Hawaii

The mysterious Hawaii footprints fossilized in volcanic ash

Published

11 months ago

December 3, 2023

The mysterious Hawaii footprints fossilized in volcanic ash

On Hawaii Island, the Kau Desert on the southwest side of Kilauea Volcano is a dry, desolate landscape. Life is hindered by the frequency of acid rain, and layers of ash cover the vast, moonlike environment from centuries of eruptions.

Among the hardened lava, and dusted with sand, is a violent reminder of the volcano’s unpredictability: 1,773 human footprints fossilized in the ash, representing at least 441 men, women and children. Many of these footprints are believed to have been left by a war party that was retreating and got caught in a 1790 eruption known as Keonehelelei.

Kau Desert on Hawaii Island. July 9, 2020.

National Park Service

Translated, Keonehelelei means “the falling sands,” describing the ash that rained down across the Kau Desert — a huge spectacle that was reportedly seen for miles.

“The ash layers and the footprints are really fragile,” Summer Roper, acting cultural resource manager of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, told SFGATE. “It’s pretty amazing they’ve lasted this long for hundreds of years.” Although it was typical for Hawaiians to wear ti leaf sandals during the time, a lot of the footprints are noticeably barefoot with clearly defined toe prints.

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Image 1 of 2 — Kau Desert footprints on Hawaii Island.National Park Service

Image 2 of 2 — Kau Desert footprints on Hawaii Island.National Park Service

The footprints were formed when ash from an eruption traveled high into the air, intermingling with moisture. This created a permeable, wet and soft claylike substance when it fell back down to the desert floor. “People would walk through it,” said Roper. “Then when it dried out, it hardened, and that’s how the footprints would be preserved.”

The fossilized footprints were first recorded in 1919 by geologist Ruy Finch of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. It was Thomas Jaggar, the volcanologist and founder of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, who first tied the well-known tragedy of the war party and the footprints together.

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The fallen warriors

As the story goes, in the late 18th century, Hawaiian Chief Keoua fought against his cousin Kamehameha, the warrior who would later unite all of the Hawaiian Islands under his rule. It was a brutal battle between armies with no clear winner.

As they retreated home to the district of Kau, Keoua took his warring party, who were also accompanied by their families, on a trail over Kilauea Volcano. The volcano showed signs of unrest, causing numerous earthquakes, so they stayed at its caldera overnight, waiting for it to calm.

After a few nights, Keoua eventually split his army into three groups, and they marched across the Kau Desert at different intervals. Most of the first and third groups made it safely; however, the entirety of the second group died, caught in an explosion of gas and steam.

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Illustration depicting the death of the army of Chief Keoua in the Kau Desert.
David T. Gilbert/Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

It’s not clear how many of Keoua’s army perished. Reports range from as few as 80 to as many as 5,405 people.

It’s also unknown where their bodies went. There is no evidence of a deceased army lying among the footprints. One theory suggests their bodies were “thrown into Kilauea.”

Analyzing the prints, Roper said it also doesn’t appear that anybody was running scared. “I think people were just cruising through,” Roper said. “Walking through the ash is soft, so in comparison to the pahoehoe [hard lava], I would see why people would, like, choose to walk through the ash if they don’t have shoes on.”

A deeper understanding

The story of the fallen army is the primary interpretation of the footprints section at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. However, more research has unveiled another.

For one, the footprints are not the only historical features in the area. In 2003, archaeologists recorded 55 historic Hawaiian sites with as many as 516 structures and features, such as temporary shelters, trails, petroglyphs and stone quarry areas.

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Map of the footprints and other archeological features at Kilauea on Hawaii Island.
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Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

The archaeological survey also found that the footprints are headed in different directions. Some of the footprints were discovered to be separated by different ash layers, and therefore created during different time periods.

“After the archaeological surveys and additional studies, now it’s thought that it’s tied to the warriors as well as to other people,” said Roper. It paints a broader picture of how early Hawaiians used the area as part of a trail system and as a place to gather stone tools.

“They still think it’s tied to [Keoua’s army], but not just that event,” said Roper.

Editor’s note: SFGATE recognizes the importance of diacritical marks in the Hawaiian language. We are unable to use them due to the limitations of our publishing platform.

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Hawaii

Acclaimed Escher String Quartet returns to Hilo

Published

11 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Press Room

Acclaimed Escher String Quartet returns to Hilo

The Hawaii Concert Society’s second presentation of its 2024-25 season features a string quartet that takes its name from the renowned Dutch graphic artist M. C. Escher and draws inspiration from that artist’s use of individual components working together to form a whole, as any quartet must do in order to succeed.

The Escher String Quartet, hailed by the New York Times for its “passionate elegance and deep feeling,” and currently the quartet-in-residence at New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, will present a concert at 7 p.m. this Wednesday at the University of Hawaii Hilo Performing Arts Center.

The quartet last performed in Hilo in 2013. Now in its 25th season, two of its members, violinist Adam Barnett-Hart and violist Pierre Lapointe, are its co-founders. The other two are cellist Brook Speltz ,who joined nine years ago, and his violinist brother, Brendan, who became a member just five years ago.

It is somewhat unusual for siblings to both be world-class classical musicians, but it helps to have parents who also are musical. In the case of the Speltz brothers, exposure to classical music was immediate. Their father is a cellist and their mother is a violinist.

Brendan Speltz started playing the violin at age 6.

“Our parents would drag us to concerts, their concerts or ones they wanted to see and we’d go kicking and screaming,” he said in a press release. “Probably as a rule, kids don’t want to go to classical concerts. That makes sense because you have to sit there for two hours and listen to a form of music that might not make a lot of sense.”

Eventually their attitudes changed. “Both of us started liking classical music when our parents took us to a string quartet camp in Cape Cod,” he continued. “After our first day playing Haydn and Mozart quartets, something just clicked in our brains, and we became insatiable in our desire to rehearse and play.”

The Hilo concert will open with American composer Samuel Barber’s String Quartet No. 11. It contains the composer’s best-known music, the famous Adagio, often heard at somber events and, as expressed by musicologist Alexander Morin, “rarely leaves a dry eye.“

It will be followed by African-American composer Florence Price’s Quartet No. 2 in A minor. The first black female composer to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra (the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1933), Price’s music combines a rich and romantic symphonic idiom with the melodic intimacy and emotional intensity of African-American spirituals.

The concert will conclude with Antonin Dvorak’s Quartet in A flat major, considered one of his masterpieces.

Tickets for the concert by the Escher String Quartet ($25 general, $20 senior, $10 student) are available at the Most Irresistible Shop, Book, Basically Books, and the UH Hilo Box Office.

Remaining tickets will be available at the door starting at 6:15 p.m.

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Hawaii

Hilton Hawaiian Hotel workers end 40-day strike

Published

19 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Press Room

Hilton Hawaiian Hotel workers end 40-day strike

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Over 1,800 Hilton Hawaiian Hotel workers are expected to return to work tomorrow at 4 a.m. after they voted to end their strike on Nov. 4.

Workers at the hotel voted to ratify their new contract on ending a 40-day strike that began on Sept. 24.

The union says more than 3,200 Local 5 members at seven other hotels are still working without a contract and could strike at any time.

“Hawaiian Village have led all of us to an important & historic victory that puts hospitality workers and this community one step closer to making ‘one job enough’ a reality,” said Cade Watanabe, Financial Secretary-Treasurer.

“But our campaign continues until we have achieved settlements with Hyatt, Kyo-ya & Marriott – where more than 3,200 hotel workers have also authorized additional strikes if necessary.”

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Hawaii

Here’s how you can map internet speeds across Hawaii

Published

1 day ago

November 4, 2024

Press Room

Here’s how you can map internet speeds across Hawaii

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke is encouraging Hawaii residents to participate in a program to help expand access to affordable high speed internet across the state.

The “Digital Detectives” campaign started on Oct. 22 and ends Nov. 4.

The initiative also focuses on young people participating in the process.

“We’re excited to launch Digital Detectives, an initiative that allows everyone in Hawaii to make a difference and contribute to digital equity across our state,” said Luke.

“By working together, we can create a comprehensive, statewide map of internet speeds that will help to prioritize resources and improve connectivity for under served areas. Internet access is a necessity for education, healthcare, business, and staying connected — and this initiative will help to ensure that all Hawaii communities have access to high-speed internet.”

The campaign is part of Connect Kakou initiative to expand access across the islands.

To learn more and take the 30 second speed test, click here.

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