2 days ago
Did Hawaiians REALLY ride sharks?... As Jason Momoa's Chief of War excites fans with opening scene
Did Hawaiians ride sharks?
If you believe Jason Momoa 's new drama, Chief of War, the answer is yes.
An early scene in the opening episode of the new, exciting epic shows the star's muscled warrior character being pulled through water by a shark; his hands clasped around its dorsal fin.
Although you might think the sequence is pure fiction, it is not entirely outlandish.
A history of Hawaii and its people would be incomplete without a lengthy mention of sharks.
Native tribes used the teeth of tiger sharks to make tools and weapons, and 19th century Hawaiian historian Samuel Kamakau recounted how the animals could be 'tamed like pet pigs' by fishermen.
One entrepreneur even allegedly opened a 'sharkquarium' at Kewalo Basin on the Hawaiian island of Honolulu, at which the public could pay to see tiger sharks be ridden.
And, even though he was more sitting while stationary instead of riding, local fisherman Filomeno Patacsil was photographed atop a captured tiger shark in 1957.
Hawaiian fisherman Filomeno Patacsil rides an 800-pound tiger shark that he had subdued with the help of five other men, Sand Island, Hawaii, 1957
In 1876, Kamakau reported: 'To the native son, the shark was a horse to be bridled, its fin serving as the pommel of a Mexican saddle.
'Men skilled in herding sharks were seen riding a shark like a horse, turning the shark to this side and that until carried to shore, where the shark died.'
He told how fishermen would 'pat' sharks on the head so they got used to being touched, and then would slip a noose over their heads and subdue them.
In Chief of War, Momoa portrays Ka'iana, a native Hawaiian warrior who lived in the latter half of the 18th century.
Momoa's idea for the shark-riding scene came from written accounts he was shown to him by the show's co-creator, Hawaiian writer Thomas Pa'a Sibbett.
'Why wouldn't they [ride sharks]?,' Momoa told TV Insider.
'Every other indigenous tribe is connected to their animals, their totems. Man and animal have always been connected.
'I feel like before anyone else came, they were 100% connected to their environment.'
He added: 'I would believe that a lot of the training they would do too as warriors would be in the water with sharks and just being able to ride them and be at peace and at one with them.'
English navigator John Meares described Ka'iana in 1788, writing: 'He was nearly 6ft 5in in stature, and the muscular form of his limbs was of an Herculean appearance.'
Ka'iana allegedly travelled abroad to countries including China, from which he is said to have brought back weapons and ammunition to use in conquests on Hawaii.
One of his enemies was Briton John Young, who became an advisor to Hawaii's king and later was the island's governor.
Young is depicted in Chief of War by Benjamin Hoetjes, whilst Luciane Buchanan portrays Queen Kaʻahumanu, the wife of Hawaii's ruler, King Kamehameha I.
Ka'iana died in battle in 1795, when he was 40.
The exact circumstances of his death remain unclear, although some believe that he was killed by a cannon ball felled by Young.
The shark has been held in very high esteem in traditional Hawaiian culture.
The animals feature heavily in folklore that has been passed down generations on the territory.
And some species have had an extra special status.
They can be known as 'aumakua, meaning a personal or family god.
And in Hawaiian religion, there is a dedicated shark god, Kamohoaliʻi. According to legend, he fell in love with Kalei, a beautiful woman.
