Sleeping Giant (Kauai, Hawaii, United States)

Also known as the "Garden Isle," Kauaʻi ([kɐˈwɐʔi] in Hawaiian) is the oldest and fourth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands. Legend has it that Hawaiʻiloa, the Polynesian navigator who discovered the Hawaiian Islands, named it after his favorite son.

According to Kauai.com, "Like the other islands, Kauai was initially inhabited roughly 1500 years ago by the same Polynesian adventurers who completed their nearly 2000 mile sea voyage on outrigger canoes when they first landed on the shores of the big island of Hawaii. Here they stayed undisturbed for around 500 years, until a second wave of sea-canoe travelers appeared, this time from Tahiti (which was also originally settled by Polynesian sea-canoe explorers). It was from the Tahitian arrival that the current Hawaiian gods, belief structures and many traditions evolved."

Sleeping Giant (or Nounou Mountain) is a mountain ridge in the Nounou Forest Reserve. It owes its English name to its resemblance to a reclining human figure. According to a local legend, the Menehune sent giant Puni to the forest to gather firewood. He worked so hard that he had to rest on his way back.

While he lay sleeping, an army from Oahu (another Hawaiian island) attacked Kauai. The Menehune tried to wake Puni up by throwing stones at him. But many bounced off his stomach and landed in the sea, successfully repelling the enemy. Some also landed in the giant's mouth and nose, which ended up killing him.

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