EDITORIAL – A reply to a comment just left added by Anonymous to my column on 6 April 2013, “Kaneikokala – A Hawaiian Shark Deity.”

“Anonymous has left a new comment on the post "KANEIKOKALA - A HAWAIIAN SHARK DEITY - All of the other photos I took in the museum turned out just fine, but when I went back into my phone to search for the photo of Kaneikokala, it's just all black... I understand that many people believe that sacred spiritual energy (mana) can interact with electronics or discourage photos from turning out, particularly if permission wasn't asked or if the object is traditionally respected by not being photographed. Is this what happened? Also, does anyone have any advice for apologizing for my ignorance and correcting my disrespect? I am not of Polynesian descent and I feel guilty.”

RockArtBlog’s Answer – Anonymous, thank you for your comment. Comments come to me without an attached e-mail address so I cannot reply directly to you, yet your comment interests me and deserves some response. You bring up an interesting point. I also am not of Polynesian descent and yet my photographs turned out fine. As an art historian who specializes in rock art my feelings when in front of this sort of thing do approach a kind of reverence. To me it is incredibly special and fascinating. This is, of course, completely different from the reverence based on spiritual belief held by an ancient Hawaiian approaching Kaneikokala, but if you believe that there is any credibility to the tradition that reverence is needed when approaching the statue, then perhaps my feelings were a satisfactory substitute.