The Revered Heiau of Pu'ukohola
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12 PU‘UKOHOLA HEIAU The Revered Heiau of Pu‘ukohola December 7, 1922 Kamehameha stayed a while in the uplands of the Hilo districts where great canoes were being made. When he had gotten some very large new canoes to Kreinforce his fleet, he returned to Kawaihae and began to think of fulfilling the instruc- tions of Käula Kapoukahi, to build the house of the god. The maka‘äinana of the various places close to Kawaihae were called to come to the work which Kamehameha was doing, and also all the chiefs who governed the provinces were called to come prepared to work on building the famous heiau of Pu‘ukohola. Kamehameha organized the furnishing of kalo from the valleys of Waipi‘o and Waimanu which was fetched by the canoe fleet. The fisher-folk were set apart, and they spent their time in supplying fish for those building the heiau. Kamehameha made known to his ali‘i that not a single high chief was to escape working on the heiau of the god. The only sacred chief who did not lift a rock for the house of the god was Keli‘imaika‘i, the own younger brother of Kamehameha. Kamehameha’s younger brother was prohibited from doing this. On a certain day, when Kamehameha saw him doing it, he ran and snatched the rock from the hand of his pöki‘i [younger brother] and said to him: “Kähähä! I have thought that you are to be the one to preserve the kapu of the god and also the kapu of this heiau, yet here you are doing this work of lifting a rock.” With these words, the ali‘i Pai‘ea immediately commanded some of his paddlers to take the rock which his younger brother had lifted and cast it into the deep sea. This command was obeyed, and that rock which his younger brother had lifted was truly cast into the deep sea. It has been said in some old histories of Hawai‘i Nei that the building of the heiau at Mailekini had been begun first. This was the heiau just a little below Pu‘uko- hola. When Hewahewa, the great kahuna in charge of preserving heiau arrived, he said 303 Kamehameha and His Warrior Kekühaupi‘o to Kamehameha: “E Kalani ë, this will not secure the island for you because the house of the god is low. Lift it up on high and turn it to face the sea, then from the sea will come the blessings.” Because of Hewahewa’s words to Kamehameha, he agreed to commence the house of the god at this site of Pu‘ukohola, which perhaps confirms the unfinished state of Mailekini which lies to this day at a site just below Pu‘ukohola. This heiau of Pu‘ukohola for the god Kükä‘ilimoku was built by Ali‘i Kamehameha and his chiefs and numerous people from Kona, Hämäkua, Kohala, and also from the uplands of Waimea. It was two hundred fifty feet in length, one hundred feet in width, and the surrounding walls were twelve feet thick, rising up eight feet in height on the upper side and, on the lower side, twenty feet. This was perhaps one of the greatest deeds accomplished by Kamehameha at the time when he was seeking the way to achieve victory for himself over this entire archipelago, and it followed the advice of that käula Kapoukahi of Kaua‘i and O‘ahu. (It is regrettable that this famous work of our ali‘i ‘ai moku has not been preserved. This has not been done because of the jealous thoughts (mana‘o huwähuwä) of some of those in our legislature for fear that doing it would become something to be viewed with disfavor. If this famous work of our ali‘i is preserved, and a road built for cars to get to this place, then this could become a place visited by the travelers of the world. And most of all in the immediate future, when that new wharf at Kawaihae is completed, perhaps travelers may land there and board the train which is thought of being extended as far as Waimea. Then truly the prophecy would be fulfilled by this very last heiau built by Kamehameha to gain victory over Hawai‘i Nei as prophesied by the käula Kapoukahi and advised by Hewahewa, the great kahuna kia‘i heiau.) Let the readers of this new era in the land also remember that this heiau of Pu‘ukohola was of the po‘o kanaka class at which human sacrifices were made to conse- crate it for the god for whom it was built. This was of the first class, and it stands with those heiau built by Pä‘ao: Mo‘okini at Kohala and Waha‘ula of the fiery kapu at Puna and also like the great heiau of Hikiau built in the time of Lonoikamakahiki, the mö‘ï ‘ai moku of Hawai‘i Nui Kuauli. These are famous matters of which the new generations of this land are very neglectful, perhaps thinking there is no value in caring for the famous works of some 304 Chapter 12 • Pu‘ukohola Heiau of the very celebrated mö‘ï of Hawai‘i Nei. Perhaps there should be a renewal of the idea of caring for the famous things of ancient Hawai‘i, recalling the fall of the one who ridiculed it at that legislative session when it was thought that the work of preser- vation of those famous things of ancient times should be continued. Their value is shown by the visitors to places such as the Haleokeawe at Hönaunau in these times. The money from the supervisors of the county of Hawai‘i has been really worthwhile. Haleokeawe has become a place much visited by foreigners who come to Hawai‘i as well as for those kama‘äina who have lived long in Hawai‘i Nei and yet had never seen this famous work by the mö‘ï Keawe of Hawai‘i. Forgive the writer for going far astray to the “garden of that ali‘i Kamehameha,” in other words, Kuahewa which lies ma uka of Kainaliu.117 Let us move on with our story of the famous warrior Kekühaupi‘o and his hänai ali‘i, the most famous conqueror of the Pacific Ocean. The food for the workers on the heiau was brought from various places of this great island of Hawai‘i, and our patient messenger Ka Hoku o Hawaii is hinting that the food for the heiau builders came from various places, and what of the calabash of our patient messenger which lacks for food? This little voice which calls is something we are fond of (No‘ono‘o ‘ia mai ho‘i këia wahi leo uwalo o kahi milimili a käua). The construction of the heiau po‘o kanaka of Pu‘ukohola was begun after Ka‘iana returned from that expedition in pursuit of Keöuakü‘ahu‘ula on which he had been sent by Kamehameha. The warriors of the ali‘i Kamehameha were gathered together and also the ali‘i of the various districts and the chiefly konohiki under the various ali‘i who had been favored by Kamehameha and given the care of an ahupua‘a. The true proficiency of the ancient people of this race was shown by their important works. Perhaps the basis for the great progress in this work by our ancestors was that the maka‘äinana obeyed the leadership of their loved ali‘i. In these days, however, we see the “Kilauea going forward and backward” [probably referring to the steamship Kilauea], and this thought of work is not like those of the beloved ancestors of this race of ours. The reason is that they worked in unison. The nature of the work was pro- claimed from the times of our ancestors and was not known by the “petition of those 117 Again, Kamehameha’s large garden named Kuahewa is used to imply a place that is so vast that it is easy to go astray. 305 Kamehameha and His Warrior Kekühaupi‘o lawyers in Washington,” a race of lazy gluttons of whom the Hawaiians never heard. There is harshness in those “words smearing dirt on us,” and we neglect the man who honorably defends the good name of our Hawaiian race. However, there are these words of our ancients: “A man is like the banana tree on the day it bears its fruits (He mai‘a ke kanaka a ka lä e hua mai ai).” When the heiau of Pu‘ukohola was completed, preparations were made for its consecration. It was important to secure the mona [offering] which was appropriate to dedicate the house of the god. Let us understand, my good reader of the remarkable story of our ali‘i ‘ai moku, the story concerning the famous works of our land. It was the custom amongst the ali‘i ‘ai moku of this land to build heiau, and the consequence of this building was the search for the appropriate man to offer for the consecration. In accordance with the conditions of building the house of the god, so also was the nature of the search for the appropriate offering. This was a heiau po‘o kanaka so that it was absolutely neces- sary to get a “man’s head” to achieve the consecration. Words of Prophecy and Guidance from the Kähuna December 14, 1922 In accordance with the high status of the heiau being built, so also must be the offering to consecrate it. This is something to educate the reader concerning Ithe deeds of the ancient ali‘i of this land who were guided by the high kähuna of their courts.