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November 9, 2015 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Louis Henri Jean Charlot

Born in Paris, Louis Henri Jean Charlot was descended from “sundry exotic ancestors.” His father, Henri, was a French businessman, free-thinker and Bolshevik sympathizer born and reared in Russia. Anna, his mother, an artist and a devout Catholic, was the daughter of Louis Goupil, a native of Mexico City.

Goupil, of French and Mexican Indian stock, married Sarah Louise (Luisita) Melendez, a Jewish woman of Spanish descent and subsequently moved from Mexico to Paris in the late 1860s. (Thompson)

Charlot admiringly describes his maternal grandfather in his earlier years as “… a fine rider, a coleador who could hold a running bull by passing its tail between his knee and the saddle of his galloping horse”.

Also living in Paris was Jean Charlot’s great-uncle, Eugène Goupil, a collector of Mexican works of art. Jean, who began to draw around age two, grew up surrounded by pre-Hispanic antiquities. (Thompson)

In his teens, Charlot had become one of a Catholic group that called itself Gilde Notre-Dame (“Parisian adolescents (who) used to gather in a crypt”) made up of sculptors, stained glass makers, embroiderers and decorators.

The resumption after the war of what Charlot calls his “career as a French liturgical artist” was cut short by the cancellation of the commission for the church mural just after he had completed the scale drawings.

This “first heartbreak at the realization that a born mural painter is helpless without a wall ….” was one of the factors that precipitated a journey to Mexico in 1920. “On this first trip to Mexico I did nothing at all. I was stuck aesthetically in 18th century France.” (Thompson)

“My life in France was on the whole rational, national, obeying this often heard dictum that a Frenchman is a man who ignores geography. There were though, simultaneously, un-French elements at work. Russian, sephardim, Aztec ancestors, warmed my blood to adventure.” (Charlot; Thompson)

After this Mexican trip, in 1928, Charlot and his mother moved to New York where he rented a small apartment on the top floor of 42 Union Square from the artist Morris Kantor. The apartment was unheated, which probably contributed to the death of his mother from pneumonia in January, 1929.

On a brief trip to Mexico in 1931, Charlot met his future wife, Dorothy Zohmah Day. During a visit to Zohmah in Los Angeles in 1933, Charlot met the printer Lynton R Kistler and produced Picture Book, “a repertory of motifs I had used up to then.” Returning to New York, teaching and lecturing occupied much of Charlot’s time.

In May 1939, Jean Charlot and Zohmah Day were married in San Francisco. “It was a long courtship,” commented Charlot. “Eight years. We were always in different places”.

The years from 1941-44 were spent as artist-in-residence at the University of Georgia, Athens, and instructor in art history at the University of California, Berkeley and artist-in-residence at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. (Thompson)

Then he had a chance to come to Hawaiʻi – and he stayed. An invitation to create a fresco at the University of Hawai’i, Manoa, brought Charlot to Honolulu in 1949 where he painted Relation of Man and Nature in Old Hawai’i at Bachman Hall.

He accepted a position as professor of art at the University, and Hawai’i became the Charlot family’s permanent home. Attracted to the culture of the native Hawaiian, just as he had been interested in the folk aspects of the residents of rural France and the indigenous peoples of Mexico, he studied Hawaiian history, customs and religion, and learned the Hawaiian language.

From 1949 to 1979 Charlot created almost six hundred easel paintings, several hundred prints, and thirty-six works of art in public places in fresco, ceramic tile and sculpture. He taught summer sessions at several schools, among them San Diego State College (1950), Arizona State University (1951) and the University of Notre Dame (1955 and 1956). In 1950 he was made faculty advisor to the Newman Club, the Catholic student organization of the University of Hawai’i. (Thompson)

Charlot retired from the University of Hawai’i as Senior Professor Emeritus in 1966. Two years later, he traveled to France for the first time since 1921 and, at Malzéville and Paris, created a series of lithographs.

In 1968 the Jean Charlot Foundation was established in Honolulu to collect source materials relating to the life, work, art, philosophy, and values of Jean Charlot and promote publication of Charlot material – and, the “development of interest in the arts, encouragement of artists, and study of art.” (Thompson)

There are very few artists of Jean Charlot’s caliber in Hawaiʻi or the world. From 1958 until his death, Jean Charlot lived in Hawaiʻi in his ‘dream house’ on Wai’alae Country Club. Here, he conducted most of his work in this house and more particularly in his 2nd floor studio.

This was the final period of Charlot’s life, when he reached the peak of his artistic powers and was able to synthesize the esthetics of Europe, Mexico and Pacific Islands, the places he lived and influenced his art. His career spanned these places.

He was an early participant in the revival of liturgical art in France. He was a pioneer of the Mexican Mural Renaissance. He also worked as an archaeologist, moving to Washington D.C. to complete the publication of the report of the Carnegie Institution’s Chichen Itza expedition.

He completed numerous monumental art works in Hawaiʻi, Fiji and elsewhere. His artwork in public places number 74 in his lifetime, over 30 planned in the house, including the large ceramic tile mural on the School Street facade of the United Public Workers Building in Honolulu.

Jean Charlot was primarily a muralist and was also a prolific writer, producing numerous scholarly books and articles along with poetry and drama. He also illustrated over 50 books. Many works and scholarly resources are now housed in the Jean Charlot Collection of the Hamilton Library, University of Hawaiʻi. (NPS)

Among the honors bestowed on Charlot was the election by the Royal Society of Art, London, as a Benjamin Franklin Fellow in 1972. In 1976, the Hawai’i State Legislature presented Charlot with the Order of Distinction for Cultural Leadership. As well as being recognized as a ‘Living Treasure’ by Honpa Hongwanji Mission.

In 1974, Charlot was diagnosed as having cancer of the prostate. Radiation treatments and chemotherapy would keep the disease under control for the next four years. Confined to a wheelchair during the last months of his life, Charlot remained active as an artist and a scholar until his death on March 20, 1979. (Thompson)

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Hawaiian Drummers-Jean Charlot-JCF

Photograph of artist, Jean Charlot (right), and assistants painting mural-Charlot Collection-UH Library

The artist, Jean Charlot standing in front of mural-Hawaiian drummers-Charlot Collection-UH Library

Commencement-Charlot-UH

The Chief’s Canoe-Charlot

Seal of the National University (now UNAM) at the San Ildefonso College-Mexico City-Jean Charlot-WC

Relation of man and nature in old Hawaii-Charlot Collection-UH_Library

Mural ‘Eagle and snake of the Mexican national emblem’ by Jean Charlot-WC

Massare in the Great Temple or The Conquest of Tenochtitlan-Jean Charlot-WC

Koke Kumulipo (The Drummer)-Charlot-HnlAdv

Impressing the cartoon unto the wall-Charlot Collection-UH Library

Hawaiian Swimmer-Charlot

‘Hala_Grove,_Kahuwai,_Hawaii’,_serigraph_by_-Jean_Charlot-WC

JeanCharlot

Putting up the cartoon-Charlot Collection-UH Library

Jean_Charlot_Residence-Kimberly_Jackson

November 5, 2015 by Peter T Young 3 Comments

Malia Puka O Kalani

The ahupua‘a of Waiakea, South Hilo, is large, about 95,000 acres. It extends from the coast to approximately the 6,000-foot elevation on the windward slope of Mauna Loa.

Waiakea was held by Kamehameha. When he died in 1819, his son Liholiho received the lands. The property was affirmed as Crown Land during the Mahele.

Kuleana properties generally refer to cultivated fields with house lots, indicating habitation and agricultural production within the same zone; at Waiakea, kuleana were generally within the coastal zone.

After contact, the coastal area continued to contain the vast majority of the population. Houses and stores were concentrated in the northern half of Hilo Bay, somewhat removed from Waiakea, because at the time the main pier for Hilo was at the mouth of the Wailuku River. (Cultural Surveys)

Keaukaha is along the central coastline of the Waiakea ahupuaʻa; it was included in lands designated to the Hawaiian Homes Commission.

The Hawaiian Homes Commission act was approved by President Harding on July 9, 1921. In the first five years, over 60 homes were established in the ‘Kuhio Settlement’ of the Hawaiian Homes lands at Keaukaha, in the vicinity of Hilo.

The 1929 Report of the Commission notes, “Kuhio Settlement, in the subdivision of Keaukaha near the town of Hilo, Island of Hawaii, has proven to be an unqualified success.”

“One-acre lots have been given to Hawaiians who work for wages in the City of Hilo or in adjacent industries.” By 1930, more than 200-house lots had been assigned. (Pukui)

Among the ‘reserved lots for public purposes’ within the Keaukaha lands was a 1-acre lot (lot #127) for a Catholic Church Site. (Report of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, 1929)

This church became Malia Puka O Kalani (St Mary, Gate of Heaven,) one of only two parishes in the Diocese of Honolulu located on Hawaiian Home Lands.

The Mission Statement of the church: “Malia Puka O Kalani is a Roman Catholic parish on Hawaiian Home Lands in Keaukaha, Hawaiʻi dedicated to building a church community filled with the Holy Spirit, guided by God’s Word and enriched by the Hawaiian culture.”

In 1934, the parish, under the care of the Sacred Hearts Fathers, built a large hall on the property. This was used as a place of worship as well as a community center. In 1940 the existing church which seats 120 people was constructed.

In 1954, the Maryknoll Fathers assigned the first resident pastor to the parish. Today, the parish is under the care of the Diocese of Honolulu as the ministry on the Hawaiian Homelands continues.

In a 2011 church pastoral plan, parishioners note, “As a parish, we are committed to maintaining our Hawaiian culture within the framework of the Roman Catholic Church.”

“We intend to continue our traditions of lay involvement in liturgy and of volunteerism within and beyond the parish. Parishioners and visitors alike are drawn to our vibrant community and to the spirit existing in the faith expression of our Hawaiian traditions.”

DHHL records note the St. Mary, Gate of Heaven (Malia Puka O Kalani) Catholic Church is operating under a license from the Commission (1999-2028.)

About 35-years ago, Malia Puka O Kalani Catholic Church started a small Advent workshop known as the Big Island Liturgy and Arts Conference. It grew.

It is recognized as “One of the remarkable accomplishments of Malia …. This conference has attracted many of today’s brightest and best known composers and artists”. (GIA Music for the Church)

It has grown to attract some of the biggest names in liturgical music and many noteworthy keynote speakers. The Marianists in Honolulu began hosting the event in 2003.

The program is now known as Marianist BILAC; all the conference events now take place on the campus of Chaminade University and Saint Louis School in Kaimuki. (This year’s theme is ‘The Spirit of Malia – 40 Years of BILAC;’ it starts November 5, 2015.) (Lots of information here is from Malia Puka O Kalani.)

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November 4, 2015 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Early Days at Kamehameha Schools

October 3, 1887 Kamehameha Schools for Boys opens for students and holds classes. By October 12, 37 boys over the age of twelve are enrolled; there were 4 teachers. On November 4 1887, opening day ceremonies take place with much pomp and circumstance.

A year later the Preparatory Department, for boys 6 to 12 years of age, opened in adjacent facilities. In 1894 the Kamehameha School for Girls opened on its own campus nearby.

At the first Founder’s Day ceremony in December, 1889, Charles Reed Bishop, Pauahi’s husband and a member of Kamehameha’s first Board of Trustees, elaborated on her intentions.

“Bernice Pauahi Bishop, by founding the Kamehameha Schools, intended to establish institutions which should be of lasting benefit to her country…The founder of these schools was a true Hawaiian. She knew the advantages of education and well directed industry. Industrious and skillful herself, she respected those qualities in others.” (KSBE)

“The hope that there would come a turning point, when, through enlightenment, the adoption of regular habits and Christian ways of living, the natives would not only hold their numbers, but would increase again.”

“And so, in order that her own people might have the opportunity for fitting themselves for such competition, and be able to hold their own in a manly and friendly way, without asking any favors which they were not likely to receive, these schools were provided for, in which Hawaiians have the preference, and which she hoped they would value and take the advantages of as fully as possible.” (KSBE)

Uldrick Thompson, Sr was a teacher at Kamehameha School for Boys (1889-1898 and 1901-1922) and served as the school principal (1898-1901.) Here are excerpts of his explanation of the early days at Kamehameha Schools.

“You who come to Kamehameha and find it as it now is, cannot conceive the degree of barrenness that greeted us that day. No rain for two years! Not a blade of green grass or even a weed in sight!”

“The few algaroba trees scattered about were not taller than a man, and seemed as stunted and discouraged as the mesquite of Arizona. And rocks, rocks, rocks everywhere, with cracks in the clay between large enough to put your foot in.”

“Only two reasons were never given me for selecting such a site for these schools. The fact that this site was a part of the Bishop Estate was one reason. And the fact that Mr SM Damon, one of the original Trustees, had already begun to develop his beautiful Moanalua Estate and wanted the schools here to prevent the Orientals from spreading out in that direction is another reason.”

“The campus provided two companies in Honolulu with thousands of loads of rock for ballast. Several boys paid for their school expenses by breaking rocks, but this was considered unpopular ‘Portuguese’ work. In 1889, the only area cleared of rocks was the baseball diamond.”

“The roads were made of coral rock and so were trying to the eyes. This coral rock ground up easily and when rain came the mud of the roads mingled with the campus mud and the floors of the dormitories and dining hall were coated with the combination. At times hoes were needed in cleaning the floors because brooms were useless.”

The principal William B Oleson organized the military system at the school in 1888. Officers were appointed by Oleson and were responsible for discipline and marching to and from town. Oleson was in charge of drills, but teachers joined in the marches to church or other meetings. In September 1899, the boys wore their uniforms to class and drills.

“One and one half hours work, before breakfast was required of every boy, from the first day of organization. The rising bell sounded at 5:30 am; the Morning Work began at 5:45 and continued till 7 o’clock. Then breakfast.”

“This work consisted of care of the buildings, grounds; helping about the kitchen and dining room; cutting wood for the school fires and for the teachers; and in clearing the Campus of rocks and weeds. Mr Oleson was out nearly every morning, supervising the work of the boys.”

“But so many colds developed, attributed to exposure to rain and to severe exercise without food, that early in 1898, each boy was given a cup of coffee and a piece of pilot bread before beginning work. And in October 1899, breakfast was served before the boys went to their morning work.”

“Up to October, 1895, each boy was assigned to some definite work when he entered school; and he continued that special work during the whole of that year. Possibly, longer.”

“For example, a boy was assigned to ringing the bell for each change of class or of work; meals etc. and he did nothing else. He learned that one thing; and he learned nothing else. It was astonishing how quickly one of those giants could ring a ten-pound bell to pieces.”

“But early in the fall term of 1895, a system was worked out by which every boy was scheduled for the year; and changed his work at the beginning of the month…this system went into effect and has continued, with modifications”.

There was a great need for trained, skilled local labor, and businessmen anticipated that Kamehameha Schools would provide the training for young Hawaiians in the trade and service industries.

“They believed also that a good percent would prove capable of filling positions of responsibility. These men were sincerely interested in the Hawaiian youth; and they promptly showed this interest by sending boys here and paying all expenses.”

“But the results were not always just what the patrons hoped for. Too many of the boys, feeling that their expenses were paid; and feeling sure of three meals a day, did not seem to care a cent whether school kept or not.”

“One of the experiments (then-principal) Richards worked out was to give the boys a chance to pay their own way at Kamehameha, rather than be dependent upon others.”

“Acting upon Mr Richards’ suggestion, our Trustees on June 15th, 1894, authorized twenty-five Work Scholarships. The plan was to select twenty-five reliable boys; pay each ten cents an hour for his work; and have them do only such work as would otherwise be done by outside labor and paid for by the Estate. In short each boy was to earn that money for the Estate.”

“Getting the boys to realize that self-support as better for each boy than depending upon either their parents or patrons, was not managed in one day. But Mr Richards succeeded in getting the twenty-five boys to try the experiment.”

“One plan was to have the Work Scholarship boys produce all the taro the Schools needed and to this end several taro fields up Kalihi were turned over to the Schools by the Estate. Another plan was to have the Work Scholarship boys produce all the milk the Schools needed and to this end several cows were bought, sorghum was planted and a dairy started.”

“Mr Oleson was both orthodox and practical in religious matters. He believed the Bible implicitly and there was no compromise in his nature; but his sermons and talks for our boys were quite as much about every-day affairs as about a future state.”

“We had devotional exercises every morning at 8:30; and every evening before study began. There was a prayer meeting every Wednesday evening; and every Sunday afternoon. The boys usually marched down to Kaumakapili every Sunday morning for Sunday School and remained to church service.”

(Reminiscences of Old Hawaii with Account of Early Life by Uldrick Thompson, Sr (1941) and Reminiscences of the Kamehameha Schools (1922,) provide information about his experiences in Hawaiʻi and at the Kamehameha School for Boys. Information here comes from those (KSBE.))

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$V2_3A {KSB dormitories-rocky field-Punchbowl in the background]-(KSBE)$

V2_3A {KSB dormitories-rocky field-Punchbowl in the background]-(KSBE)

Campus of the three historical schools-(KSBE)-1932

V4_4-C [KSB Band and Cadets in front of Bishop Museum]-(KSBE)

Early Teachers at Kamehameha Schools

Kamehameha School for Boys campus-(KSBE)-before 1900

Bishop Memorial Chapel Old Kamehameha Schools Campus-(KSBE)

Bishop Memorial Chapel-(KSBE)-1897

BPBishopMuseum-BishopHall-(WC)

v2_7B [Dormitory Row]-(KSBE)

First Graduating Class of the Kamehameha School for Boys-(KSBE)-1891

Kamehameha_School_for_Boys_Print_Shop,-(WC)_1897

V2_6A[Dormitory Row-(KSBE)-c1890]

School_for_Boys-L_to_R- Dormitory A, Dormitory B, the Dining-Kitchen-Classroom Building, Dormitory C-(KSBE)

Kamehameha_School_for_Girls-(KSBE)

Kamehameha_School_for_Girls_sewing_class,-(WC)_late_1890s

First Graduating Class of the Kamehameha School for Girls-(KSBE)-1897

Girls_Uniform-1920s

Preparatory_Department-(KSBE)-1888

Preparatory_Department-students_and_teacher-(KSBE)-1888

Honolulu_Harbor-Diamond_Head-Monsarrat-Reg1910-(1897)-portion-noting_Kamehameha_Schools

November 2, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Palaʻau

Palaʻau is Molokai’s only state park; DLNR has a license to use the land as a park from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

In 1921, when the Hawaiian Homes Act of 1920 went into effect, title to the approximate 230-acres of Palaʻau 3 (Palaʻau) was transferred to the Hawaiian Homes Commission (the actual transfer and DHHL use happened in 1923, after fences were finished.)

The area had been part of lands previously used as cattle pasture, first by Kamehameha V Lot Kapuāiwa, then by Molokai Ranch (formed in 1897.) The area was leased by Molokai Ranch until it expired in 1918.

Then, on July 19, 1928, the Hawaiian Homes Commission passed a motion to dedicate Palaʻau 3 for the purpose of reforestation by the Board of Agriculture and Forestry. (A 1928 Attorney General opinion noted the lands must first be returned to control of the Commissioner of Public Lands before it could be set aside as a forest reserve.)

The next year, the Hawaiian Homes Commission officially returned Palaʻau 3 to the Commissioner of Public Lands of the Territory of Hawai’i, to again be managed as part of the Moloka’i Forest Reserve. (At the time, the lands were not being leased to native Hawaiians as authorized under the provisions of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.)

On March 25, 1930, by proclamation of the Governor of the Territory of Hawai’i, Palaʻau was added to the Molokai Forest Reserve.

Between 1931 and 1933, Palaʻau was fenced off and the Board of Commissioners began reforestation of the land with trees as follows: about 3,500 in 1931, 8,400 in 1932 and over 5,100 in 1933.

In 1936, a nursery was started as part of the Emergency Conservation Work project, or the Civilian Conservation Corps and trees were grown for outplanting at Palaʻau. Within the next 5-year nearly 200,000 additional trees were planted.

The government and DHHL recognized “forest growth is a well-recognized aid to the protection and conservation of water which is one of the prime necessities in the case of persons who will secure leases of Hawaiian home lands.” (Letter of Territorial Forester to Board of Commissioners of Agriculture and Forestry, May 18, 1936)

Besides its watershed benefits, folks also saw the benefit of using the property for park purposes, as well as a lookout over Kalaupapa. On June 29, 1955, Palaʻau was established as Palaʻau Park under the Territorial Parks system.

In addition to a small campground and passive recreation area, one of the primary purposes of the Palaʻau Park is the Kalaupapa overlook. (Nearby Parking and a short walk take people to the north shore cliffs and overlook of the peninsula.)

In addition there are several cultural features within the site, primarily the Nanahoa complex. These four sites include two phallic stones.

The six foot high male stone is called ‘Kauleonanahoa’ (the penis of Nanahoa – ‘one of the finest examples of phallic stones found throughout the Hawaiian Islands.’)

“The rock was believed to make barren women fertile and as a precaution newly-wedded women would sit on it one night.”

The female stone has several names, including Kawahuna,’ ‘Nawaʻakaluli’ and ‘Waihuʻehuʻe’ (‘it appears to be in its natural state with a large groove down the center.’)

The more than 24-petroglyphs are located on four boulders and consists of human stick figures and a series of grooves located near the base of the rocks which may have been used to sharpen the tools employed to carve the petroglyphs. A holua slide has been destroyed since it was reported in 1909.

In 1984, Palaʻau Park was returned, together with various other parcels, to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; however, the State entered into a license agreement with DHHL for the continued use of the public park, campground and lookout.

The Kalaupapa overlook in Palaʻau State Park is a major visitor attraction. The lookout is located at the northern end of the main road. Access to the lookout is via a footpath from the paved parking lot. A series of informational exhibit panels provide a history of the Kalaupapa Peninsula and Hansen’s disease.

Ke Aupuni Lokahi Inc has been working with the state and National Park on their Ala Palaʻau project to restore native forest habitat and rare species in the area, improve views of Kalaupapa peninsula and the cliffs of the northern coast of Molokai, and provide interpretation and education of these unique natural and cultural resources.

The vision of the project is to provide a place-based learning experience where local schools, community members, and interested visitors can come to learn about Molokai’s rich biological and cultural heritage.

It is intended as a hands-on educational experience that encourages pride in Palaʻau State Park’s resources and highlights the importance of preserving Molokai’s native species and ecosystems while teaching about the role they play in Hawaiian culture. (Lots of information here is from McGregor.)

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Palaau-State-Park

Palaau State-Park

Walkway to Kalaupapa lookout

Palaau State Park

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Palaau State Park-Kalaupapa

Kalaupapa Lookout-Interpretive Signs

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Palaau_State Park

Kauleonanahoa or Phallic Rock at Pala’au State Park; Molokai

Kawahuna-by_MolokaiPhotography

Kawahuna

Palaau and Kalaupapa-GoogelEarth

October 30, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Halekiʻi and Pihana Heiau

The Wailuku area was a major gathering place and royal center of the Maui high chiefs and those of rank. The area from Waiheʻe to Wailuku was the largest continuous area of wet taro cultivation in the Hawaiian Islands.

Royal Centers were where the aliʻi resided; aliʻi often moved between several residences throughout the year. The Royal Centers were selected for their abundance of resources and recreation opportunities.

To the southeast of ʻIao Stream, below Pihana Heiau, was Kauahea where warriors lived and were trained in war skills. This was a boxing site in the time of Kahekili. (Naone)

The Wailuku spring was located below Pihana Heiau and the taro grown in this area was for the use of the aliʻi (nobility class) only. Much of the evidence for this agricultural system was destroyed by the 1916 flood and by historic cultivation for sugarcane and pineapple.
When Kekaulike, father of Kahekili and Kamehameha Nui, heard that Alapaʻi (the ruling chief of Hawaiʻi) was at Kohala on his way to war against Maui, he was afraid and fled to Wailuku in his double war canoe.

Others with him went by canoe and some overland; the chiefs prepared a litter for Kekaulike and bore him upland to Halekiʻi. There, in March 1736, Kekaulike died.

Fearing the arrival of Alapaʻi, bent on war, the chiefs cut the flesh from the bones of Kekaulike in order to lighten the load in carrying the body to ʻIao for burial. (Kamakau)

The body of Kamehameha Nui (an uncle of Kamehameha I,) who ruled Maui before his brother Kahekili succeeded him, was laid here before being taken to a final resting place on Molokai. Kahekili himself lived here at times (ca. 1765.)

It was at Pihana, in about 1778 or 1780, that Keōpūolani was born (daughter to Kiwalaʻo and Keku‘iapoiwa Liliha.) After Kamehameha defeated Kekaulike’s grandson, Kalanikupule, at ʻIao in 1790, he followed Keōpūolani and her grandmother, Kalola, to Molokai – later taking her as a wife.

In 1797, she gave birth to a son, Liholiho (later known as Kamehameha II,) was born in Hilo; Kauikeaouli, her second son (later Kamehameha III,) was born in Keauhou, North Kona.

Liholiho, after he had been established as heir to Kamehameha’s kingdom, recited the prayer rededicating Pihana Heiau to the gods of his father.

Halekiʻi and Pihana Heiau are the most accessible of the remaining pre-contact Hawaiian structures of religious and historical importance in the Wailuku-Kahului area.

Located about ¼-mile inland along the west side of ‘Iao Stream, they overlook ‘Iao Stream, Kahului Bay and the Wailuku Plain.

Traditional history credits the menehune with the construction of both heiau in a single night, using rock from Paukukalo Beach.

Other accounts credit Kihapiʻilani with building Halekiʻi, and Kiʻihewa with building Pihana during the time of Kakaʻe, the aliʻi of West Maui. Some say that they were built under the rule of Kahekili.

Halekiʻi or ‘house of images’ is thought to be a chiefly compound with thatched hale (houses) built atop the stone platform of the heiau and guarded by the kiʻi (images) placed on the terraces around the sides of the platform.

Pihana was the major heiau of the Wailuku area, historical references suggest, and it is reported to be a luakini, where human sacrifices were offered.

The full name of Pihana is Pihanakalani or ‘gathering place of the aliʻi.’ Others have recorded the name of the heiau as Piʻihana. (Naone)

The two heiau are constructed of stacked waterworn basalt boulders collected from ʻIao Stream. The sides of the heiau were stepped or terraced and an ili-ili (waterworn basalt pebbles) paved platform existed on the top of the heiau.

Constructed upon the terrace and platform surfaces were a number of features, including depressions, pits, walls, and small enclosures. Kenneth Emory of Bishop Museum was in charge of the reconstruction of portions of Halekiʻi in 1959.

The heiau were important for the ritual ceremonies prior to the battles that eventually resulted in the uniting of Maui with the other Hawaiian Islands under Kamehameha I

The site is also important for its association with Kahekili, a major figure in Maui’s history who is connected with Halekiʻi-Pihana from circa 1765-1790, and with Kamehameha I during his conquering of Maui (1792.) (Lots of information here is from NPS and Naone.)

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