Pu‘ukohola: A Prophecy Fulfilled, Past Conflicts Still Healing

Ho‘oku‘ikahi I Pu‘ukoholā (To Unify at Pu‘ukoholā)

Pu‘ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site will celebrate its 43rd anniversary with the park’s annual Ho‘oku‘ikahi i Pu‘ukoholā Establishment Day Hawaiian Cultural Festival on August 15–16, 2015. The festival will open with Nā Papa Kanaka o Pu‘ukoholā Heiau performing the ho‘okupu and ho‘oku‘ikahi ceremonies on Saturday, August 15 from 6−9:30am, with cultural activities continuing until 3pm. On Sunday, August 16, there are cultural activities from 9:30am−3pm.

Many arts and craft workshops and demonstrations are planned to experience and learn hands-on, including lei making, quilting, Hawaiian games, ipu (decorative gourds), lauhala weaving, and more.

For more information, contact park staff at 808.882.7218 Ext. 1011.

By Karen Valentine

To the casual observer, Pu‘ukoholā Heiau appears to be a massive stone structure perched on a hill, facing the sea and surrounded by desolate country. Located just south of Kawaihae Harbor on the northwest side of Hawai‘i Island, it is that and more. To the Hawaiians and a group of cultural practitioners, Nā Papa Kanaka o Pu‘ukoholā Heiau, it is a living, sacred temple honoring the unification of the Hawaiian Islands by Kamehameha I.

Kamehameha I built and consecrated the heiau for that purpose in fulfillment of prophecy. In the spirit of unification and honoring Hawai‘i’s first king, many feel it is worthy of an annual pilgrimage of Hawaiian kanaka (people) from all islands to pule (pray), perform ho‘oku‘ikahi (to create unification) ceremony and make ho‘okupu (offerings). The public is invited to witness this ceremony by some 200 participants each August.

The importance of Pu‘ukoholā—now a National Historic Site under the stewardship of the US National Park Service—is increased with the knowledge that it was once a buzzing hub of royal family business and strategic decision-making with comings and goings of significant individuals in Hawai‘i’s history. As much as ‘Iolani Palace in Honolulu was or today’s state capitol building is significant, Pu‘ukoholā was Hawai‘i’s first seat of government for the united Hawaiian Kingdom under Kamehameha I. It is from here that Hawai‘i was brought out of isolation and into the 19th century as a player on the world stage.

Upon Pelekane beach, beneath the heiau, was the king’s family compound and headquarters. Sailing ships from faraway lands called at nearby Kawaihae Harbor, the only safe anchorage on this coastline. From Pu‘ukoholā, Kamehameha could observe all who approached, and if necessary, defend his lands. Foreign visitors called upon him to gain his approval, and at least one important foreigner—John Young—became the king’s trusted advisor, ali‘i nui and governor of Hawai‘i Island after having been stranded on the island when his ship left him behind at Kawaihae. The ruins of his home are also adjacent to Pu‘ukoholā and a part of the historical exhibits located here.

Sadly, for some people of Hawai‘i Island, Pu‘ukoholā represents painful memories of a chief thought to have been betrayed and made a victim of human sacrifice in order to consecrate the temple for the fulfillment of Kamehameha’s mission. Keōua Kuahu‘ula was cousin to Kamehameha I and ruler of one of the last pieces of land to be conquered. Even after Kamehameha’s occupation of Maui, Moloka‘i, and O‘ahu, the local district of Ka‘ū remained contested and independent under the great warrior chief, Keōua.

It was 1790 and Kamehameha was looking for answers. How could he end the wars and unite the islands? In the late 1700s, there were signs that Kamehameha’s destiny was to unite and rule over all the Hawaiian Islands. By 1790, Kamehameha had invaded and conquered Maui, Lana‘i, and Moloka‘i, and yet had difficulty claiming and conquering his home island of Hawai‘i because of the opposition of his chief rival and cousin, Keōua Kuahu‘ula. For guidance, Kamehameha sent his aunt to the prophet Kapoukahi. The prophet stated that Kamehameha would unite and rule the islands if he built a large heiau (temple) to his family war god, Kūka‘ilimoku, and it should be placed atop Pu‘ukoholā (Whale Hill).

Kamehameha immediately organized the construction of this great heiau, which measures 224 by 100 feet with 16-to-20-foot-high walls—the largest on all the islands. The task was so huge that Kamehameha called in thousands of men to participate. Even chiefs and Kamehameha himself helped with the labor. A human chain 20 miles long was formed from Pololū valley, from which the proper stone was located and passed, hand to hand. The entire structure was built without mortar, and by the summer of 1791 it was complete.

The prophet had also instructed that the heiau’s mana (spiritual power) would be great enough to accomplish the prophecy only if a human sacrifice of a very important person were made. Kamehameha’s chief rival, Keōua, became the heiau’s first, yet ultimately not the last, human sacrifice.

Keōua, from the Ka‘ū district, had been warring with Kamehameha for nine years, seeking absolute rule over the same lands and people of the island of Hawai‘i. He had made multiple invasions of Kamehameha’s territory, reclaiming land. A lasting peace was not possible while both were living. Keōua, however, had suffered fatal defeats, one being the decimation of his army by a lava flow, an incident seen by Keōua as displeasure from one of his primary gods, Pele.

Keōua also recognized the god Kūka‘ilimoku and realized that tradition dictated that the consecration of the temple newly built to honor this god required a high sacrifice. Upon his invitation by Kamehameha to the consecration, the chief knew that he was to be the sacrifice.

The story is told very well in this excerpt from a photographic essay, “Ho‘oku‘ikahi: To Unify As One,” printed in the Winter 2007 edition of Manoa, a literary journal of the University of Hawai‘i Press.

“…Kamehameha and the great chiefs labored until the heiau at Pu‘ukoholā was completed. The walls rose up and the paehumu, the kapu enclosure; the ‘anu‘u, the tower; the haku ‘ohi‘a, the main sacred image; and the hale mana, the largest house of the luakini heiau, were put in place. All that remained to fulfill the prophecy was to consecrate the great heiau.”

About Keōua, the story says, “By accepting his fate, he saved his Ka‘ū people from invasion and annihilation.

“En route by canoe, Keōua and his escort made their last stop at Kiholo Bay, at a pond called Luahinewai. There, he bathed and performed the ritual ‘umu‘o [a genital mutilation], which made him an imperfect sacrifice. It was a sign that Keōua knew he would die, and it was his final act of defiance toward Kamehameha.

“Watching from the hill at Pu‘ukoholā, the forces of Kamehameha and his armies of Kona and Kohala saw Keōua and his men sail into the bay…As the canoes from Ka‘ū approached the landing, Keōua stood and cried out to Kamehameha, ‘Here I am!’

“ ‘Stand up and come forward that we may greet each other,’ was Kamehameha’s reply.

“As Keōua stepped ashore, a swift thrust of a spear from Ke‘eaumoku, Kamehameha’s father-in-law, took the Ka‘ū chief’s life. All those on the canoe were killed as well. The body of Keōua was prepared in the older heiau, Mailekini, just below Pu‘ukoholā, and then taken up to the altar to be offered to the god Kūka‘ilimoku. The sacrifice made the consecration of this temple complete.

“Bitter was the loss of Keōua to the Ka‘ū people, and that bitterness has flowed down through the veins of seven generations. In Hawaiian tradition and in many other native cultures, spiritual completion occurs when the seventh generation hands down its knowledge of all things inherent and sacred to their children. Now, the eighth generation comes, seeking to staunch the flow, heal the wounds, and serve as a symbol of unification.”

Seeking to facilitate healing and reconciliation, the National Park Service hosted a ceremony in 1991, the 200th anniversary of the consecration of the heiau, bringing together the descendants of these two chiefs at Pu‘ukoholā.

“The celebration intended to bring two clans together who historically had been torn apart, to support those in search of their cultural roots, to honor and affirm those who continue the practices of their kūpuna, and to invite all Hawaiians searching for a united voice to come together as one at this place.

“Polynesians from across the Pacific journeyed to Pu‘ukoholā to support their kin, as Hawaiians came together there to honor and reclaim certain traditional protocols for the first time in seven generations.”*

Since 1991, the symbolic retelling of this story through commemorative events is hoped to educate and also continue the healing of the wounds. Nā Papa Kanaka o Pu‘ukoholā Heiau and several other local, cultural organizations participate in partnership with the National Park. Its current kahuna nui (high priest) is John Kapono‘ai Molitau. He organizes the ceremonies and invites students into the activities to learn and appreciate the significance of Pu‘ukoholā.

On the makai side of the large heiau sits Mailekini Heiau. It predates Pu‘ukoholā and its original purpose is uncertain. We know that during Kamehameha’s rule, Mailekini Heiau served as a fort. By 1810, the king had successfully united all the Hawaiian Islands through military conquests and by following the advice of his new and trusted military advisors, John Young (British) and Isaac Davis (Welsh), who consulted with him on the use of modern weapons and negotiation of treaties. Around 1812, Young advised him to mount cannons on Mailekini to help protect the island and Pu‘ukoholā.

Kamehameha maintained a distinct advantage over his foes by acquiring the benefits of European ideas and military strategies, and also advanced technology such as arms and gunpowder. Already, by 1790, he had managed to acquire guns, light cannon, and an armed schooner.

In gratitude, John Young received from Kamehameha a significant amount of properties on several islands, including one entire ahupua‘a at Kawaihae. He built his own home and family compound just northwest of the heiau. Possibly the first western-style structure built in Hawai‘i, its ruins are now part of the National Historic Site. The home was constructed using a combination of western and Hawaiian techniques, with a whitewashed plaster façade made of crushed coral, poi, and hair. He achieved great authority as the king’s advisor, facilitating meetings and training and supervising shipbuilding. Young married a niece of Kamehameha. His granddaughter, Emma Rooke, whose birthplace and childhood home was here at the Young compound, became Queen Emma, who was married to Kamehameha IV and founded Queen’s Hospital in Honolulu. The Queen Emma Foundation donated land for the national park.

Pu‘ukoholā Heiau probably was used for religious rituals beyond its consecration. Since Kamehameha’s position was not totally secure for another 20 years, during that time he may have felt the need for continuing ceremonies to gain mana from Kūka‘ilimoku. There is some evidence that further human sacrifices were made there. A number of historical accounts report seeing human skulls aligned along the tops of the walls. One testimony is that of John Young, who told the Reverend Lorenzo Lyons that he had seen there “many a human victim sacrificed.”

Commoners or foreign visitors never viewed the interior of the heiau during the time of its use, as it was kapu, sacred and forbidden upon penalty of death. Even today, visitors are not allowed inside the heiau.

There are a number of details relative to Pu‘ukoholā’s original appearance that can be substantiated both from the historical accounts and from surface surveys, although no in-depth archaeological study has ever been done.

The entrance to the platform was at the northwest corner of the structure, with the large temple platform area enclosed on the east, north, and south ends by high walls, making it impossible for observers to see what was going on there. Possibly a wooden fence stretched north-south along the top terrace. Wooden fences were often used in conjunction with stone walls and were often an integral part of a heiau structure. This one probably was about four-feet high with human skulls affixed to the wooden poles. These white skulls could be seen from ships approaching the harbor. The large platform on the north end of the courtyard probably held at least three structures, including houses for the kahuna and the king. There were also areas for offerings, an oracle tower, and images arranged throughout the structure. The stone wing walls extending from the northwest and southwest corners of the temple probably marked the limits of its sacred space.

Pelekane remained Kamehameha’s residence from about 1790 to 1794 while he completed the invasion of the other Hawaiian Islands. Then he and his family moved to Kailua Bay in Kona, at the site of today’s King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel and Ahu‘ena Heiau.

In 1819, King Kamehameha passed away and his son Liholiho began his ascension to the throne as King Kamehameha II. To prepare himself to take his father’s place, Liholiho journeyed to the site of Pu‘ukoholā Heiau and evidently performed a re-consecration ritual to honor his reign. However, soon after coming to power, Liholiho (Kamehameha II) and Kamehameha’s widow, Queen Consort Ka‘ahumanu, influenced by Christian missionaries, ended the kapu system that had been in place for centuries. The idols and structures of the heiau were burned and its use as a temple terminated until its revitalization by today’s practitioners.

Submerged just offshore are the ruins of what is believed to have been another temple, called Hale o Kapuni, which local lore relates was dedicated to the shark gods or ‘aumakua. It is said that several of them were given names and it was believed they protected the families who fed them. Among these were Uukanipo, two great sharks who were twin brothers. When the king wished to see them, their keeper hung two bowls of ‘awa from a forked stick to attract them. The black-tipped reef sharks, whose ancestors were fed human remains, continue to circle just offshore and can be seen by visitors, especially in the early morning hours.

*The text is adapted from the documentary film, Ho‘oku‘ikahi: To Unify As One, scripted, produced and directed by Meleanna Aluli Meyer and written with John Keolamaka‘ainana Lake, kahuna nui of the ceremonies. The film is available at the interpretive center at Pu‘ukoholā. ❖

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