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September 15, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Keanianileihuaokalani – Healing Stone of Wahiawa

Cultures collided at Keanianileihuaokalani.

Keanianileihuaokalani was a large tongue-shaped stone that has since been split into three pieces. Hawaiians view it as a healing stone; Hindus see it as an embodiment of the god Shiva.  (According to reports, they appear to have worked (working) out how they work together.)

Reportedly, originally found in Kaukonahua gulch by a Waialua Sugar worker, the 6-foot stone broke when it fell off a wagon while being moved.  (They are now situated at the lower end of California Avenue in Wahiawa.)

Hawaiians believe that the stone has sacred healing properties. It was believed that all children of royal lineage were thrice blessed and elevated to a higher status if born at nearby Kūkaniloko, the center of the earth.  (Reveria)

After childbirth, the new mothers would bath in the cool springs of Helemano. It was this mingling of blood and water that culminated into the healing mystic rains that fell upon the land, people and most importantly Keanianileihuaokalani giving the healing stone its healing powers.  (Reveria)

On the day of a royal birth, all work stopped in anticipation of the first healing rains generated from the blessed event. These rains were Waiʻihiawa, mystical rains tainted with the blood of royalty. This healing rain fell freely on the people who lived and worked in Kūkaniloko.  (Reveria)

“This rock being visited by people to worship these days is becoming something that truly is stirring the thoughts of some people here in Honolulu, and some who are living near Wahiawa are appealing to the Government and to the power of the Board of Health to move that rock from where it first stood, because in their opinion, this action by the people will cause an epidemic to grow here where all ethnicities are going and touching themselves against the bodies of others, and this will perhaps cause sicknesses to spread from one to another.”

“The Board of Health refused to step in and block this action by people who believe their ailments will be healed by touching the sick area to that rock of Wahiawa, and the birthing stones of the High Chiefs of this land in ancient times.”

“Some people have said that their weakness due to rheumatism by them going there and touching their areas of pain to that rock. Some say that their weak areas were not cured by touching the rock.”  (Hoku o Hawaiʻi, November 1, 1927)

According to practitioners, the stone should be anointed with Waiʻihiawa rainwater.  Appropriate and appreciated gifts are awa root, olena sprigs, herbs, lei and flowers.  (Reveria)

In 1971 the Wahiawa Community and Businessmen’s Association asked the Hawaii Visitors Bureau to put up a sign to again call public attention to the “Healing Stone of Wahiawa.”

Hindu, who assumed a caretaker role for the stone also revere it as a manifestation of their deity, Shiva (it is interpreted to have a phallic shape.)

The Hindu recognized it as a Shiva image in 1988.  At the time, the structure that enclosed the stones on three sides was a dilapidated concrete shed; a Hindu family turned the shed into a white marble shrine.

Hindus anoint themselves with smoke from sacred candles, part of the ceremonial cleansing of the stones.  In their ritual, the stone is bathed in milk, rubbed with honey and draped with lei.  (Reportedly, contrary to some claims, Hindus do not put oil or candle wax on the stone.)

The “healing stones” of Wahiawa drew hundreds of pilgrims in the 1930s, but few local people or tourists find their way to the off-the-beaten-path location these days.   (star-bulletin)

The image an earlier image of Keanianileihuaokalani, the Healing Stone of Wahiawa (HAS.)  In addition, I have added other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Filed Under: General, Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings Tagged With: Hawaii, Oahu, Wahiawa, Healing Stones, Keanianileihuaokalani

October 31, 2013 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Waikīkī, Place of Healing

From historic times, Waikīkī was viewed not only as a place of peace and hospitality, but of healing.  There was great mana (spiritual power) in Waikīkī. Throughout the 19th century, Hawai’i’s royalty also came here to convalesce.

The art of healing they practiced is known in the Islands as la‘au lapa‘au. In this practice, plants and animals from the land and sea, which are known to have healing properties, are combined with wisdom to treat the ailing.

At Waikīkī, Oʻahu on Kūhiō Beach, Hawaiian legend says Na Pōhaku Ola Kapaemāhu A Kapuni were placed here in tribute to four soothsayers, Kapaemāhu, Kahaloa, Kapuni and Kinohi, who came from Tahiti to Hawaiʻi (long before the reign of Oʻahu’s chief Kākuhihewa in the 16th century.)

Kapaemāhu was the leader of the four and honored for his ability to cast aside carnality and care for both men and women. Kapuni was said to envelop his patients with his mana. While Kinohi was the clairvoyant diagnostician, Kahaloa— whose name means “long breath”—was said to be able to breathe life into her patients.

They gained fame and popularity because they were able to cure the sick by laying their hands upon them. Before they returned to Tahiti, they asked the people to erect four large pōhaku as a permanent reminder of their visit and the cures they had accomplished.

Legend says that these stones were brought into Waikīkī from Waiʻalae Avenue in Kaimuki, nearly two miles away. Waikīkī was a marshland devoid of any large stones. These stones are basaltic, the same type of stone found in Kaimukī.

On the night of Kāne (the night that the moon rises at dawn,) the people began to move the rocks from Kaimukī to Kūhiō Beach.  During a month-long ceremony, the healers are said to have transferred their names — Kapaemāhu, Kahaloa, Kapuni and Kinohi — and or spiritual power, to the stones.

One of the pōhaku used to rest where the surf would roll onto the beach known to surfers as “Baby Queens”, the second pōhaku would be found on the ʻEwa side of ʻApuakehau Stream (site of Royal Hawaiian Hotel), and the last two pōhaku once sat above the water line fronting Ulukou (near the site of the present Moana Hotel.)  In 1963, they were relocated to Kūhiō Beach.

One of Waikīkī’s places of healing was the stretch of beach fronting the Halekūlani Hotel called Kawehewehe (the removal). The sick and the injured came to bathe in the kai, or waters of the sea.

They might have worn a seaweed lei of limu kala and left it in the water as a symbol of the asking of forgiveness for past sins (misdeeds were believed to be a cause of illness and “kala” means to forgive.)  Hawaiians still use the sea to heal their sores and other ailments, but few come to Kawehewehe.

From 1912 to 1929, a home here was converted to a small two-story boardinghouse, and operated by La Vancha Maria Chapin Gray, known as “Grays-by-the-Sea.” Its grounds were later incorporated into the Halekūlani.  The beach is still known today as Gray’s Beach.  (Kawehewehe is also the name of the surfing site called Populars, today.)

The natural sand-filled channel that runs through the reef makes it one of the best swimming areas along this stretch of ocean.  It was dredged in the early-1950s to allow catamarans to come ashore at Gray’s Beach. The channel lies between two surf sites, Paradise and Number Threes.

There was a Kawehewehe Pond; people with a physical ailment would come to the pond in search of healing.  A kahuna, or priest, would place a lei limu kala around their neck, and instruct them to submerge themselves in the healing waters of the pond. When the lei came off and floated downstream, it was said that the afflicted ones were healed.

It was for this particular ceremony that the area was called Kawehewehe, which literally means “the removal.”  It was on the ʻEwa side of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel (adjacent to Helumoa), just east of the Halekulani Hotel, Waikīkī.

Kawehewehe takes its meaning from the root word – wehe‖ which means to remove‖ (Pukui.)  Thus, as the name implies, Kawehewehe was a traditional place where people went to be cured of all types of illnesses – both physical and spiritual – by bathing in the healing waters of the ocean.

The patient might wear a seaweed (limu kala) lei and leave it in the water as a request that his sins be forgiven; hence the origin of the name kala (Lit., the removal.)

After bathing in the ocean, the person would duck under the water, releasing the lei from around his neck and letting the lei kala float out to sea. Upon turning around to return to shore, the custom is to never look back, symbolizing the oki (to sever or end) and putting an end to the illness. Leaving the lei in the ocean also symbolizes forgiveness (kala) and the leaving of anything negative behind.

In the 1880s, Helumoa was inherited by Kamehameha I’s great-granddaughter, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop.

In the last days of her battle with breast cancer, Pauahi returned to Helumoa.  Although the Princess could have gone anywhere to recuperate, she chose Helumoa, for the fond memories it recalled and the tranquility it provided.

Here she wrote the final codicils (amendments) of her will, in which she bequeathed her land to the Bishop Estate for the establishment of the Kamehameha Schools.

Further down the beach, Queen Liliʻuokalani found respite and healing at her Waikīkī retreats noting, “Hamohamo is justly considered to be the most life-giving and healthy district in the whole extent of the island of Oʻahu; there is something unexplainable and peculiar in the atmosphere of that place, which seldom fails to bring back the glow of health to the patient, no matter from what disease suffering.”

The Queen “derived much amusement, as well as pleasure: for as the sun shines on the evil and the good, and the rain falls on the just and the unjust, I have not felt called upon to limit the enjoyment of my beach and shade-trees to any party in politics … While in exile it has ever been a pleasant thought to me that my people, in spite of differences of opinions, are enjoying together the free use of my seashore home.”

The author, Robert Louis Stevenson, also found respite, here. In 1888, his health had been declining; he was told by his doctor to travel here because the climate was good for his bad health.

Stevenson’s remarks in the guest book note: “If anyone desires such old-fashioned things as lovely scenery, quiet, pure air, clean sea water, good food, and heavenly sunsets hung out before their eyes over the Pacific and the distant hills of Waianae, I recommend him cordially to the Sans Souci.”

From Kālia to Kawehewehe to Helumoa to Kūhiō Beach to Hamohamo to San Souci, there are many stories of the healing power at Waikīkī.

The image shows the healing stones of Kapaemāhu.   In addition, I have added other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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© 2013 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Hawaiian Traditions, Place Names Tagged With: Waikiki, Oahu, Healing Stones, Robert Louis Stevenson, Hamohamo, Kawehewehe, Na Pōhaku Ola Kapaemahu A Kapuni, San Souci, Hawaii

February 6, 2013 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Na Pōhaku Ola Kapaemahu A Kapuni – The Healing (Wizard) Stones of Kapaemahu

Pōhaku or stones are believed to hold mana or spiritual power. Pōhaku are featured in shrines as manifestations of ʻaumakua (family guardians,) akua (deities) and ʻuhane (spirits.) Throughout the islands are famous and named pōhaku which figure prominently in healing and health.

At Waikīkī, Oʻahu on Kūhiō Beach Hawaiian legend says Na Pōhaku Ola Kapaemahu A Kapuni were placed here in tribute to four soothsayers, Kapaemahu, Kahaloa, Kapuni and Kinohi, who came from Tahiti to Hawaiʻi (long before the reign of Oʻahu’s chief Kakuhihewa in the 16th century.)

Kapaemahu was the leader of the four and honored for his ability to cast aside carnality and care for both men and women. Kapuni was said to envelop his patients with his mana. While Kinohi was the clairvoyant diagnostician, Kahaloa— whose name means “long breath”—was said to be able to breathe life into her patients.

The art of healing they practiced is known in the Islands as la‘au lapa‘au. In this practice, plants and animals from the land and sea, which are known to have healing properties, are combined with great wisdom to treat the ailing.

They gained fame and popularity because they were able to cure the sick by laying their hands upon them. Before they returned to Tahiti, they asked the people to erect four large pōhaku as a permanent reminder of their visit and the cures they had accomplished.

Legend says that these stones were brought into Waikīkī from Waiʻalae Avenue in Kaimuki, nearly two miles away. Waikīkī was a marshland devoid of any large stones. These stones are basaltic, the same type of stone found in Kaimukī.

On the night of Kāne (the night that the moon rises at dawn,) the people began to move the rocks from Kaimukī to Kūhiō Beach.  During a month-long ceremony, the healers are said to have transferred their names — Kapaemahu, Kahaloa, Kapuni and Kinohi — and or spiritual power, to the stones.

One of the pōhaku used to rest where the surf would roll onto the beach known to surfers as “Baby Queens”, the second pōhaku would be found on the ʻEwa side of ʻApuakehau Stream (site of Royal Hawaiian Hotel), and the last two pōhaku once sat above the water line fronting Ulukou (near the site of the present Moana Hotel.)

It was not until the first decade of the 1900s that Gov. Archibald Cleghorn discovered two stones on his property and two on an adjacent property.

Recognizing their significance, Cleghorn had them excavated and placed together on his estate with the stipulation that they should not be moved.

However, in 1941, the estate land was leased out for the building of a bowling alley.   Upon the bowling alley’s demolition, in 1958, the stones were identified and repaired.  (They were used in the building’s foundation.)

Then, in 1963, they were relocated to Kūhiō Beach.  In 1980, the stones were moved again, approximately 50 feet mauka (toward the mountains) from their 1963 location.

Finally, in 1997, action began to create a permanent and more appropriate home for the stones.  Cultural historian and great-great-grandson of Archibald Cleghorn, Manu Boyd, reportedly said, “The value and meaning of the stones had faded over time with the changing values and mores of the day. Then, their importance was remembered and embraced by people who wanted to restore them.”

For years, committed individuals collaborated on plans to create a wahi pana (sacred place) where Na Pohaku could be honored and protected.  This wahi pana (or legendary site) was restored with the Assistance of Papa Henry Auwae and the Queen Emma Foundation 1997.

In addition to the many involved with the restoration, a delegation from Tahiti was present for the final ceremonies. These individuals blessed the stones with wild basil, traditionally used for cleansing, and presented a small stone from Tahiti named Ta‘ahu ea as a ho‘okupu (offering). That stone is now set on top of the altar in front of Na Pohaku.

Following the direction of Papa Auwae, four plants with medicinal value were added to the site—ma‘o (Hawaiian cotton), ‘ohe (bamboo), makahala (wild tobacco) and naupaka kahakai (beach naupaka).

The group Na Haumana La‘au Lapa‘au O Papa Auwae is the adoptive caretaker of Na Pōhaku. Babette Galang, who studied la‘au lapa‘au under Auwae, explained, “We were advised by Papa Auwae before his passing that we were to malama [take care of] the site.”

The image shows Na Pōhaku Ola Kapaemahu A Kapuni.  Lots of information here from Karyl Reynolds.  In addition, I have included other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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© 2013 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Hawaiian Traditions, Place Names Tagged With: Hawaii, Waikiki, Oahu, Healing Stones, Na Pōhaku Ola Kapaemahu A Kapuni, Wizard Stones

Images of Old Hawaiʻi

People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past come alive through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.” These posts are informal historic summaries presented for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

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