Heiau | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

April 1, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pōhaku Kalai a Umi

“The king was over all the people; he was the supreme executive, so long, however, as he did right. His executive duties in the government were to gather the people together in time of war …”

“… to decide all important questions of state, and questions touching the life and death of the common people as well as of the chiefs and his comrades in arms. … It was his duty to consecrate the temples, to oversee the performance of religious rites in the temples (heiau)”. (Malo)

“In the majority of cases Hawaiian heiaus were either walled stone enclosures or open platform structures. They were mostly levelled and stone paved, many being of two to four terraces. All heiaus were without roof covering except as to the several small houses erected within their precincts.”

“In two instances, both of which were on the island of Oahu, at Waialua and at Honolulu, heiaus were described as having been of stick fence construction.”

“And there were also sacred places of more than local fame to which pilgrimages were made and sacrificial offerings placed on outcropping rocks on a level plain”. (Thrum)

“Umi is reported to have been a very religious king, according to the ideas of his time, for he enriched the priests, and is said to have built a number of Heiaus; though in the latter case tradition often assigns the first erection of a Heiau to a chief, when in reality he only rebuilt or repaired an ancient one on the same site.” (Fornander)

ʻUmi-a-Līloa (ʻUmi) from Waipiʻo, son of Līloa, defeated Kona chief Ehunuikaimalino and united the island of Hawai‘i. He then moved his Royal Center from Waipi‘o to Kona.

“Umi-a-Liloa was a devout king, and … (he) had two principal occupations which he undertook to do with his own hands: they are farming and fishing.”

“He built large taro patches in Waipio, and he tilled the soil in all places where he resided, and when in Kona that was his great occupation; he was noted as the husbandman king. … All the chiefs of his government were noted in cultivating the land and in fishing, and other important works which would make them independent.” (Fornander)

“It is presumed that Umi’s life passed tranquilly after his removal from Waipio; at least no wars, convulsions, or stirring events have been recorded.”

“In making his tours around the island, Umi erected several Heiaus, distinguished from the generality of Heiaus by the employment of hewn stones.” (Fornander)

“He employed workmen from all quarters to hew stones which were to serve, some say, to construct a sepulchral vault, or, according to others, a magnificent palace.” (Thrum)

“A number of hewn stones of this period – at least tradition, by calling them the Pōhaku Kalai a Umi (‘the hewn stones of Umi’), does so imply …”

“… were found scattered about the Kona coast of Hawaii, especially in the neighbourhood of Kailua, and, after the arrival of the missionaries (1820), furnished splendid material wherewith to build the first Christian church at Kailua.” (Fornander)

“(T)he stones were admirably cut. In our day the Calvanistic missionaries have employed them in building the great church at Kailua, without there being any necessity for cutting them anew.”

“It is natural to suppose that for cutting these hard and very large stones, they used tools different from those of Hawaiian origin.”

“Iron must have been known in the time of Umi, and its presence would be explained by wrecks of ships which the ocean currents might have drifted ashore.”

“It is certain that it was known long before the arrival of Captain Cook, as is also shown by a passage from an old romance: ‘O luna, o lalo, kai, o uka, o ka hao pae, ko ke lii’ (‘What is above, below the sea, the mountain, and the iron that drifts ashore, belong to the king.’)” (Thrum)

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Umi stones

Bayside_view_of_Hulihee_Palace,_prior_to_1884-portion-Umi stones in corners

Umi stones in corners of Mokuaikaua Church

Umi stones in Mokuaikaua Church

Umi stones

Pa_o_Umi-where_Umi_is_said_to_have_landed_at_Kailua-(the_little_girl_at_left_is_my_mother-next_to_her_my_grandmother)-1928

August 18, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Lana-nu‘u-mamao

Immediately after Captain Cook first landed at Waimea Kauai in January 1778, he and others were taken inland for an ‘excursion of the country’. They had seen ‘pyramids’ or ‘obelisks’ as they passed in their ships. What follows are descriptions of what they saw, as noted in Cook’s Journal.

“As we ranged down the coast from the east, in the ships, we had observed at every village one or more elevated white objects, like pyramids or rather obelisks; and one of these, which I guessed to be at least fifty feet high was very conspicuous from the ship’s anchoring station, and seemed to be at no great distance up this valley.”

“To have a nearer inspection of it, was the principal object of my walk. Our guide perfectly understood that we wished to be conducted to it. But it happened to be so placed that we could not get at it, being separated from us by the pool of water.”

“However, there being another of the same kind within our reach, about half a mile off, upon our side of the valley, we set out to visit that.”

“The moment we got to it, we saw that it stood in a burying ground, or morai (heiau;) the resemblance of which, in many respects, to those we were so well acquainted with at other islands in this ocean … could not but strike us …”

“On each side of the pyramid were long pieces of wickerwork, called hereanee, in the same ruinous condition; with two slender poles, inclining to each other, at one corner, where some plantains were laid upon a board, fixed at the height of five or six feet. This they called herairemy ; and informed us that the fruit was an offering to their god”.

“The island seemed to abound with such places of sacrifice as this which we were now visiting, and which appeared to be one of the most inconsiderable of them; being far less conspicuous than several others which we had seen as we sailed along the coast, and particularly than that on the opposite side of the water in this valley …”

“… the white kenananoo, or pyramid, of which we were now almost sure, derived its colour only from pieces of the consecrated cloth laid over it.”

The ‘pyramids’ or ‘obelisks’ Cook saw at the heiau were Lana-nu‘u-mamao (‘Anu‘u), “a tower-like frame, made of strong timbers, covered with aho, ie poles, but not thatched. It had three floors, or kahuas, of which the lowest was named lana, the next nu‘u, and the highest mamao.”

“The lowest, the lana, was used for the bestowal of offerings. The second, nu‘u, was more sacred; the high priest and his attendants sometimes stood there while conducting religious services.”

“The third, the mamao, was the most sacred place of all. Only the high priest and king were allowed to come to this platform.”

“When worship was being conducted at the lana-nu‘u-mamao all the people prostrated themselves. It seems probable that the lana-nu‘u-mamao was used as a sort of oracle.” (Malo)

“It was usually more than twenty feet tall and contained three platforms. The lowest symbolized the earth, the abode of humans, and was where offerings were placed; the middle was viewed as the space of birds and clouds and was where the high priest and his attendants conducted services …”

“… the highest platform symbolized the heavens — dwelling place of the gods — and could only be ascended by the high priest and the king. This was where the high priest received inspiration and acted as intermediary with the gods.”

“The entire structure was covered with bleached kapa. It was a highly visible component of the temple platform area and contained within a refuse or bone pit where decayed offerings and bones of victims were cast (lua pa‘u).” (NPS)

“The building of this heiau was a great and arduous undertaking. Priests were everywhere about; they selected the site, determined the orientation, the dimensions, and the arrangement of the structure, and at every stage performed the ritualistic ceremonies without which the work could not be acceptable to the gods.” (Kuykendall)
“The usual plan of the luakini dictated that if the front faced the west or east, the oracle tower stood on the north end of the structure.”

“If the heiau fronted on the north or south, the tower would be on the east side, turned toward the west or south. The audience sat in the southern or western part of the structure.” (NPS)

“(F)unctionally specialized heiaus had well identifiable features; luakini temples could not be built just anywhere, but only upon sites formerly built on by the people of old. If so, then the larger heiau should be architecturally stratified, with the platforms and terraces of older heiau buried under later additions and elaborations.”

“An opposite opinion is represented by Stokes: the different types of foundations … seem to have had no connection with the classes of worship to which the heiau belonged.”

“An intermediate solution is proposed by Valeri: the Hawaiians had two heiau classification systems, which have not been clearly distinguished. The first was based on function – fertility, production, or war. The second was based on architectural typology. The functional classification could be combined with the architectural to produce a wide array of subtypes.” (Chase-Dunn & Ermolaeva)

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A Morai in Atooi-Webber-Rumsey

Ahuena-Anuu Oracle Tower

Ahuena_heiau_1816

Ahuena-Oracle Tower

Heiau-oracle tower

Puu o Mahuka

Reconstruction-illustration-Papaenaena_Heiau-(NPS)

Arago_–_Iles_Sandwich_-_Vue_du_Morai_du_Roi_a_Kayakakoua-1819

Piiolanihale-oracle tower

Kane Aki Heiau

June 23, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Evolving Heiau Construction

Oral histories of the Hawaiian temple system indicate that several functional types existed, although all that remains today is dry-laid lava rock foundations and the ruins of stone altars, offering pits, and the foundations of thatched houses and wooden images.

Three general functional categories have been identified archaeologically with the excavation of eight Maui temples, (1) small open court ancestral shrines, (2) large platform temples used for major political rituals and feasts that helped glorify successful chiefly lines, and …

(3) smaller enclosed temples used for local rituals and feasts that promoted collective cosmological principles and encouraged consensus among political groups.

These temples ranged in size from family structures (~2,000 sq ft) to medium-sized community shrines ( ~7,000 sq ft) and larger polity temples (upwards of ~21,000 sq ft – about one-half acre).

Analysis of radiocarbon data show progressive changes that occur over three centuries: from open temples ~AD 1400 to large platform temples ~AD 1500 and finally the addition of small enclosed temples ~AD 1600.

However, Kirch and Sharp report dates of near-surface coral dedicatory offerings taken from seven temples from the political district of Kahikinui, Maui, and an additional temple from the neighboring island of Molokai.

Because these dates all fall into a very short interval of 60 years (~AD 1565-1638), they argue that Kahikinui’s temple hierarchy was rapidly built during a time of predatory territorial expansion under the reign of a single Maui chief around the turn of the seventeenth century AD.

New data relevant to this was included in analysis by Kolb, including an extensive radio carbon dating chronology consisting of a corpus of 73 new and 17 published dates.

This new chronology indicates a prolonged period of island-wide temple construction (~ AD 1200-1800) that consisted of four distinct ‘periods’ which correlate with some important social trends noted in the oral-historical literature of Hawai‘i.

Kolb’s analysis notes four distinct modes with notable peaks at – AD 1240-60, 1360-80, 1540-60, and 1800-1820, each of which is statistically distinguishable (95% confidence interval) by cluster analysis.

The first mode peaks at AD 1220-60 – these early dates document the oldest temples in Hawai‘i. On Maui because the data comes from sound architectural contexts of seven different temples, they may also signify the inception of an island-wide temple network.

Oral traditions from the 13th century indicate that this was a period of intensive social change with a widening economic and social gap between chief and commoner, more authoritative chiefly rule and the formation of at least three ruling political districts (Lahaina, Wailuku and Hana).

These early temple building episodes were small, located upon promontories, tied to public activities of ancestor worship and dispersed across most of the island – characteristics of a formative temple network used to mark emerging territorial boundaries.

A second mode peaks at AD 1360-80; these dates mark the clear expansion of the temple network. Temple-building episodes representing this mode were similar in style and location to those of earlier temples but larger in scale.

Oral traditions speak about the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries as a period of political polarization between the genealogically distinct and often antagonistic ruling lines of East and West Maui.

Competition was intense and led to a series of intra-island wars over rank succession and territory. Conflicting genealogies during this time also lend credence to the idea of polarized and shifting rule.

The next mode peaks at AD 1560-80. Oral history of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries indicate, that this time was marked by political strife and the competing territories of East and West Maui eventually merged.

When this merger actually occurred, however, is difficult to say. At least three generations of chiefs are said to have been recognized as rulers by both East and West Maui: Kāka‘e, who ruled jointly with his brother Kaka‘alaneo; Kawaokaohele; and Pi‘ilani.

The final mode peaks at AD 1800-1820 (most Hawaiian temples were abandoned in AD 1819). Taken as a whole, these dates seem to indicate a final island-wide period of temple construction/use during the early nineteenth century.

Ethnohistory from this period sits on very firm ground, consisting pf numerous eyewitness Hawaiian and European accounts.

This was a time of interisland warfare and conquest, when competition between the Maui and Hawai‘i island ruling chiefs grew especially intense. The chiefs Kekaulike and Kahekili II dedicated numerous Maui war temples during the course oi their internecine struggles.

The Maui chiefly line abruptly ended in AD 1795, when Kamehameha I, a conquering chief from Hawai‘i Island, absorbed Maui into his emerging kingdom.

This last mode coincides with a flurry of temple activities that included Kamehameha’s rededication of the Maui temples in AD 1800-18001 to his own war god. It also coincides with other archaeological data documenting the rise of the Hawaiian incipient state, such as settlement intensification, internecine warfare and temple sacrificial activity.

The general trend of temple construction followed four phases between – AD 1200 and 1800, phases that correlate with some general sociopolitical trends distilled from ethnohistory.

These include (1) the formation of district-sized polities and the rise of chiefly prerogatives, (2) the expansion of the chiefly hierarchy and a bifurcation of the island into eastern and western kingdoms, (3) island unification and a shift in land tenure and (4) interisland competition and eventual absorption into a larger incipient state.

An important shift in temple construction and use coincided with island unification and a shift in land tenure and occurred – AD
1452-1625. Overall, the temple system followed a cycle of construction and use characteristic of incipient state development, coinciding with distinct periods of political tension when it was important to encourage and control social allegiances.

This pattern has significance for the development of complex societies throughout the world, where the processes of political formation and ritualized ideology can be interwoven with architectonic and economic questions in discussions of historical or archaeological change. (All here is from Kolb.)

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Piilanihale_Heiau_in_Kahanu_Garden

aerial-view-of-piilanihale-heiau

21-Hāpaiali‘i_Heiau_and_Ke‘ekū_Heiau

22-Mākole‘ā_Heiau

Hikiau Heiau

Oahu-Kailua-Ulupoheiau-gardenview

Mailekini_Heiau-Puukohola_Heiau-(USGS)

Kahanu-Garden-Aerial

Hikiau-Heaiu

Heiau, probably Kukuionapeha, at the top of Koko Head Avenue, between Crater Road and what is now the Kaimuki Fire Station-(HSA)-PPWD-11-7-020

Ahuena_Heiau-Wikimedia_Commons

An illustration by William Ellis of the Morai (heiau) at Kealakekua-1782

Ahuena_heiau_1816

Periods of Heiau Construction-Kolb

May 26, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Luakini

“There were two rituals which the king in his eminent station used in the worship of the gods; one was the ritual of Ku, the other that of Lono. The Ku-ritual was very strict (oolea), the service most arduous (ikaika).”

“The priests of this rite were distinct from others and outranked them. They were called priests of the order of Ku, because Ku was the highest god whom the king worshipped in following their ritual.”

“They were also called priests of the order of Kanalu because that was the name of their first priestly ancestor. These two names were their titles of highest distinction.”

“The Lona-ritual was milder, the service more comfortable. Its priests were, however, of a separate order and of an inferior grade. They were said to be of the order of Lono (moo-Lono ), because Lono was the chief object of the king’s worship when he followed the ritual. The priests of this ritual were also said to be of the order of Paliku.”

“David Malo uses the terms mua and heiau almost as if they were interchangeable, and meant the same thing. The mua was the men’s eating house, tabu to women. The family idol, were probably kept there, and it seems as if some part of it was set apart as a shrine or heiau.” (Malo)

“The heiau at which fishermen worshipped their patron deity for good luck was of the kind called kuula; but as to the gods worshipped by fishermen, they were various and numerous, each one worshipping the god of his choice. The articles made tabu by one god were different from those made tabu by another god.” (Malo)

“Heiau ma‘o … was a temporary structure of small size for the use of the aliis only, any when its purpose was over, it was taken down. It was a slight structure covered with tapa cloth stained with ma‘o, of a reddish color.”

“The Ku-koa‘e was a temple for purification. The meaning of the word seems to have reference to a standing apart, by itself. For an anahulu, ten days, the king must not enter into any other heiau.”

“The mapele was a thatched heiau in which to ask the gods blessing on the crops. Human sacrifices were not made at this heiau; pigs only were used as offerings.”

“Any chief in rank below the king was at liberty to construct a mapele heiau, an mm 0 Lono, a kukoae, or an aka, but not a luakini. The right to build a luakini belonged to the king alone. The mapele, however, was the kind of heiau in which the chiefs and the king himself prayed most frequently.”

“The luakini was a war temple, heiau-wai-kaua, which the king, in his capacity as ruler over all, built when he was about to make war upon another independent monarch, or when he heard that some other king was about to make war against him; also when he wished to make the crops flourish he might build a luakini.”

“Luakini (was a) heiau of the highest class, a war-temple, in which human sacrifices were offered; named from a pit, lua, and kini, many; into which the mouldering remains were finally cast.” (Malo)

“It was a great undertaking for a king to build a heiau of the sort called a luakini to be accomplished only with fatigue and redness of the eyes from long and wearisome prayers and ceremonies on his part.”

The main features of a luakini, enclosed by walls or wooden fences, included the:

“Lananuumamao, or ‘anu‘u – a wooden framework obelisk that served as an oracle tower. It was usually more than twenty feet tall and contained three platforms.”

“The lowest symbolized the earth, the abode of humans, and was where offerings were placed; the middle was viewed as the space of birds and clouds and was where the high priest and his attendants conducted services …”

“… the highest platform symbolized the heavens – dwelling place of the gods – and could only be ascended by the high priest and the king. This was where the high priest received inspiration and acted as intermediary with the gods.”

“Lele — an offertorium, the altar on which offerings were left”

“Hale pahu — the drum house, enclosed except at the front”

“Hale mana — the largest, most sacred house on the heiau platform, used by the king and the officiating priest during kapu periods”

“Wai‘ea – a small house for incantations in which the ‘aha ceremony took place. Relaxing of the kapu proclaimed over the new heiau depended on obtaining an aha, a mat braided out of a rare seaweed found only in the deep ocean.”

“Coconut fiber was combined with the seaweed in braiding the ‘aha, which was used to decorate the shrine of Ku. If the seaweed was not found immediately, the search continued for months or years”

“Hale umu — the oven house for temple fires house at the entrance to the temple”

“Kipapa — a pavement of large stones for ceremonial use ‘ili’ili — a pavement of pebbles used as flooring”

“Haku ‘ōhi‘a — (Lord of the ‘ōhi‘a tree) the chief idol. Other temple images, up to twelve feet tall, were arranged in various ways within a heiau — some were in a fence configuration and others adorned the walls.” (Malo)

luakini-temple

January 6, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Morai

“A numerous train of natives followed us; and one of them, whom I had distinguished for his activity in keeping the rest in order, I made choice of as our guide.”

“This man, from time to time, proclaimed our approach; and every one whom we met fell prostrate upon the ground, and remained in that position till we had passed. This, as I afterward understood, is the mode of paying their respect to their own great chiefs.”

“However, there being another of the same kind within our reach, about half a mile off, upon our side of the valley, we set out to visit that.”

“… and we also soon found that the several parts that compose it, were called by the same names. It was an oblong space, of considerable extent, surrounded by a wall of stone, about four feet high.”

“The space inclosed was loosely paved with smaller stones ; and at one end of it stood what I call the pyramid, but, in the language of the island, is namea henananoo; which appeared evidently to be an exact model of the larger one, observed by us from the ships.”

“It was about four feet square at the base, and about twenty feet high. The four sides were composed of small poles interwoven with twigs and branches, thus forming an indifferent wickerwork, hollow or open within, from bottom to top.”

On each side of the pyramid were long pieces of wickerwork, called hereanee, in the same ruinous condition; with two slender poles, inclining to each other, at one corner, where some plantains were laid upon a board, fixed at the height of five or six feet. This they called herairemy ; and informed us that the fruit was an offering to their god”.

“Before the henananoo were a few pieces of wood, carved into something like human figures, which, with a stone near two feet high, covered with pieces of cloth called hoho, and consecrated to Tongarooa, who is the god of these people, still more and more reminded us of what we used to meet with in the morals of the islands we had lately left.”

“Adjoining to these, on the outside of the morai, was a small shed, no bigger than a dog-kennel, which they called hareepahoo; and before it was a grave, where, as we were told, the remains of a woman lay.”

“On the farther side of the area of the morai, stood a house or shed about forty feet long, ten broad in the middle, each end being narrower, and about ten feet high.”

“This, which though much longer, was lower than their common dwelling-places, we were informed, was called hemanaa. The entrance into it was at the middle of the side, which was in the morai.”

“On the farther side of this house, opposite the entrance, stood two wooden images cut out of one piece, with pedestals, in all about three feet high; neither very indifferently designed nor executed.”

“These were said to be Eatooa no Veheina, or representations of goddesses. On the head of one of them was a carved helmet, not unlike those worn by the ancient warriors; and on that of the other, a cylindrical cap, resembling the head-dress at Otaheite, called tomou; and both of them had pieces of cloth tied about the loins, and hanging a considerable way down.”

“At the side of each was also a piece of carved wood with bits of the cloth hung on them in the same manner; and between or before the pedestals lay a quantity of fern in a heap. It was obvious that this had been deposited there piece by piece, and at different times; for there was of it, in all states, from what was quite decayed to what was still fresh and green.”

“In the middle of the house, and before the two images, was an oblong space, inclosed by a low edging of stone, and covered with shreds of the cloth so often mentioned. This, on enquiry, we found was the grave of seven chiefs, whose names were enumerated, and the place was called Heneene.”

“We had met already with so many striking instances of resemblance between the burying-place we were now visiting and those of islands we had lately come from in the South Pacific, that we had little doubt in our minds that the resemblance existed also in the ceremonies practised here, and particularly in the horrid one of offering human sacrifices.”

“Our suspicions were too soon confirmed, by direct evidence. For, on coming out of the house, just on one side of the entrance, we saw a small square place, and another still less near it; and on asking what these were ? …”

“… our guide immediately informed us that in the one was buried a man who had been sacrificed; a Taata (Tanata or Tangata, in this country) taboo (tafoo, as here pronounced); and in the other a hog, which had also been made an offering to the divinity.”

“It was with most sincere concern, that I could trace on such undoubted evidence, the prevalence of these bloody rites throughout this immense ocean, amongst people disjoined by such a distance, and even ignorant of each other’s existence, though so strongly marked as originally of the same nation.”

“… the white kenananoo, or pyramid, of which we were now almost sure, derived its colour only from pieces of the consecrated cloth laid over it.”

“In several parts within the inclosure of this burying ground, were planted trees of the cordia sebestina (kou,) some of the morinda citrifolia (noni,) and several plants of the elee, or jejee of Tongataboo, with the leaves of which the hemanaa was thatched; and as I observed that this plant was not made use of in thatching their dwelling-houses, probably it is reserved entirely for religious purposes.”

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Heiau_at_Waimea_by_John_Webber-1778-79