“Auntie” Emma De Fries (1925-80) was a Hawaiian mystic and the great-great-granddaughter of Hewahewa (c. 1774-1837), the kahuna nui (high priest) to Kamehameha I.
Her great grandfather was John De Vries (anglicized as De Fries) (1826-1905), a Dutchman who settled in Hawai‘i prior to 1850, lived at Hanalei, started a rice plantation in Lumahai Valley, Kaua‘i, and is credited with bringing some of the first Chinese to Hawai‘i as laborers during the 1850s.
John De Vries wife, Emma’s great grandmother, was Haleokeawe Kekoaokalani (1825-87), a descendant of Hewahewa.
“Auntie” Emma De Fries, a believer in the ancient Hawaiian religion, devoted much of her life to perpetuating Hawaiian culture, giving talks about old Hawai‘i and teaching Hawaiian language, hula and ancient chants.
In 1971, she spoke of the Ghost Marchers of Hanalei.
She said: “Once, when the Chinese laborers were preparing the paddies for planting, they were frightened off by a group of people.
“The Chinese workers said they saw hundreds of men walking down from the mountains on a trail near the Hanalei River. The marchers were dressed in malos and short feathered capes and all of them carried spears.
“When the strangers approached the rice paddies, the workers thought they would be harmed and ran away. From a distant spot, they turned to look again at the men who carried the spears.
“They were amazed at what they saw. The warriors were walking through a stone wall that ran the length of the road. Afterwards, they disappeared in the Hanalei River.”
In 1940, Moses Alohikea (1903-1962) of Wainiha, Kaua‘i, told a similar story.
He said: “One night about 12 years ago, toward midnight, I was returning from Hanalei in my car. As I began to cross the mouth of Lumahai Valley, I heard the steady beat of many pahu (drums) and the tramping feet of a thousand men. Creeps went up my back. I knew it was the marching Ghost Army of Lumahai. The crowd filled the mouth of the valley, and I heard women walking, too. I was lucky to get through alive.”
