quasimodo straight back to condo, retrieved my piece of lava, straight back to the beach and with all the force I had - tossed the lava back in while apologizing to Pele. The first piece of "tribal knowledge" I imparted to my kids when we started taking them to Hawaii - never, ever, ever piss off Pele.

I have never encountered a Pukwudgie (I'm not even sure how you pronounce it), a Gnome, or a Leprechaun (except for the cereal), but I do like my brownies soft, warm and fresh from the oven.  Oh and, I hear that little elves bake cookies in a hollow trees and what do you think makes those cookies uncommon.... cuz' their baked in magic ovens and there's no factories.

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