Peter T Young

May 30, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Early Inter-Island Ferry

All of the following is from a Supplement of the Report of the Minister of Foreign Relations; it is dated as having been given to the Kingdom Legislature in 1856.

“Besides, political reasons, for a mission to foreign parts which may arise, there are others intimately connected with our internal prosperity, for instance …”

“… we may have to contract a foreign loan to carry out the large improvements of the Harbor and Reefs which we have undertaken and we may have to introduce into the King’s waters one or two paddle-wheel Steam-boats or Steam-propellers, on government account.”

“The relative position of our islands to each other and to the prevailing winds, renders inter-island steam navigation an indispensable element of our progress. We cannot otherwise develope our rich internal resources and trade. Upon this subject, the following are the opinions expressed by me, in note No. 58, published in the Friend of 4th September, 1844:”

“As soon as the traffic of the islands in goods and passengers can support the expense, an iron steam-boat — of say 300 tons — with a light draught of water, would be a great improvement. I am not sure, that if well and economically managed, it would not pay, at the present moment.”

“It would do away with two or three small vessels, at present kept for the use of the King and government. The transportation of goods, produce, cattle and passengers, from one island to another, must amount to a very considerable sum in the course of
the year.”

“The certainty and quickness of a steamer would increase the transportation — a visit to the great volcano of Kilauea in Hawaii
— and a tour amongst the islands would become more fashionable than at present …”

“… the prices of produce and labor would become equalized — the knowledge of every local improvement would become extended — and the efficiency of the government would be greatly increased by the more prompt propagation of the laws, and transmission of its orders.”

“Coals could be easily had from New Castle, New South Whales.”

“Vessels from thence, of which we have had five since February, would bring them in ballast, and carry away their value in the salt, sugar, or molasses produced on the islands.”

“In cruising among the islands, a steamer would make many trips as a sailing-vessel, with the trade-wind, which blows here strongly, and the consumption of coal would be further economized by frequent stoppages at the different ports.”

“A steamer, therefore, would not cost so much by the year, as might, at first sight, be apprehended; and I believe the earnings
would exceed the expectations of those who are unaccustomed to the effect of steam-boats and rail-roads in increasing, and even creating traffic.”

“The nearly twelve years that I have resided on the islands, since i emitted these opinions, have only confirmed them in the main. I prefer an iron boat as being proof against the worm, and from its superior cheapness and durability, if the bottom can be kept clean ; and I think that a Propeller would be more handy, and answer better than a Paddle-wheel boat.”

“We might commence with one Propellor of 500 tons, and corresponding horse-power, but it is my belief that the wants of the
islands, windward and leeward, will require two boats of such dimensions and power.”

“The boats ought to be built in perfect adaptation to our seas, harbors, roads and bays. We can only obtain such in the United States or Europe, and by having them built to order, according to clear specifications by some firm of well-established character.”

“Even supposing that we should have to borrow the money to pay for them, the benefit that they will do for the islands, yearly, will far exceed the amount of the interest, and in a few years the boats would pay their own cost.”

“Besides procuring a suitable steamboat, and other things conducive to our prosperity, many other advantages might arise from a foreign mission.”

“It is not my habit to regulate my expenditure, by the amounts appropriated, but to save all that I can. The Legislature may, therefore, rest assured that although they vote the $10,000, it will not be called for unless it can be applied to useful purposes.”

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Akamai_(steamer),_c._1853

Edward_T._Perkins-_Honolulu-_1854

View_of_Honolulu_Harbor_and_Punchbowl_Crater._(c._1854)

May 29, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Maka‘āinana and Christianity

“Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15)

The Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) in giving instructions to the pioneers of 1819 said:

“Your mission is a mission of mercy, and your work is to be wholly a labor of love. … Your views are not to be limited to a low, narrow scale, but you are to open your hearts wide, and set your marks high.”

“You are to aim at nothing short of covering these islands with fruitful fields, and pleasant dwellings and schools and churches, and of Christian civilization.” (The Friend)

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries from the northeast US set sail on the Thaddeus for the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawai‘i.) They landed at Kailua-Kona on April 4, 1820.

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863 – the “Missionary Period”,) about 184-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the ABCFM in the Hawaiian Islands.

One of the earliest efforts of the missionaries was the identification and selection of important communities (generally near ports and aliʻi residences) as “stations” for the regional church and school centers across the Hawaiian Islands.

By 1850, eighteen mission stations had been established; six on Hawaiʻi, four on Maui, four on Oʻahu, three on Kauai and one on Molokai. Meeting houses were constructed at the stations, as well as throughout the district.

Within five years of the missionaries’ arrival, a dozen chiefs had sought Christian baptism and church membership, including the king’s regent Kaʻahumanu. The Hawaiian people followed their native leaders, accepting the missionaries as their new priestly class. (Schulz)

“The missionaries at all the stations (were) seeing many thousands of the people ready to hear and inquire”. “With thousands the missionaries held personal conversation, endeavoring to know their thoughts and their state, and to lead them to Christ or to confirm them in faith and hope.”

“Examining great numbers, and selecting such as appeared to be born of God, they propounded them for admission to the church, and after some probation, usually two or three months, baptized those who in the judgment of charity were the true disciples of Christ.” (H Bingham)

“The showers of blessings which have been refreshing the garden of the Lord in these islands of the sea, have not been withheld from our field. I have never before witnessed among the people so earnest an attention to the means of grace and so deep concern for the salvation of the sou.” (Alexander, Waioli, Kauai)

“Some of the congregations were immense. That at ‘Ewa was about four thousand in number. Honolulu had two congregations, one of two thousand five hundred, the other between three thousand and four thousand.” (R Anderson)

“Our congregation has increased to about four times its former number. About one thousand was the former number of regular hearers. We have now, perhaps, four thousand on the Sabbath morning, but not that full amount in the evening service.”

“We have laid aside the use of our chapel, and built a large lanai, or shelter, where we meet in fair weather which is with us the greater part of the year.” (A Bishop, O‘ahu)

“Several of the native brethren were sent out to the outstations to converse with the people and they were astonished to find that the Lord had preceded them and had inclined the hearts of many to attend to His word.”

“From the commencement the people seemed prepared to believe the word and every successive sermon seemed to increase the fears of sinners and to make them the more earnest in inquiring for salvation.”

“No means but the naked sword of the spirit were resorted to on this occasion and yet there seemed to be scarcely an unconverted sinner in the assembly, which averaged during the meeting between four and five hundred. Never did I witness a more fixed and anxious attention to the word of God.” (H Hitchcock, Kaluaʻaha, Molokai)

“The interest we had observed among the people previous to the meeting now became more general, and the cases of decided conviction or awakening began to multiply. Indeed the little cloud had already spread till it seemed to rest over the whole population. There seemed to be an awe over the whole.”

“Our congregations had increased in size before the protracted meeting. The house was almost always crowded to excess. Probably two thousand were generally present, while many went away who could not gain admittance. and more deep solemnity, stillness, and fixed attention could never be found in any part of the world. All classes crowded to the place of worship.” (D Baldwin, Lāhainā, Maui)

“My public labors during the past year have been more abundant than they have any previous year of my missionary life. From last January till May first I attended more than twelve meetings a week, besides almost constant conversation with individuals in private.”

“Indeed, many days, I have been so pressed from daylight in the morning till late at night as scarcely to allow me time to eat, or spend half an hour with my family.” (R Armstrong, Wailuku, Maui)

“Thousands on thousands thronged the courts of the Lord. All eastern and southern Hawaii was like a sea in motion. Waimea, Hāmākua, Kohala, Kona, and the other islands of the group, were moved.” (T Coan, Hawai‘i Island)

“Sabbath was a glorious day here. I baptized and received seventeen hundred and five to this church. Yesterday I spent the afternoon in baptizing the children of the church, several hundreds in number. Sinners are coming in from Kau and all parts of Hilo and Puna, and hardened rebels are constantly breaking down.” (T Coan, Hawai‘i Island)

When Kamehameha III began his rule, Kalanimōku wrote a letter to Evarts of the ABCFM. Kalanimōku states, “Love to you for sending over the missionaries and the word of God to us so that we know the good word of God. We observe the good word of God and we want the good word of God, Jehovah, our great lord in heaven. It is he who fashioned us well.”

“We all want the word of God and all the chiefs desire the good word of God. We have seen the righteous word at this time. We are repenting for our past faults. … That previous, ancient heart is ended, along with that former king of ours. … We regard the good word of our great God.” (Kalanimōku to Evarts, April 10, 1826; Ali‘i Letters Collection, Mission Houses)

“From the beginning, the Hawaiian churches were taught the duty and the pleasure of giving to the needy. All the missionaries inculcated this doctrine, so that it became one of the essential fruits of their faith.”

“The native ministers now outnumber us more than five to one, and when we meet in our evangelical associations they know, of course, their numerical power, and it requires great wisdom on the part of the foreign members to secure that influence which is necessary to good order and to harmonious action.”

“Our Hawaiian churches are not called Episcopal, Presbyterian, or Congregational, or by any other name than that of the Great Head, the Shepherd and Bishop of souls. We call them Christian churches.” (Coan)

Related to that, here is an audio of Puakea Nogelmeier’s presentation at Mission Houses related to the translation project he worked on associated with letters from the ali‘i to missionaries. In it he noted many believe the missionaries “just kind of came in and took over. They got off the boat and said ‘stop dancing,’ ‘put on clothes,’ don’t sleep around.’” … “And it’s so not the case ….”

https://youtu.be/TseC3SClrNE

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Hiram Bingham I preaching to Queen at Waimea, Kauai, in 1826

A_Missionary_Preaching_to_Hawaiians_on_the_lava_at_Kokukano,_Hawaii,_sketch_by_William_Ellis-1822-24

Missionaries_preaching_under_kukui_groves,_1841

A_Missionary_Preaching_to_the_Natives,_under_a_Skreen_of_platted_Cocoa-nut_leaves_at_Kairua_by_William_Ellis-1823

Mission Stations – MissionHouses-Map

May 28, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Edmund R Butler

Edmund R Butler “arrived at these Islands in the year 1813 from Boston Mass. Shortly afterwards Kamehameha 1st granted him a farm called Kawaiiki, near Honolulu, O‘ahu, in the district of Kapalama.”

“Afterwards in the year 1817, Kamehameha 1st further granted (Butler) a district of land on the Island of Maui, situated between the village of Lahaina and Lahainaluna called Pū‘ou.”

“(He has) continuously occupied these lands until this time, except some portion of the second named land at Lahaina, which was taken from him by the Donor, and conferred upon the seminary at Lahainaluna.”

“The first mentioned land called Kawaiiki, was again assured to the Claimant by his present Majesty (King Kamehameha III) in the year 1831.” (LCA-32 Testimony)

To help tell his story, the following are snippets of the diversity of Butler’s involvement and interests and his time in the Islands …

On August 17, 1818, Hipólito (Hypolite) Bouchard arrived on ‘La Argentina’ at Kealakekua Bay. He found the Argentine corvette ‘Chacabuco’ (‘Santa Rosa’) in the Bay and learned that the crew of the Santa Rosa had mutinied near Chile’s coast and headed to Hawaiʻi, where the crew had attempted to sell the vessel to the Hawaiian king.

King Kamehameha bought the ship (for “6000 piculs of sandal-wood and a number of casks of rum.”) Bouchard found things to trade (reportedly Bouchard gave Kamehameha the honorary title of colonel together with his own uniform, hat and saber (nava-org)) and he took charge of the Santa Rosa, which he had to partially rebuild.

During negotiations with King Kamehameha, he also signed and Kamehameha placed his mark on an agreement.

In part, the agreement set to “consign to Senor Don Eduardo Butler, resident of the Sandwich Islands, the offices of agent of my nation with full authority in national matters, political affairs, national commerce and in mailers of the Cabinets”.

It also noted, “… when ships from the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata arrive in that dominion that this gentleman (Butler) have authority, in company with Your Majesty Kamehameha, over all matters pertaining to the Government of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata … I beg Your Majesty to recognize Senor Don Eduardo as agent of the Government of the United Provinces”.

Reportedly, in the memoirs of Captain José María Piris Montevideo (member of the expedition) Bouchard asserts that Kamehameha signed a Treaty of Commerce, Peace and Friendship with Hipólito Bouchard, which recognized the independence of the United Provinces of Rio de la Plata. (Some suggest this was that document.)

Edmund Butler briefly operated a tavern in Lahaina, Maui, as early as 1819. However, the governor of Maui, strict Christian Hoapili, curbed the sale of liquor on that island. (Hibbard)

Butler was present at the first printing by the American Protestant missionaries, “January 7, 1822 … A day of spiritual interest. Commenced the first printing ever done in the Sandwich Islands, the operators of the printing press having fitted up for the purpose one of the thatched houses built for us by the government.”

“Governor Cox (Ke’eaumoku, Governor of Maui), who seems to take as friendly an interest in our work as any of the chiefs, was present and assisted with his own hands in composing a line or two and in working off a few copies of the first lesson of Hawaiian syllables, having the composing stick put into his hands and being shown when to take and how to place the types and then to pull the lever.”

“Several gentlemen, also, were present, Captain Masters, Captain Henry, Mr. Hunnewell from America, and Mr. Butler, a resident of Maui, who also took an interest in this novel scene, while one of the highest chiefs of these islands aided in commencing the printing of his native tongue.” (Gulick)

In 1823, when the Second Company of missionaries arrived, and Taua, Reynolds, Stewart, Loomis and Betsey Stockton escorted the ailing Keōpūolani to Lāhainā, they noted …

“The settlement is far more beautiful than any place we have yet seen on the islands. The entire district, stretching nearly three miles along the sea-side, is covered with luxuriant groves …”

“… not only of the cocoa-nut, (the only tree we have before seen, except on the tops of the mountains,) but also of the bread-fruit and of the kou, a species of cordia, an ornamental tree, resembling, at a distance, a large and flourishing, full, round-topped apple-tree …”

“… while the banana plant, tapa, and sugar-cane, are abundant, and extend almost to the beach, on which a fine surf constantly rolls.”

“On coming to an anchor, Karaimoku (Kalanimōku) expressed his regret that there was no house at the disposal of himself or the queen, suitable for our accommodation: and wished us to procure a temporary residence with Mr. Butler, an American established here, till houses could be provided for us by Keōpūolani.”

“We were soon met by Keōua, the governor of Lāhainā, to whom I delivered a letter of introduction from his friend Laʻanui, at O‘ahu, and proceeded in search of the plantation of Mr. Butler.”

“We found his enclosure pleasantly situated about a quarter of a mile directly in rear of the landing-place, and were received by him in a kind and friendly manner.”

“When acquainted with our object in coming to Lahaina, he proffered every assistance in his power, and tendered his best house for the reception of our families.”

“His civility greatly prepossessed us in his favour, and made us almost forget that we were in the land of strangers.”

“He returned to the barge with us, to bring the ladies on shore; and early in the afternoon our whole number were comfortably and quietly settled in the midst of his luxuriant grounds.”

“The thick shade of the bread-fruit trees which surround his cottages – the rustling of the breeze through the bananas and the sugar-cane – the murmurs of the mountain streams encircling the yard – and the coolness and verdure of every spot around us …”

“… seemed, in contrast with our situation, during a six months’ voyage, and four weeks’ residence on the dreary plain of Honoruru, like the delights of an Eden …”

“… and caused our hearts to beat warmly with gratitude to the Almighty Being, who had brought us in safety to the scene of our future labours, and had at once provided us with so refreshing an asylum.” (CS Stewart)

“October 1823 was a dangerous time to be at O‘ahu. The king had been tricked into another drinking bout by American traders while he was at Lahaina in September.”

“As a result, some of his chiefs spread tales around Honolulu that all the white men would be expelled from the island. Then Liholiho and his chiefs took an extraordinary step: they stopped trading and refused to permit any of their people to trade.”

“A report circulated that the king and his chiefs would not pay their sandalwood debts. Talk of rebellion made the gossip rounds, and Edmund Butler, an American resident, warned the king on October 16 that ‘the gentlemen’ (meaning whites) were going to kill him.”

“Clearly, threats against him from members of the American trading community had reached the point where Liholiho needed to take bold, decisive action. It may not have been coincidence that on that same day Starbuck ordered the ship’s company to return from shore duty and put L’Aigle in shape for a long voyage.” (Corley)

Butler’s daughter, Hannah (Hana), was the first wife of James Campbell. In 1850, after several years in Tahiti, Campbell boarded a whaling ship which brought him to Lahaina, Maui. (CHS)

Campbell made a good living as a carpenter and made a fortune investing in sugar production and real estate investing after inheriting property from his first wife, Hannah, in 1858. (Roth) In 1860 James Campbell, with Henry Turton and James Dunbar, established the Pioneer Mill Company, which became the basis of Campbell’s fortune.

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Lahaina_Town-Map-Bishop-Reg1262 (1884)

Kamehameha-Bouchard-Agreement-HSA-

Kamehameha-Bouchard_Agreement-Translation-(HSA) (1)

May 27, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Sunday Storms

In the 1820s and 1830s, Hawai‘i rulers found themselves between two competing sets of foreigners – merchants and missionaries.

American and European merchants hoped to continue to advance their businesses in the relaxed moral atmosphere of the isolated Islands. A big part of their market were the whalers.

On the other hand, American Protestant missionaries were preaching and teaching the Hawaiians, seeking to Christianize the native population. (Kashay)

White traders and American Protestant missionaries had presented the Hawaiians with two competing visions of life.

Ka‘ahumanu and her followers seem to have concluded that an alliance with the missionaries would bring greater religious, political and economic benefits than the future envisioned from the foreign businessmen.

By adopting Christianity, Ka‘ahumanu and most of the other Chiefs could claim to rule in the name of the God worshipped by most western leaders, perhaps gaining legitimacy and respect in their eyes. (Kashay)

In March 1831, Kaʻahumanu and Kuakini came down hard, imposing moral law in Honolulu. The two restricted liquor licenses, the sale of rum, and gambling. They also tabooed “lewdness, & Sabbath breaking”, meaning that both Hawaiians and foreigners could no longer play games, dance, ride horses, or carouse on Sundays.

At a public meeting on April 1, 1831, Kauikeaouli announced that he had sequestered the lands, forts and laws of Honolulu, and had given them to Kaʻahumanu.

She, in turn, decreed that future governmental policy would be based on the 10 Commandments, and put Kuakini in charge of enforcement. (Daws)

The new Governor threatened that ‘if any transgressed he should take all their property and pull their houses down.’ Under the leadership of a native by the name of ‘Big Ben,’ the Hawaiian police constantly patrolled the streets of Honolulu.

As part of their new duties, they invaded private homes, grog shops, and gambling halls, searching for contraband liquor and lawbreakers. In the process, Big Ben’s force confiscated drinks, broke up billiard, bowling, and card games, and wreaked havoc on the lives of the foreign population. (Kashay)

For example, as William French rolled a newly purchased cask of wine to his house, he was surrounded by a group of soldiers who confiscated the barrel and took it to the fort overlooking Honolulu harbor.

On another occasion, ‘several persons were rolling Ninepins (a bowling game,) the Guard came in & Stole the Balls and Pins’. Under such circumstances, the foreign merchants expressed anger and frustration over the new restrictions. (Kashay)

In April 1831, when a group of armed Hawaiian soldiers invaded Mr. Dowsett’s billiard room and tried to stop the men from playing, John Coffin Jones, the US Agent for Commerce, and many others, “told them to fire, that they would play as long as they pleased”.

Big Ben then threatened to tear down the building and Jones instructed him to go ahead. Apparently, the soldiers desisted after Richard Charlton rushed to the billiard hall armed with pistols. Leaving Dowsett’s establishment, the soldiers broke into a number of other homes, ransacking them as they searched for hidden caches of rum.

The merchants resisted the crackdown violently. For example, on the occasion when the native police stole the foreigners’ bowling balls and pins, the merchants “hustled” some of the guards.

Kuakini responded to the traders’ Sabbath breaking by confiscating their horses and forcing them to pay fines before they could retrieve them. Kuakini also clamped down on the makaʻāinana (commoners) by sending a crier around the streets, ordering them to attend church and school and to leave the white men alone.

Clearly, the lengths that the foreign businessmen went to resist the moral laws and clashes between the malcontents and commoners indicate that the Christian chiefs’ crackdown had gotten out of hand. (Kashay)

The missionaries, supported by the chiefs, were able to extend their sabbatarianism. At the height of the conflicts (storms), “crowd(s) of natives gathered in the streets each Sunday to watch club-wielding policemen topple foreigners from horseback”. (Daws)

Somewhat ironically, all seamen, whether pious or otherwise, were concerned to preserve their perceived right to leisure time of a sort on Sundays. Tradition said that only essential work was done on shipboard on the Sabbath, but on most whalers essential work included taking and rendering of whales.

Normal leisure patterns might include washing clothes, scrimshawing, overhauling personal possessions in one’s sea chest, or simply relaxing. (Busch)

New England captains were familiar with quiet Sundays, but still might be surprised at the extent of regulation in a society where virtually no activities were permitted on the Sabbath aside from religious observances, and certainly not such suspect pagan traditional practices as dancing.

That trade on Sunday might be prohibited was no surprise; stores were not open at home either. But other aspects excited comment: “the natives are forbide to do anything not as much as to cook their victuels,” recorded Shadrack Freeman of the Orion at O‘ahu in 1831. (Busch)

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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.”

“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).”

“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