Images of Old Hawaiʻi

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John Young

It’s hard to tell the story of John Young without including Isaac Davis. They arrived in Hawai‘i at the same time (on different boats) and they served Kamehameha I as co-advisors.

John Young, a boatswain on the British fur trading vessel, Eleanora, was stranded on the Island of Hawai‘i in 1790. Kamehameha brought Young to Kawaihae, where he was building the massive Pu’ukoholā Heiau.

For the next several years, John Young, and another British sailor, Isaac Davis, went on to assist Kamehameha in his unification of the Hawaiian Islands.

Because of his knowledge of European warfare, Young is said to have trained Kamehameha and his men in the use of muskets and cannons. In addition, both Young and Davis fought alongside Kamehameha in his many battles.

With these powerful new weapons and associated war strategy, Kamehameha eventually brought all of the Hawaiian Islands under his rule.

Young was instrumental in building fortifications throughout the Islands, which included the conversion of Mailekini Heiau (below Pu‘ukoholā Heiau) into a fort, which he armed with as many as 21 ship cannons.

Because of his common practice of yelling “All Hands!” during battle and training, the Hawaiians came to know Young by the name Olohana, a Hawaiian use of this English phrase.

Young also served as a negotiator for the king, securing various trade and political agreements with many of the foreigners that visited the Islands.

When Captain George Vancouver visited Hawai‘i Island in 1793, he observed that both Young and Davis “are in his [Kamehameha’s] most perfect confidence, attend him in all his excursions of business or pleasure, or expeditions of war or enterprise; and are in the habit of daily experiencing from him the greatest respect, and the highest degree of esteem and regard.”

Because of his knowledge of European warfare, Young is said to have trained Kamehameha and his men in the use of muskets and cannons. In addition, both Young and Davis fought alongside Kamehameha in his many battles.

With these powerful new weapons and associated war strategy, Kamehameha eventually brought all of the Hawaiian Islands under his rule.

Kamehameha appointed John Young as Governor of Kamehameha’s home island, Hawai‘i Island, and gave him a seat next to himself in the ruling council of chiefs.

He was married twice. His descendants were also prominent in Hawaiian history. The most prominent of his descendants was his granddaughter, Queen Emma.

In 1819, Young was one of the few present at the death of Kamehameha I. He then actively assisted Kamehameha II (Liholiho) in retaining his authority over the various factions that arose at his succession to the throne.

Young was also present for the ending of the kapu system in 1819 and, a few months later, advised the new king to allow the first Protestant missionaries to settle in the Islands

Of the missionaries, on November 27, 1826, he stated, “Whereas, it has been represented by many persons, that the labours of the missionaries in these Islands are attended with evil and disadvantage to the people, I hereby most cheerfully give my testimony to the contrary.”

“I am fully convinced that the good which is accomplishing, and already effected, is not little. The great and radical change already made for the better, in the manners and customs of this people, has far surpassed my most sanguine expectations.”

“During the forty years that I have resided here, I have known thousands of defenceless human beings cruelly massacred in their exterminating wars. I have seen multitudes of my fellow beings offered in sacrifice to their idol gods.”

“I have seen this large island, once filled with inhabitants, dwindle down to its present numbers through wars and disease, and I am persuaded that nothing but Christianity can preserve them from total extinction.”

“I rejoice that true religion is taking the place of superstition and idolatry, that good morals are superseding the reign of crime, and that a code of Christian laws is about to take the place of tyranny and oppression.”

“These things are what I have long wished for, but have never seen till now. I thank God, that in my old age I see them; and humbly trust I feel them too.” (John Young; Ellis)

Both Davis and Young lived out their lives in the Islands. When Davis died in 1810, Young adopted the Davis children. Although Young had died by the time of the Great Māhele land division, his property was awarded to his wife and children, including the children of Isaac Davis.

Finally, in 1835, at the age of 93, John Young, statesman, high chief, friend and advisor to Kamehameha the Great, died at his daughter’s home on O‘ahu.

His service to Kamehameha was considered to be so great that Young’s heirs did not have to pay commutation for their māhele awards.

John Young and his granddaughter Queen Emma are buried at Mauna ‘Ala (the Royal Mausoleum on O‘ahu,) the final resting place of the high chiefs and royalty of the Kamehameha and Kalākaua dynasties.

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Spencer House

Francis (Frank) McFarland Spencer (November 25, 1819 – May 19, 1897) was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and was early apprenticed to the carpenter’s trade.  In 1849, with many others in the colonies, he set sail and sought fortune from the California gold rush.

On the way, their vessel was wrecked on the reef outside Honolulu; all her passengers were saved. Spencer decided to remain in the Islands and went to work at his trade.  (Evening Bulletin, May 20, 1897)

In 1850, he opened a store on Hotel Street known as the Spencer House. His dry goods business flourished; marketing “the most useful and cheapest goods … (promising) Quick Sales and Small Profits.”

But that is not the Spencer House of this story.

To get to this one, however, we need to step back a bit; we go back to 1819.

That was the time when whale products were in high demand; whale oil was used for heating, lamps and in industrial machinery; whale bone was used in corsets, skirt hoops, umbrellas and buggy whips.  Rich whaling waters were discovered near Japan and soon hundreds of ships headed for the area.

The central location of the Hawaiian Islands between America and Japan brought many whaling ships to the Islands.  Whalers needed food and the islands supplied this need from its fertile fields.  The whaling industry was the mainstay of the island economy for about 40 years.

William French arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1819 and settled in Honolulu.  He became a leading trader, providing hides and tallow, and provisioning the whaling ships that called in Honolulu.  Financial success during the next decade made French known as “the merchant prince.”

French also had property on the Island of Hawaiʻi, with a main headquarters there at Kawaihae, shipping cattle, hides and tallow to Honolulu; he hired John Palmer Parker (later founder of Parker Ranch) as his bookkeeper, cattle hunter and in other capacities.  (Wellmon)

When French made claims before the Land Commission regarding one of the properties (identified as “slaughter-house premises” that he bought from Governor Kuakini in 1838,) testimony supporting his claim noted it was “a place for a beautiful house which Mr French would not sell for money. … It was enclosed by a stone wall.  There were two natives occupying houses on his land.”  (Land Commission Testimony)

The 2.8-acre property is in an area of Waimea known as Puʻuloa; French built a couple houses on it, the property was bounded by Waikoloa Stream and became Parker’s home while he worked for French.  (In addition, in 1840, this is where French built his original home in Waimea.  (Bergin))

At Puʻuloa, Parker ran one of French’s stores, which was nothing more than a thatched hut.  Although this store was less grandiose than the other one at Kawaihae, it became the center of the cattle business on the Waimea plain.

Here, French employed a saddle-maker and operated a tannery. Parker kept busy supervising this operation and collecting beef, tallow and leather to supply the needs of French’s growing business.  (Wellmon)

There was no surplus of currency in Waimea at this time, and most of the business at the Puʻuloa store consisted of bartering for goods and services. Long-term credit and buying on time was the rule rather than the exception in these transactions.  (Wellmon)

Back in Honolulu, in 1840, French entered into a partnership with John Greenway; it was dissolved “in a manner involving the most disastrous consequences to Mr French.”

In a report of enquiry, a committee that reviewed the matter found “the investigation has ended in a conviction, that Mr. French stands before you fully vindicated, and cleared of all the imputations that were cast upon his honest intentions, that this is proved by the indisputable evidence of every written document found, from the 7th April, 1842”.  (Polynesian, August 10, 1844)

French died at Kawaihae on November 25, 1851.  “Many who have made their fortunes in these Islands have owed their rise in the world to the patronage of Mr French.”  (Polynesian, December 6, 1851)

OK, back to Spencer – in addition to his Honolulu ‘Spencer House’ selling “fancy and staple goods,” Spencer acquired land and started to get into business on the Island of Hawaiʻi.

When French died, Spencer and a partner took over French’s livestock (his partner was James Louzada (one of the first español (paniolo,) Mexican cowboys to Hawaiʻi.))  (Bergin) Spencer also acquired some of French’s property when French died.  (Mills) (Presumably, included was French’s home at Puʻuloa we now call Spencer House in Waimea, Hawaiʻi Island.)

Spencer was granted a lease on government lands in 1859 that gave him “…a monopoly on all sheep and wild cattle on Mauna Kea and the mountain lands, including uses of the Pōhakuloa plateau lands, Kalaiʻeha, Keanakolu, Hanaipoe, and smaller stations in between these areas”.  (Cultural Surveys)

Later, on August 1, 1861, the Hawaiian Government leased Humuʻula and Kaʻohe lands (including the summit of Mauna Kea) to the newly-formed Waimea Grazing and Agricultural Company (WGAC.) (Mills & Maly)

WGAC was formed in May 1861 through a merger of Louzada, Spencer and Co and Robert C Janion.  By 1873, it had a house and wool barn. (In 1883, the operation was incorporated as the Humu‘ula Sheep Station Company and was later acquired by Parker Ranch.)

In 1864 or 1865, Spencer sold his Honolulu dry goods business and moved permanently to the Island of Hawaiʻi, making his home at Waimea, where he engaged in the business of raising sheep, and afterwards cattle. For a number of years he held the office of District Magistrate of Waimea. (Evening Bulletin, May 20, 1897)

In 1865, Spencer obtained a lease of the entire ahupua‘a of Pu‘u Anahulu “excepting the land rights of the native tenants thereon…” (a total leased area of about 83,000-acres.)  The addition of Pu‘u Anahulu to Spencer’s holdings gave him almost continuous grazing coverage from Hilo, Hāmākua, South Kohala and Kona.   (Cultural Surveys)

On June 1, 1898, Robert Hind Jr and Eben Low acquired Spencer’s interest in Pu‘u Anahulu, and the leasehold Government Lands were added to their inventory of the Pu‘u Waʻawaʻa Ranch holdings. (DLNR)

WGAC sold hides, tallow, salted beef, wool and mutton, and maintained several company stores.  The market for sheep and cattle products was in flux in the 1860s and 1870s, with the value of sheep eventually rising above that of cattle.  (Mills)

Spencer continued with his cattle and sheep operations on the Island of Hawaiʻi.   However, owing to ill health, Spencer came from his home at Waimea, Hawaiʻi, to reside with his daughter.  He died May 19, 1897.   (Evening Bulletin, May 20, 1897)

Spencer’s daughter, Frances “Fanny” Tasmania Spencer had married Richard Fredrick Bickerton (he later became an Associate Justice for the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court – 1886-1895.)  Reportedly, Spencer’s Waimea “Spencer House” was briefly known and used as Bickerton Hotel.

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Kawaihae

Kamehameha had granted Kawaihae Komohana ahupua‘a (present Kawaihae 1) to Kalanimōku, his “prime minister;” Kawaihae Hikina (present Kawaihae 2) was one of several ahupuaʻa on Hawai‘i and other islands allocated to John Young by Kamehameha.

Kamehameha had a house here.  Following his death and the succession of Liholiho to rule as Kamehameha II, Kawaihae served as the initial Royal Center for Liholiho, who sought consolidation of his forces and consecration of his leadership role, there.  (Kelly)

Then, as now, the area was relatively barren and people typically lived near the shore, not up the hill.   As noted in 1832, by missionary Lorenzo Lyons in his journal, “about as desolate a place as I have ever seen, nothing but barrenness, with here and there a native hut”.

The area is also generally referenced as Pelekane, which means ‘British,’ possibly named after the Young and Isaac Davis families that lived there (when Davis died in 1810, his friend and co-advisor to Kamehameha, John Young, looked after Davis’ children.)

These were not the only high-ranking people associated with Kawaihae during the first decades of the 19th century. Kamāmalu, daughter of Kamehameha and Kaheiheimālie was born at Pelekane (ca 1802.)

She would later become the wife of her half-brother Liholiho (Kamehameha II,) the son of Kamehameha and the high chiefess Keōpūolani (Kamāmalu died of measles in London with Liholiho in 1825.)  Some suggest Queen Emma (granddaughter of John Young) was also born here.

Over time, Kawaihae and Waimea (up the hill) developed a synergistic relationship.  The area was a canoe landing area, whether for commerce or combat.  (This is where Maui’s chief Kamalālāwalu landed in his assault against Lonoikamakahiki’s Hawaiʻi forces (Lono won.)  But Kawaihae’s presence was really focused on commerce as a landing site.

Archibald Menzies, reporting on Vancouver’s third layover at Kawaihae Bay in March 1793 after leaving Kealakekua Bay, recorded that Young and Davis had accompanied “us thither (i.e. to Kawaihae) on purpose to make presents of hogs and vegetables…from their plantations, which lay near this part of the island…”  (Menzies, Cultural Surveys)

Young built a storehouse in his family compound.  During the sandalwood trade, Young supervised royal warehouses that were the central depository for the wood brought in from the surrounding district.

William Ellis, in 1831 wrote, “Before daylight on the 22d, we were roused by vast multitudes of people passing through the district from Waimea with sandalwood, which had been cut in the adjacent mountains for Karaimoku (Kalanimōku,) by the people of Waimea, and which the people of Kohala, as far as the north point …”

“… had been ordered to bring down to his storehouse on the beach, for the purpose of its being shipped to Oahu.  There were between two and three thousand men, carrying each from one to six pieces of sandalwood, according to their size and weight.”

Another early foreign visitor to Kawaihae was Frenchman, Louis Claude Desaulses de Freycinet, in 1819; he met Liholiho here.  Following closely in the wake of Freycinet’s visit of 1819 were the American missionaries, who stopped first at Kawaihae on April 1, 1820 (before heading down to Kailua-Kona.) They were met by Kalanimōku and his wives and two of Kamehameha’s widows (Kalākua and Namahana.)

During subsequent decades, other missionaries visiting Hawai‘i Island would record their impressions of the life and landscape of the 19th-century Kawaihae region. According to Rev. William Ellis, who, along with other missionaries, stopped at Kawaihae in 1823, the village in the early 1820s contained one hundred houses.

Ellis noted the same salt pans mentioned by Archibald Menzies in 1793 and described the salt-making operations he witnessed:  “The natives of this district manufacture large quantities of salt, by evaporating the sea water. We saw a number of their pans, in the disposition of which they display great ingenuity.”

“(T)he Sandwich Islanders eat (salt) very freely with their food, and use much in preserving their fish. … The surplus … they dispose of to vessels touching at the islands, or export to the Russian settlements on the north-west coast of America, where it is in great demand for curing fish, &c.” (Ellis)

The salt also came in handy with the region’s supplying whalers with fresh and salt beef that called to the Islands, as well as the later Gold Rushers of America.  Here is where Samuel Parker (of the later Parker Ranch fame) started out as a cattle hunter to fill those needs.

Increasing demand for meat, hides and tallow prompted Kuakini, governor of Hawai‘i Island, to establish a residence (and corrals) at Waimea in 1830. After having difficulty traversing the rocky trail from Waimea to Kawaihae, he “wisely sentenced forty persons guilty of violating the seventh commandment (committing adultery”) to construct a road connecting the two.

About this time, 2-wheeled Mexican ox carts started to appear; they were used to transport the meat and other goods between Waimea and Kawaihae (lots of white and sweet potatoes were grown in Waimea for export to California during the Gold Rush.)

As the area continued to grow and develop, most of the residential and commercial buildings that comprised Kawaihae Town continued to be located close to the shoreline of the bay; the uplands of the Kawaihae region remained undeveloped pasture land.  (Cultural Surveys)

The WWII years brought dramatic change.  The vast isolated plains of Waimea were viewed as an ideal location for a troop training center and in the spring of 1942 an army recruit camp was built there. The recruits were followed by the Second and Fifth Marine Divisions that recuperated and trained at Waimea. At its height, the Waimea camp (later dubbed Camp Tarawa,) consisting of tents and Quonset huts set on thousands of acres, housed up to 40,000 men.

Troops were shipped in and out through Kawaihae. At the southern end of the bay, in Kawaihae 2, amphibious landing exercises were conducted and military emplacements were set up in the area of Puʻukohola Heiau.

The war in the Pacific had been over less than a year when on April 1, 1946, an earthquake off the Aleutian Islands caused a tsunami that devastated the Hawaiian Islands.  Although no lives were lost at Kawaihae, its effects wiped out commercial fishing activity there and it was reported that the tsunami “…was the beginning of the end for the Kawaihae Fishing Village. People left.”  (Cultural Surveys)

By the 1950s, the need for improved harbor facilities at Kawaihae was apparent. The old landing had been destroyed in the 1946 tsunami and the one built in 1937 had proven unsafe in high seas. The Kawaihae Deep-Draft Harbor project was authorized by the US Congress in 1950 and finally dedicated on October 5, 1959.

The harbor’s construction was hailed as an “economic shot in the arm,” for sugar planters in the Kohala region of the island would no longer have to ship their crops overland to Hilo or to Kailua-Kona. The harbor would serve military needs as well. The Army was about to acquire a 100,000-acre training site nearby and could unload supplies at Kawaihae Harbor.  (Cultural Surveys)

On August 17, 1972, the US Congress authorized the designation of Puʻukohola Heiau as a National Historic Site. This site also encompasses Mailekini Heiau; Hale O Kapuni Heiau (a submerged “shark” heiau;) Pōhaku o Alapaʻi ku palupalu mano (a stone on the beach where chief Alapaʻi leaned against while watching sharks circling around offerings placed at the submerged heiau;) Pelekane (Kamehameha’s Kawaihae residence) and the site of John Young’s house.

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The Battle of Hōkūʻula

Prominent features rising above the town of Waimea on the Big Island are the puʻu (cinder cones) in the surrounding pasture.  The South Kohala community made special note of these physical features in the Community Development Plan noting, “the Puʻu define the special landscape ‘sense of place’ of Waimea.”

One of these, Hōkūʻula (red star,) played a prominent role in battles between warring leadership from the islands of Maui and Hawaiʻi.  This story dates back to about the mid-1600s.

To put this timeframe in global perspective, around this time: the Ming Dynasty in China ended and the Manchus came into power and established the Qing dynasty; the Taj Mahal was completed in India: British restored the monarchy and Charles II was crowned king of England; and the Massachusetts Bay colony was forming after the recent landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock.

In the islands, Lonoikamakahiki (Lono) was the Mōʻi (Chief) of Hawai‘i.  He was a descendant of Pili (a high chief from Tahiti from the 13th century.  Lono was grandson of ʻUmi (and great grandson of Līloa.))

“Lono-i-ka-makahiki was a son of Keawe-nui-a-Umi, and was chief of Ka-u and Puna. He was sole ruler over those two districts on Hawaii. He was married to a chiefess, named Ka-iki-lani-kohe-paniʻo, who was descended from Laea-nui-kau-manamana. To them were born sons, Keawe-Hanau-i-ka-walu and Ka-ʻihi-kapu-mahana.”   (Kamakau)

Through marriage and victories over other chiefs, Lonoikamakahiki became the ruler of the Island of Hawaiʻi.  “During Lono’s reign, when he tended to the affairs of his kingdom, the chiefs and commoners lived in peace.”  (Kamakau)

Lono visited the Mōʻi of the various islands, including Kamalālāwalu, ruling chief of Maui.  “Lono-i-ka-makahiki sought the good will of these chiefs when he came to meet and associate with them in a friendly manner. There were to be no wars between one chief and another.”  (Kamakau)

Kamalālāwalu (Kama) met him and welcomed him royally.  The chiefly host and guest spent much time in surfing, a sport that was enjoyed by all.  Lono was lavishly entertained by Kamalālāwalu.

Not long after Lono’s departure and return to Hawai‘i, however, Kamalālāwalu, driven by ambition, decided to invade and conquer the nation of Island of Hawai‘i.  He sent spies to survey the opposition; they reported there were few men in the Kohala region.

When Kamalālāwalu heard the report of his spies, he was eager to stir his warriors to make war on Hawaiʻi.  Most of the prophets and seers supported the chief’s desire and gave dogs as their omen of victory [said that clouds taking the form of dogs foretold victory]. The dogs were a sign of fierceness, and so would the chief fiercely attack the enemy and gain the victory with great slaughter of the foe.

Part of the prophets and seers came to the chief with prophecies denying his victory, and urging him not to go to fight against Hawaiʻi.  When Lanikāula, a high priest from Moloka‘i, warned Kamalālāwalu of the dangers of an assault, an irate Kamalālāwalu replied “when I return, I will burn you alive.” (Fornander)

Kamalālāwalu’s fleet landed in Puakō and met no opposition. Lono’s oldest brother, Kanaloakuaʻana, was in residence Waimea at the time, and, upon hearing of the invasion, marched toward Puakō with what forces he had at hand. A battle ensued at Kauna‘oa (near the present-day Mauna Kea Resort), and Kanaloakuaʻana’s forces were defeated, with Kanaloakuaʻana himself being taken prisoner and eventually killed.

After this initial success, Kamalālāwalu and his Maui warriors marched boldly inland and took up a position above Waimea on top of the puʻu called Hōkūʻula and awaited Lono’s forces.

During the night, Lono’s warriors from Kona arrived and occupied a position near Puʻupā (the large cinder cone makai of the Waimea-Kohala Airport.) His warriors from Kaʻū (led by its high chief and Lono’s half-brother, Pupuakea) and Puna were stationed from the pu‘u called Holoholoku (the large cinder cone out in the plains below Mauna Kea,) those from Hilo and Hāmākua were stationed near Mahiki, and those from Kohala were stationed on the slopes of Momoualoa.

That morning, from his position atop Hōkūʻula, Kamalālāwalu could see that the lowlands were literally covered with the countless warriors of Lono, and realized that he was outnumbered. For three days the armies skirmished, with the actions of the Maui warriors being dominated by Kamalālāwalu’s nephew and chief, Makakuikalani.

“Short and long spears were flung, and death took its toll on both sides. The Maui men who were used to slinging shiny, water-worn stones grabbed up the stones of Puʻoaʻoaka. A cloud of dust rose to the sky and twisted about like smoke, but the lava rocks were light, and few of the Hawaii men were killed by them.”  (Kamakau)

“The warriors of Maui were put to flight, and the retreat to Kawaihae was long. [Yet] there were many who did reach Kawaihae, but because of a lack of canoes, only a few escaped with their lives. Most of the chiefs and warriors from Maui were destroyed.”  (Kamakau)

While Kamakau notes Kamalālāwalu died on the grassy plain of Puakō, other tradition suggests that after Lonoikamakahiki defeated Kamalālāwalu at Hōkūʻula, he brought the vanquished king of Maui to Keʻekū Heiau in Kahaluʻu and offered him as a sacrifice.

The spirits of Kamalālāwalu’s grieving dogs, Kauakahiʻokaʻoka (a white dog) and Kapapako (a black dog,) are said to continue to guard this site.  Outside the entrance to the heiau and towards the southwest are a number of petroglyphs on the pāhoehoe.  One of them is said to represent Kamalālāwalu.

So ended the first of the major wars between the nations of Maui and Hawai‘i, and a turning point in the history of Hawai‘i.

(Puʻu Hōkūʻula is sometimes referred as “”Buster Brown.”  Apparently, while training at Camp Tarawa in Waimea, Marines named it Buster Brown Hill after the former section manager for Parker Ranch, who lived just below the hill.)

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Hale O Kapuni

Hawaiian oral tradition and early local informants suggest a heiau (temple,) Hale O Kapuni, existed underwater just offshore in Pelekane Bay near Kawaihae – below the Puʻu Koholā Heiau (“Hill of the Whale”) and Mailekini Heiau (below Puʻu Koholā Heiau halfway down the hill.)

Kamehameha I is said to have used this heiau, and sharks were fed here. Rocks from here may have been used to build Pu‘u-koholā heiau. (Lit., house of Kapuni (a high priest of the chief Keawe.))  (Maly)

Due to tidal actions, sediment that accumulated from runoff from the uplands and nearby construction of the Kawaihae Harbor, this submerged heiau has never been located or documented through underwater archaeology – however, folklore suggests it existed and was dedicated to the shark gods.

Theophilus Davies arrived off Kawaihae in 1859, passing in the water beneath a “sacred enclosure” about twenty yards square and formed by a massive stone fence five feet high (probably Mailekini Heiau).

A large stone formed its altar, he said, and here the bleeding victims were placed before the gods until they became offensive, when they were carried to a heap of stones in the ocean (a little to seaward of our boat) and devoured by the sharks, the supposed deities. (NPS)

The presence of Hale-o-Kapuni is well known to local inhabitants: “When the tide was real low, big boulders use [sic] to come out, and it’s all build [sic] up of big boulders see, so you know it’s man made.”

“And around the side area is all deep and it’s anywhere’s [sic] from low water mark 5 feet. About 8, 9 feet when high water mark. … It was built under water purposely…. “  (Doi, NPS)

An informant pointed out to Marion Kelly the location of the heiau structure, now covered by silt washed off the coral stockpile area nearby.

Anthropologist Lloyd Soehren stated that, as children, older residents of the area remembered seeing the heiau rising about two feet above the water.

One person remembered a channel leading into a larger area within the temple where the bodies were placed for the sharks.  (NPS)

Per Pukui, ʻaumākua are family or personal gods, deified ancestors who might assume the shape of the animal, plant or other feature they represent.

Here, at Hale O Kapuni, it is believed that the heiau was dedicated to sharks.  “The shark was perhaps the most universally worshipped of all the aumakuas, and, strange to say, was regarded as peculiarly the friend and protector of all his faithful worshippers.”  (Emerson)

“Each several locality along the coast of the islands had its special patron shark, whose name, history, place of abode, and appearance, were well known to all frequenters of that coast. Each of these sharks, too, had its kahu [keeper,] who was responsible for its care and worship”.  (Emerson)

“Some of the chiefs under Kamehameha, such as Alapaʻi-malo-iki and Ka-uhi-wawae-ono, were murdering chiefs who did not keep the law against killing men, but went out with their men to catch people for shark bait.”  (Kamakau)

Pōhaku o Alapaʻi ku palupalu mano, “the rock of the chief named Alapaʻi of the one who puts the human shark bait out,” originally stood in the shade of a large kiawe tree on the shore below Mailekini Heiau.  (NPS)

One early account said that King Kamehameha sat there while his staff compiled the tally of the latest fishing expeditions, and that somewhere near the stone might have been the spot of Keōua’s death.

Apple states that although referred to as Kamehameha’s Chair, the rock is by local tradition more closely associated with one of Kamehameha’s staff chiefs named Alapaʻi Kupalupalu Mano who liked to use human flesh for shark bait and watched from this point as sharks entered Hale-o-Kapuni to devour the food offerings put out for them.  (NPS)

Apple notes that catching sharks was a sport indulged in by high chiefs and conjectured that perhaps the animals were conditioned to rotten flesh in the offshore temple so that they could be enticed with it into the deeper water and easily noosed.

Today, this area is known to be frequented by sharks.  In the early morning hours, you can usually see the sharks plying the waters just offshore, near where the heiau is believed to be located.

Click here for a link to a video on sharks in and around the area identified as where Hale O Kapuni in Pelekane Bay is located (Pacific Islands National Parks:)

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