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February 19, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

1871 Trail & Alahaka Ramp

“We walked a mile over a raised macadamized road of uniform width; a road paved with flat stones and exhibiting in its every detail a considerable degree of engineering skill.”

“The stones are worn and smooth, and pushed apart in places, so that the road has the exact appearance of those ancient paved highways leading out of Rome which one sees in pictures.” (Mark Twain, Sacramento Daily Union, September 22, 1866)

Although the canoe was a principal means of travel in ancient Hawai`i, extensive cross-country trail networks enabled gathering of food and water and harvesting of materials for shelter, clothing, medicine, religious observances and other necessities for survival.

Ancient trails, those developed before western contact in 1778, facilitated trading between upland and coastal villages and communications between ahupua‘a and extended families.

These trails were usually narrow, following the topography of the land. Sometimes, over ‘a‘ā lava, they were paved with water-worn stones.

Alahele (trails) and alaloa (regional thoroughfares) were an integral part of the cultural landscape of South Kona and all Hawai‘i. The alahele provided access for local and regional travel, subsistence activities, cultural and religious purposes, and for communication between extended families and communities. Trails were important features of the cultural landscape.

Historical accounts describe at least two primary trails of regional importance in the South Kona region. One trail crossed the makai (near shore) lands, linking coastal communities and resources together. The other major trail of this region is “Kealaʻehu” (The path of Ehu), which passes through the uplands (in the vicinity of the Mamalahoa Highway.) (Rechtman)

Until the 1840s, overland travel was predominantly by foot and followed the traditional trails. By the 1840s, the use of introduced horses, mules and bullocks for transportation was increasing, and many traditional trails – the ala loa and mauka-makai trails within ahupua‘a – were modified by removing the smooth stepping stones that caused the animals to slip.

Eventually, wider, straighter trails were constructed to accommodate horse drawn carts. Unlike the earlier trails, these later trails could not conform to the natural, sometimes steep, terrain.

It was probably Kuakini, Governor of Hawaiʻi Island from 1819 to 1844, who was very aggressive in building roads with prison labor and took the initiative in modifying trails for horse travel. This often involved throwing out the steppingstones and adding curbstones. (Curbstones enabled animals to follow a path without the rider’s constant guidance.) (NPS)

They often by-passed the traditional trails as more remote coastal villages became depopulated due to introduced diseases and the changing economic and social systems.

By the early-1850s, specific criteria were developed for realigning trails and roadways, including the straightening of alignments and development of causeways and bridges.

“The history of road making in this kingdom does not date far back. The first law that we find recorded was enacted in 1840, which as well as the laws of 1846 and 1850 gave to the Governors a general control of the roads, with power to make new roads and employ prisoners in their construction.”

“But no system of road making has ever been introduced, and the whole subject has been left to be executed as chance dictated. In 1852 road supervisors were made elective by the people, at the annual election in January. This change worked no improvement in the roads, as the road supervisors, in order to remain popular, required the least possible amount of labor, and in many districts an hour or two of work in the morning was considered as a compliance with the road law.”

“Under this law the road supervisors were pretty much to themselves, and though accountable to the Minister of the Interior, they considered favor of their constituents of more importance. This law was found productive of more evil than good, and during the last session of the legislature a new road law was passed, which goes in to force on the 1st of January 1857.”

“This new law gives to the Minister of the Interior the appointment of road supervisors throughout the Kingdom, who are subject to such general instructions (we suppose in regard to the construction of roads) as he may issue.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, September 25, 1856)

In 1871, a coastal trail that originally extended from Napoʻopoʻo south to Hoʻokena was repaired, and renamed the 1871 Trail. It is a section of the historic coastal Alaloa (regional trail) and was a primary route of travel between communities, royal centers, religious sites and resources. (It was improved as a ‘two-horse trail’ because it was widened to accommodate two horses.)

The Alahaka Ramp, located near the southern end of the Keanaeʻe Cliffs, is a massive stone ramp that ascends the pali from Keokea into Kiʻilae and connects the 1871 trail to Kiʻilae Village.

It is during this time that a series of large-scale government programs were initiated that focused on improvements to public resources, such as roadways.

It is one of the significant road construction events of this period. Prior to the construction of the ramp, folks used a ladder or rope to get up the slope. Alahaka ramp was built to allow horses to continue on the trail.

The 1871 Trail was used as part of a trade route in Hawaii. Having horses meant that people were able to transport more goods to trade, so it was very important that horses could navigate the trail.

In regards to the Alahaka Ramp, the first reference of a ‘constructed ramp’ is found in a letter to the Minister of the Interior dated February 4, 1868. In this letter, George Hardy, the road supervisor at the time, said:

“In South Kona, I have repaired (a very) bad place known by the name of Alahaka in the village of Kiʻilae, a place of great danger where several horses had been kill’d: and where people were in danger of going up and down. I have made it wide and a substantial road.” (NPS)

As noted in a December 31, 1897 letter, the Alahaka Ramp had fallen into a state of disrepair, when road supervisor TH Wright wrote: “Napoʻopoʻo to Hoʻokena beach road in a fearful condition, it needs repair of the worst kind. The Walahaka pali is very dangerous. This road is used every day for the convenience of the public, going and back to these places.” (NPS)

Wheeled vehicles did not enter Honaunau until 1918; travel in that area continuing to be by horses, mules and donkeys, as well as by foot. Although the area remained somewhat isolated due to the lack of a cart road, better trails continued to be built for mounted traffic.

In 1918 the trail section north of Honaunau was improved for wheeled traffic; however, the section south to Hoʻokena was never modified for motorized vehicles.

In 1951, a large earthquake caused an upper section of the ramp to slough off, which over the next ten years, continued to deteriorate. Twelve years later, the newly established National Park, conducted a rebuilding the entire makai (ocean-facing) side with steel rebar, mortar and stones.

A portion of the 1871 Trail, as well as the Alahaka Ramp are situated within the Puʻuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park and is available to hike – from Honaunau to Hoʻokena. Two trailheads: at the National Historical Park or Hoʻokena Beach Park. (Round trip is about 6.5-miles.)

© 2022 Hoʻokuleana LLC

1871_Trail-Alahaka_Ramp-NPS
1871_Trail-Alahaka_Ramp-NPS
1871 Trail looking north toward the Pu'uhonua, Keanae'e Cliffs to the right
1871 Trail looking north toward the Pu’uhonua, Keanae’e Cliffs to the right
Alahaka Ramp-1871_trail
Alahaka Ramp-1871_trail
Alahaka Ramp
Alahaka Ramp
Alahaka Ramp
Alahaka Ramp
1871 Trail
1871 Trail
1871 Trail
1871 Trail
Alahaka Ramp
Alahaka Ramp
Alahaka Ramp
Alahaka Ramp
1871 Trail in 1963
1871 Trail in 1963
NPS Masons stabilize the Alahaka Ramp
NPS Masons stabilize the Alahaka Ramp
Masons repair the Alahaka Ramp-1963
Masons repair the Alahaka Ramp-1963
Petrified Niagara
Petrified Niagara
Honaunau_Section_Reg1445-1888
Honaunau_Section_Reg1445-1888
Honaunau_Section_Reg1796-1896
Honaunau_Section_Reg1796-1896
Keei_2-Honaunau-Reg1457
Keei_2-Honaunau-Reg1457

Filed Under: Hawaiian Traditions, Place Names Tagged With: Hawaii, Kona, Puuhonua O Honaunau, Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park, 1871 Trail, Alahaka Ramp

April 6, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hale O Keawe

To help tell the story of Hale O Keawe, the following includes quotes from John Papa ʻĪʻi (who became an attendant of Kamehameha I and later a companion and personal attendant to Liholiho (later King Kamehameha II,)) William Ellis (missionary who circled the island of Hawaiʻi in 1823) and Hiram Bingham (missionary.)

“The Hale O Keawe in Honaunau was called Ka-iki-ʻAlealea (The little ʻAlealea,) and was a puʻuhonua. Kaikiholu and Pakaʻalana on Hawaii, Kakaʻe in ʻIao, Maui; Kūkaniloko in Wahiawa, Oʻahu; and Holoholoku in Wailua, Kauaʻi, were also places to which one who had killed could run swiftly and be saved.”

“The person whose writing this is often went about them, including the Hale O Keawe. He has seen this house (hale ʻaumakua iwi) where the bones were deposited, standing majestically on the left (or south) side of Akahipapa.”

“The house stood by the entrance of a wooden enclosure, with door facing inland towards the farming lands of South Kona.”

“The heir to the kingdom entered the Hale O Keawe during his journey around to the various luakini heiau of Kanoa in Hilo, Wahaʻula in Puna, and Punaluʻu in Kaʻū. The journey began in Kailua, thence to Kawaihae and from there on around the island to the Hale O Keawe.“

“The appearance of the house was good. Its posts and rafters were of kauila wood, and it was said that this kind of timber was found in the upland of Napu’u. It was well built, with crossed stems of dried ti leaves, for that was the kind of thatching used.”

“The appearance inside and outside of the house was good to look at. The compact bundles of bones (pukuʻi iwi) that were deified (hoʻokuaʻia) were in a row there in the house, beginning with Keawe’s near the right side of the door by which one went in and out, and going to the spot opposite the door (kuʻono).”

“At the right front corner of the house where the unwrapped bones of those who had died in war, heaped up like firewood. In that pile of bones were the bones of Nahiolea, father of M Kekūanāoʻa. The person whose writing this is saw his own father remove his tapa shoulder covering and place it on a bundle among the other bundles of bones. He must have asked the caretaker about all of them and their names, and they were told to him. That was why he did so.”

“When the writer saw his father doing this he asked, ‘Have we a near kinsman in this house?’ His father assented. There are some people who have relatives in this house of ‘life’, but perhaps most of them are dead. The chiefs were descended from Hāloa and so were their retainers (kauwa kupono). The chiefs were born, such as Lono-i-ka-makahiki and Kama-lala-walu and so on down, and so were the retainers (i.e., the junior members of the family.)”

“After the chief ʻIolani (Liholiho) had finished his visit to the house, a pig was cooked and the gathering sat to worship (hoʻomana) the deified persons there. When that was done, the chief and those who went in with him ate together. After the eating was over, the kapu was removed. The travellers left the Hale O Keawe and sailed by canoe, landing at Kamakahonu in Kailua in the evening. There they met Kamehameha. That must have been in the year 1817.” (John Papa ʻĪʻi)

A few years later (1823,) William Ellis and others visited Honaunau and Hale O Keawe. Ellis documented this, noting, “Honaunau, we found, was formerly a place of considerable importance, having been the frequent residence of the kings of Hawaii, for several successive generations.”

“The monuments of the ancient idolatry, with which this place abounds, were, from some cause unknown to us, spared, amidst the general destruction of the idols, &c. that followed the abolition of the aitabu, in the summer of 1819.”

“The principal object, that attracted our attention, was the ‘hare o Keave’ (house of Keawe,) a sacred depository of the bones of departed kings and princes, probably erected as a depository for the bones of the king whose name it bears, and who reigned in Hawaii, about eight generations back.”

“It is a compact building, 24 feet by 16, constructed with the most durable timber, and thatched with ti leaves, standing on a bed of lava, which runs out a considerable distance into the sea. It is surrounded by a strong fence, or paling, leaving an area in the front and at each end, about twenty-four feet wide, paved with smooth fragments of lava laid down with considerable skill.”

“Several rudely carved male and female images of wood were placed on the outside of the enclosure; some on low pedestals, under the shade of an adjacent tree; others on high posts, on the jutting rocks that hung over the edge of the water.”

“A number stood on the fence at unequal distances all around; but the principal assemblage of these frightfull representatives of their former deities, was at the south-east end of the enclosed space, where, forming a semicircle, twelve of them stood in grim array, as if perpetual guardians of ‘the mighty dead’ reposing in the house adjoining.”

“A pile of stones was neatly laid up in the form of a crescent, about three feet wide, and two feet higher than the pavement, and in this pile the images were fixed. They stood on small pedestals three or four feet high, though some were placed on pillars eight or ten feet in height, and curiously carved.”

“The principal idol stood in the centre, the others on either hand, the most powerful being placed nearest to him. He was not so large as some of the others, but was distinguished by the variety and superior carving of his body, and especially of his head.”

“Once they had evidently been clothed, but now they appeared in the most indigent nakedness. A few tattered shreds round the neck of one that stood on the left hand side of the door, rotted by the rain, and bleached by the sun, were all that remained of numerous and gaudy habiliments, with which their votaries had formerly arrayed them.”

“A large pile of broken calabashes and cocoanut shells Jay in the centre, and a considerable heap of dried and partly rotten wreaths of flowers, branches of shrubs and hushes, and fragments of tapa, (the accumulated offerings of former days,) formed an unsightly mound immediately before each of the images.”

“The horrid stare of these idols, the tattered garments upon some of them, and the heaps of rotting offerings before them, seemed to us no improper emblems of the system they were designed to support; distinguished alike by its cruelty, folly, and wretchedness.”

“…we looked in and saw many large images, some of wood very much carved, others of red feathers, with widely distended mouths, large rows of sharks teeth, and glaring pearl-shell eyes.”

“We also saw several bundles of .human bones, cleaned, carefully tied up, and placed in different parts of the house, together with some rich shawls and other valuable articles, probably worn by those, to whom the bones belonged, as the wearing apparel, and other personal property of the chiefs, is generally buried with them.”

“Adjoining the Hare O Keave, to the southward, we found a pahu tabu (sacred inclosure) of considerable extent; and were informed by our guide, that it was one of the pohonuas of Hawaii, of which we had so often heard the chiefs and others speak. There are only two on the island, the one, which we were then examining, and another at Waipiʻo, on the north-east part of the island, in the district of Kohala.”

ʻThe zeal of Kaʻahumanu led her as early as 1829 to visit the Hale O Keawe at Honaunau, a cemetery associated with dark superstitions, and surrounded with horrid wooden images of former generations. The regent visited the place not to mingle her adorations with her early contemporaries and predecessors to the relics of departed mortals, but for the purpose of removing the bones of twenty-four deified kings and princes of the Hawaiian race….” (Bingham)

“… when she saw it ought to be done, she determined it should be done: and in company with Mr. Ruggles and Kapiolani, she went to the sacred deposit, and caused the bones to be placed in large coffins and entombed in a cave in the precipice at the head of Kealakekua Bay.” (Bingham)

Hale O Keawe is part of the Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park, originally established in 1955 as City of Refuge National Historical Park (renamed on November 10, 1978.)

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Hale O Keawe was Depository of the Kings of Hawaii, at Honaunau
Hale O Keawe was Depository of the Kings of Hawaii, at Honaunau
Sketch of Hale-o-Keawe by Dampier, 1825
Sketch of Hale-o-Keawe by Dampier, 1825
Seawalls at the east end of Hale o Keawe-1921
Seawalls at the east end of Hale o Keawe-1921
Robert_C._Barnfield_-_watercolor_painting_of_Hale_o_Keawe-1886
Robert_C._Barnfield_-_watercolor_painting_of_Hale_o_Keawe-1886
Puuhonua_O_Honaunau-Smith
Puuhonua_O_Honaunau-Smith
Puuhonua_O_Honaunau-Kekahuna-SP 201979-map
Puuhonua_O_Honaunau-Kekahuna-SP 201979-map
Puuhonua_O_Honaunau-Hale_O_Keawe-lower_left
Puuhonua_O_Honaunau-Hale_O_Keawe-lower_left
Image removed from Hale-o-Keawe and later presented to the Bishop Museum
Image removed from Hale-o-Keawe and later presented to the Bishop Museum
Hale-O-Keawe
Hale-O-Keawe
Hale-o-Keawe-(hawaiireporter)
Hale-o-Keawe-(hawaiireporter)
Hale_O-Keawe-(NPS)
Hale_O-Keawe-(NPS)
Hale_O_Keawe_Platform_and_Vicinity
Hale_O_Keawe_Platform_and_Vicinity
Hale_o_keawe
Hale_o_keawe
Hale_o_keawe
Hale_o_keawe
Hale O Keawe-Ellis-1823
Hale O Keawe-Ellis-1823
Hale o Keawe platform after the 1960s restoration-(NPS)
Hale o Keawe platform after the 1960s restoration-(NPS)
Andrew Bloxam's drawings of the exterior appearance and interior arrangement of Hale-o-Keawe
Andrew Bloxam’s drawings of the exterior appearance and interior arrangement of Hale-o-Keawe

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Hawaiian Traditions Tagged With: Honaunau, Hale O Keawe, Hawaii, Hawaii Island, Puuhonua O Honaunau, Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park

January 3, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hōnaunau

Each island was divided into several moku (districts,) of which there are six in the island of Hawaiʻi, and the same number in Oʻahu. There is a district called Kona on the lee side and one called Koʻolau on the windward side of almost every island.  (Alexander)  The moku of Hawaiʻi Island are: Kona, Kohala, Hāmākua, Hilo, Puna and Kaʻū.

The Polynesians who came to the Hawaiian Islands were quick to consider the sunny, sheltered Kona district of Hawaiʻi, rising gently to fertile, cloud-covered slopes, as an environment suited to their needs.

It was ideal for food crops such as taro, breadfruit, banana, sweet potatoes and sugar cane they brought with them. Its clear, calm waters offered excellent near- and off-shore fishing. This coast became the most densely populated area in the islands and the coveted land of the chiefs.

In the centuries prior to 1778, seven large and densely-populated Royal Centers were located in Kona along the shoreline between Kailua and Hōnaunau.  These included Kamakahonu at Kailua Bay, Hōlualoa, Kahaluʻu, Keauhou, Kaʻawaloa, Kealakekua and Hōnaunau.

The compounds were areas selected by the aliʻi for their residences; aliʻi often moved between several residences throughout the year.  The Royal Centers were selected for their abundance of resources and recreation opportunities, with good surfing and canoe-landing sites being favored.

Structures associated with the Royal Centers include heiau (religious structures) and sacred areas, house sites for the aliʻi and the entourage of family and kahuna (priests), and activity areas for burial, bathing, games, recreation and crafts and often a puʻuhonua (refuge area.)

The small but deeply indented Hōnaunau Bay, with a sandy cove where canoes could be easily beached, was a favorite residence for the king.  (Emory)

The grounds of the Royal Center was centered around the small embayment known as Keoneʻele Cove.  Cup holes, which may have held kapu sticks, are noted to the north, east and southern boundaries of this area. It is believed that these kapu sticks demarcated the boundary of the royal area.

In pre-contact times, the royal grounds contained several chiefly residences and ceremonial-related structures. Other highlighted sites used by royalty included the Heleipālala fishponds and Keoneʻele Cove canoe landing.

“When first seen by Europeans, the district was composed of scattered coastal settlements of thatched houses with two nodes large enough to be called villages: Hōnaunau at the north end and Kiʻilae at the south.”  (NPS)

“Hōnaunau, we found, was formerly a place of considerable importance, having been the frequent residence of the kings of Hawaii, for several successive generations.” The town contained 147-houses. (Ellis, 1823)

“We arrived in the afternoon at a village by the seaside called Hōnaunau, about two leagues (4-miles) to the southward of Kealakekua Bay. … They took us to a large house which was tabooed for the king, with a number of smaller houses contiguous to it for sleeping in and for his attendants when he comes to the village.”

“We were told that he has a set of houses kept for him in the same way in every village he is likely to stop at round the Island, which; when he once occupies or eats in, cannot afterwards be used by any other.”  (Menzies, 1793)

A feature found at Royal Centers were fishponds.  Cartographer Henry Kekahuna called the Honaunau ponds Heleipālala. These were a number of fish ponds inland from the shore and containing a mixture of fresh and ocean waters.

They were probably stocked with fish (most likely ʻamaʻama (mullet) and awa (milkfish.))  Given their location within the royal grounds, an area inhabited and used by aliʻi, the Heleipālala ponds were most likely kapu (prohibited) to commoners.

Beyond the boundaries of the royal grounds, around the head of Hōnaunau Bay, lived the chiefly retainers and the commoners. To the south were scattered settlements along the coast and inland under the cliffs of Keanaeʻe.  (NPS)

At Hōnaunau was the puʻuhonua, The Place of Refuge, termed the ‘City of Refuge’ by Rev. William Ellis in 1823, with its adjoining chiefly residences and associated with the Royal Center.

Hōnaunau was not the only puʻuhonua in the Islands.  Ethno-historical literature, and available physical, cultural, and locational data, note at least 57-sites across the Islands.  Puʻuhonua tended to occur in areas of high population and/or in areas frequented by chiefs.  (Schoenfelder)

Hale O Keawe, at the northern end of the eastern wing of the Great Wall at Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau, was named after and either built by or for Keawe around 1700.  In ancient times the Heiau served as a royal mausoleum, housing the remains of deified high chiefs.

Historical information indicates that in the area immediately east of the Hale o Keawe was once the location for a ti leaf thatched structure called the “Hale O Lono.”  In 1919, archaeologist JFG Stokes was told by elderly Hawaiians that this area was a temple used for the four periods of prayer held monthly for eight months of the year.

The area bordering the east side Keoneʻele Cove was traditionally known as Kauwalomālie. Kauwalomālie is said to have contained a large platform, fronted by an 8-foot high retaining wall. The platform was reportedly the location for a chiefly residence and/or ceremonial area.  (NPS)

At about the time of ʻUmi (about the same time Christopher Columbus was crossing the Atlantic,) a significant new form of agriculture was developed in Kona; he is credited with starting this in Kona.  Today, archaeologists call the unique method of farming in this area the “Kona Field System.”

This intensive agricultural activity changed farming and agricultural production on the western side of Hawai’i Island; the Kona field system was quite large, extending from Kailua to south of Hōnaunau.

In lower elevations all the way to the shore, informal clearings, mounds and terraces were used to plant sweet potatoes; and on the forest fringe above the walled fields there were clearings, mounds and terraces.  Sweet potatoes grew among the breadfruit.

In 1871, a coastal trail that originally extended from Nāpōʻopoʻo south to Hoʻokena was repaired, and renamed the 1871 Trail.  It is a section of the historic coastal Alaloa (regional trail) and was a primary route of travel between communities, royal centers, religious sites and resources.  (Improved, it was a ‘two-horse trail’ because it was widened to accommodate two horses.)

The Alahaka Ramp, located near the southern end of the Keanaeʻe Cliffs, is a massive stone ramp that connects the historic 1871 Trail to Kiʻilae Village.  Prior to the construction of the ramp (probably in the mid-1800s,) folks used a ladder or rope to get up the slope.

(In 1918 the trail section north of Hōnaunau was improved for wheeled traffic; however, the section south to Hoʻokena was never modified for motorized vehicles.)

In 1891, the lands at Hōnaunau were deeded to the Bishop Estate Trustees and from 1921-1961 the County of Hawaiʻi leased the Bishop Estate-owned lands for a County Park. It is during this time, they constructed a series of seawalls that fronted the eastern and western sides of Keoneʻele Cove. (NPS)

The image shows Keoneʻele Cove and the area known as Kauwalomālie (NPS, 1912.)  I have added other images to a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Hawaiian Traditions, Place Names Tagged With: Royal Center, Umi-a-Liloa, Honaunau, Hale O Keawe, Hawaii, Kona Field System, Hawaii Island, Kona, Puuhonua O Honaunau, Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park, Ala Loa, Trails

July 27, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau

“The ancient system consisted in the many tabus, restrictions or prohibitions, by which the high chiefs contrived, to throw about their persons a kind of sacredness, and to instil into the minds of the people a superstitious awe and peculiar dread.”

“If the shadow of a common man fell on a chief, it was death; if he put on a kapa or a malo of a chief, it was death; if he went into the chief’s yard, it was death; if he wore the chief’s consecrated mat, it was death; if he went upon the house of the chief, it was death.”

“If a man stood on those occasions when he should prostrate himself, (such as) when the king’s bathing water… (was) carried along, it was death. If a man walked in the shade of the house of a chief with his head besmeared with clay, or with a wreath around it, or with his head wet… it was death.”

“There were many other offenses of the people which were made capital by the chiefs, who magnified and exalted themselves over their subjects.”  (Dibble)

The social rules for interaction with gods and members of the chiefly class were legion, and death by human sacrifice was the default punishment in many cases.  (Shoenfelder)

Puʻuhonua were locations which, through the power of the gods and the generosity of the chiefs, afforded unconditional absolution to those who broke taboos, disobeyed rulers, or committed other crimes.  (Schoenfelder)

Ethno-historical literature, and available physical, cultural, and locational data, note at least 57-sites across the Islands.  Puʻuhonua tended to occur in areas of high population and/or in areas frequented by chiefs.  (Schoenfelder)

These range from enclosed compounds such as Hōnaunau, to platforms (Halulu on Lānaʻi), to fortified mountain-tops (Kawela on Molokaʻi), to unmodified natural features (Kūkaniloko on Oʻahu) and to entire inhabited land sections, as at Lāhainā on Maui. (Schoenfelder)

Recognized as one of the significant puʻuhonua, and one that is well preserved and presented for the rest of us to understand was Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau on the Kona coast on the Island of Hawaiʻi.

The Place of Refuge, termed the ‘City of Refuge’ by Rev. William Ellis in 1823, with its adjoining chiefly residences. Beyond the boundaries of the “Palace Grounds”, around the head of Hōnaunau Bay, lived the chiefly retainers and the commoners. South of the Place of Refuge were scattered settlements along the coast and inland under the cliffs of Keanaee.  (NPS)

“The Puhonua at Hōnaunau is a very capacious one, capable of containing a vast multitude of people. In time of war, the females, children, and old people of the neighbouring districts, were generally left within it, while the men went to battle. Here they awaited in safety the issue of the conflict, and were secure against surprise and destruction in the event of a defeat.”  (Ellis, 1823)

“These Puhonuas were the Hawaiian ‘Cities of Refuge,” and afforded an inviolable sanctuary to the guilty fugitive, who, when flying from the avenging spear, was so favoured as to enter their precincts.”  (Ellis, 1823)

“Hither the manslayer, the man who had broken a taboo, or failed in the observance of its rigid requirements, the thief, and even the murderer, fled from his incensed pursuers, and was secure. To whomsoever he belonged, and from whatever part he came, he was equally certain of admittance, though liable to be pursued even to the gates of the enclosure.”  (Ellis, 1823)

“Happily for him, those gates were perpetually open. Whenever war was proclaimed, and during the period of actual hostilities, a white flag was unfurled on the top of a tall spear, on the outside, at each end of the enclosure, and until’ the conclusion of peace, waved the symbal of hope to those, who, vanquished in fight, might flee thither for protection.”

“To the spot, on which this banner was unfurled, the victorious warrior might chase his routed foes. But here he must himself fall back. Beyond it he must not advance one step, on pain of forfeiting his life.”

“The priests and their adherents – would immediately put to death anyone, who should have the temerity to follow, or molest those, who were once within the pale of the pahu tabu, and, and as they expressed it, under the shade, or skreening protection, of the spirit of Keave, the tutelar deity of the place.”  (Ellis, 1823)

A structure there, Hale-O-Keawe was erected around 1650 to serve as a temple mausoleum for the ruling chiefs of Kona. It served as the major temple for the “Place of Refuge” until 1819, when the religious laws (kapu) were abandoned.

“The appearance of the house was good. Its posts and rafters were of kauila wood, and it was said that this kind of timber was found in the upland of Napu’u. It was well built, with crossed stems of dried ti leaves, for that was the kind of thatching used.”

“The appearance inside and outside of the house was good to look at. The compact bundles of bones (pukuʻi iwi) that were deified (hoʻokuaʻia) were in a row there in the house, beginning with Keawe’s near the right side of the door by which one went in and out, and going to the spot opposite the door (kuʻono).”  (John Papa ʻĪʻi)

“It is a compact building, 24 feet by 16, constructed with the most durable timber, and thatched with ti leaves, standing on a bed of lava, which runs out a considerable distance into the sea. It is surrounded by a strong fence, or paling, leaving an area in the front and at each end, about twenty-four feet wide, paved with smooth fragments of lava laid down with considerable skill.”

“Several rudely carved male and female images of wood were placed on the outside of the enclosure; some on low pedestals, under the shade of an adjacent tree; others on high posts, on the jutting rocks that hung over the edge of the water.”  (Ellis, 1823)

“The zeal of Kaʻahumanu led her as early as 1829 to visit the Hale O Keawe at Honaunau, a cemetery associated with dark superstitions, and surrounded with horrid wooden images of former generations. The regent visited the place not to mingle her adorations with her early contemporaries and predecessors to the relics of departed mortals, but for the purpose of removing the bones of twenty-four deified kings and princes of the Hawaiian race….”  (Bingham)

“… when she saw it ought to be done, she determined it should be done: and in company with Mr. Ruggles and Kapiolani, she went to the sacred deposit, and caused the bones to be placed in large coffins and entombed in a cave in the precipice at the head of Kealakekua Bay.”  (Bingham)

The puʻuhonua was deeded to Miriam Kekāuluohi, a granddaughter of Kamehameha I, in the Māhele of 1848, and it was inherited, upon her death, by Levi Haʻalelea, her second husband. In 1866, the property was auctioned by Ha‘alelea’s estate to Charles Kana‘ina, the father of William Charles Lunalilo.

Kana‘ina, however, did not pay the $5,000 bid, and Charles Reed Bishop stepped in to purchase Ha‘alelea’s land for that same amount on April 1, 1867. In 1891, six years after Pauahi’s death, Bishop deeded the land to the trustees of the Bishop Estate who leased it to one of their members, SM Damon.

Damon was responsible for the 1902 restoration work on the Great Wall and the stone platforms of two heiau, Hale O Keawe and ‘Ale‘ale‘a. The County of Hawai‘i took over Damon’s lease in 1921. That lease expired in 1961 when the then County Park was acquired by the US National Park Service.  (deSilva)

Originally established in 1955 as City of Refuge National Historical Park, Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park was renamed on November 10, 1978.

Further reconstruction consisted of four terraces and a passage between the southern end of the platform and the northern end of the Great Wall. In 1966-67 Edmund J Ladd directed the excavation and re-stabilization of the Hale o Keawe platform. Ladd’s excavations in addition to historical accounts indicated that the platform did not originally have multiple tiers; therefore, the 1967 work restored the platform to its more authentic form that joins the Great Wall on its south side.

After the platform was restored, the thatched hale, wooden palisade, and kiʻi were also rebuilt on the site. Since the time of Ladd’s initial reconstruction, the Hale o Keawe structure and carved wooden kiʻi have been replaced on two occasions with the most recent efforts being completed in 2004.  (NPS)

The image shows Hale O Keawe at Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau (NPS.)  I have added other images to a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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© 2014 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Hawaiian Traditions, Place Names Tagged With: Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park, Honaunau, Hale O Keawe, Kaahumanu, Refuge, Hawaii, Hawaii Island, Puuhonua O Honaunau

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