In Hawaiian mythology

Hawaiian mythology

Hawaiian mythology refers to the legends, historical tales and sayings of the ancient Hawaiian people. It is considered a variant of a more general Polynesian mythology, developing its own unique character for several centuries before about 1800. It is associated with the Hawaiian religion...

, the Nawao are a legendary people, a wild, large-sized hunting people, descended from Lua-nu'u (Beckwith 1970:321-323). Other sources suggest that the Nawao were present in Hawai'i before the Menehune

Menehune

In Hawaiian mythology, the Menehune [pronounced meh-neh-HOO-neh] are said to be a people, sometimes described as dwarfs in size, who live in the deep forests and hidden valleys of the Hawaiian Islands, far from the eyes of normal humans. Their favorite food is the maia , but they also like...

 who are thought to have driven them out or destroyed them. However, folklorist Katherine Luomala believes that the legends of the Menehune and similar creatures are a post-European contact mythology (1951).