2. In Hawaii, men fought sharks in underwater gladiatorial battles.
In Hawaii, sharks were seen as the kings of the sea. They were feared, respected and admired. And, some historians believe, they were also used for entertainment purposes. More specifically, men were pitted against sharks in fights to the death. Just as Roman emperors got their kicks out of seeing humans battling lions and other exotic beasts, so too did the old kings of Hawaii enjoy watching unfortunate souls go head-to-head with the most vicious creatures of the deep.
Long before the Americans arrived and moored their battleships there, Pearl Harbor had a different purpose. Here, a four-acre enclosure was built. Occasionally, the gates were opened, and sharks lured in with pieces of bloody meat. Then, when the waters were teeming with sharks, the gates were shut, and the games could begin. According to the accounts of the time, men would be forced to enter the water and fight for their lives. All the gladiator had was a small spear, a length of wood with a shark’s tooth tied to the end. Unsurprisingly, almost all fights ended with the sharks winning – thereby keeping the shark god happy for the year.
Nobody knows for sure how long such fights took place, or when the last one was held in Pearl Harbor. However, a few accounts to survive, showing how, for the ancient islanders, such contests were somewhere between Roman gladiator fights and traditional Spanish bullfighting. What’s more, we know that some men, chosen by their king to be that year’s sacrifice, actually made it out, having managed to swim underneath the sharks and gutting them.