Our Hawaiian Vacation: Second Stop of Kohala Day Trip
This post continues details of our driving tour of Kohala, which we enjoyed on our fourth day on the island of Hawaii (Thursday, May 20th). Our first stop was at Manini’owali Beach. Our second stop was in Kawaihae at the Pu’Ukohola Heiau National Historic Site.
The Pu’Ukohola Heiau was built by King Kamehameha in 1790-1791. The king built the heiau (temple) at Kawaihae because a kahuna from the island of Kaua’i said that this was the way to conquer Hawaii. Thousands of people worked on this temple, carrying one boulder at a time from miles away. Some workers were sacrificed during construction of the temple to make sure that the gods would be happy. When the temple was completed, the king dedicated the temple by inviting and then sacrificing one of his enemies. You can read more about the Pu’Ukohola Heiau National Historic Site by visiting the National Park Service’s website.
the Pu’Ukohola Heiau
Altar at the Pu’Ukohola Heiau
the Pu’Ukohola Heiau and altar
Bob at visitor center enjoying view of ocean
In case you didn’t know Hawaii has a language all its own. These are signs for the woman (on the left) and man bathrooms.
Next stop: an old Hawaiian village.
8 Responses to “Our Hawaiian Vacation: Second Stop of Kohala Day Trip”
Very interesting!
Linda: Great shots at the park. I hope Bob didn't try the altar, it didn't look to sturdy.
@Fishing Guy – Neither Bob nor his brother, John, walked up to the temple. They stayed under cover at the visitor center. They sat at the visitor center enjoying the view of the ocean and the ocean breezes. They were happy just seeing the temple from the distance. As an aside, no one was permitted to walk along the base of the temple. Reconstructive work was being done on the walls on the far side of the temple, which had been damaged by an earthquake in 2006.
Very interesting. So much history there. The island is a lot more arid than I imagined.
That's a nice shot of Bob looking out the window!
Built one boulder at a time, wow must have taken a long time.The altar is a bit rickety looking.Nice reading of your trip. It is so much fun writing up the journey, it brings it all back to you.
I had no idea the big island is so barren. I suppose most of the photos I've seen are from Oahu.
Glad that human sacrifice is no longer required for building dedications! Enjoyed the shots and the story as usual!