Forgotten Heiau of Hilo

by Torri Law, Lyman Museum Intern

The kapu system refers to the socioreligious code of conduct by which ancient Hawaiian society was stratified and regulated prior to 1819. Integral to this system were heiau – temple structures where protocols related to the kapu system were conducted. They were sacred sites where Hawaiians engaged in certain acts of worship, prayer, and ceremony according to their status and role in society. Different heiau were dedicated to different akua (gods) to solicit their blessings in specific practices. Heiau were typically dedicated to akua who would ensure success in agriculture, healing, fishing, and war. Perhaps the most well-known types of heiau are the puʻuhonua and luakini, which served as places of refuge and human sacrifice, respectively. When a major kapu was violated, the transgressor may have sought refuge at a puʻuhonua, or been executed at a luakini. The kapu system restricted multiple behaviors ranging from the consumption of certain food items to touching the king’s shadow. Because the breaking of a kapu was considered a spiritual transgression, even lesser violations were often punishable by death unless the violator managed to reach a puʻuhonua and undergo the appropriate cleansing rituals.

The Lyman Museum preserves a large photograph collection with images of many Hawaiʻi Island places. To learn more, the Archives is open for research by appointment: https://lymanmuseum.org/archives/.

Note: Hawaiian diacritical marks comprise just two symbols: the ʻokina (glottal stop) and the kahakō (macron). We use them with Hawaiian place names, but do not add them to proper names if a family or a company does not use them.

An image of Mokuʻola taken in 1899, several decades after the elimination of the kapu system. When Kamehameha II abolished the kapu system in 1819, he also ordered the destruction of the now-obsolete temples. Among the heiau that once stood in Hilo were a paired puʻuhonua and luakini located at Mokuʻola (Coconut Island) and Makaʻokū (now known as the Banyan Drive area or Waiākea peninsula). Mokuʻola, meaning “healing island” or “island of life,” is a popular recreational space in modern times, but once served as a puʻuhonua dedicated to healing. According to legend, if a person could swim around Mokuʻola in a single breath, they would be cured of any ailments.
Mokuʻola is in Hilo Bay, just off the coast of what is now Liliʻuokalani Park. Although the small island functioned as a puʻuhonua, it is unclear whether a formal temple structure was ever constructed there. Today, both residents and visitors are largely unaware that adjacent to the healing island – on the spot that now offers a parking lot and access bridge for Mokuʻola – was a luakini known as “Kūakaʻananuʻu.” Like other luakini, this was a place where violators of the kapu were put to death, and their bodies prepared for burial.
While the stone foundations of several heiau can still be found across the Hawaiian Islands, most were entirely dismantled, and their materials repurposed for new structures. Some of the stones from Kūakaʻananuʻu were used to build a boat dock, others became road filler. Some stones used for ceremony – including executions and sacrifices – were hidden away by konohiki (land managers) of the area to preserve the mana (power) within. The image above shows a ceremonial execution stone known as Makaokuikalani along with two of the konohiki responsible for its concealment.
Some of the ceremonial stones rescued from Kūakaʻananuʻu Heiau. In 2015, some of the ceremonial stones were rediscovered by a descendant of the konohiki who buried them for safekeeping nearly 200 years before. The most sacred of the stones (including Makaʻokuikalani) remain under the family’s stewardship, but others can be visited near the Wailoa River boat harbor close to where they were recovered. The stones have been designated as a wahi pana (sacred place) where cultural practitioners sometimes leave ceremonial offerings. If you choose to visit the wahi pana or Mokuʻola, remember to be mindful of the significance of these spaces, and act respectfully.

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