Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park is a United States

National Historical Park National Historic Site (NHS) and National Historical Park (NHP) are designations for officially recognized areas of nationally historic significance in the United States. They are usually owned and managed by the federal government. An NHS usually ...

located on the west coast of the island of Hawaiʻi in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. The historical park preserves the site where, up until the early 19th century,

Hawaiians Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was settled at least 800 years ago by Polynesians ...

who broke a kapu (one of the ancient laws) could avoid certain death by fleeing to this place of refuge or ''puʻuhonua''. The offender would be absolved by a priest and freed to leave. Defeated warriors and non-combatants could also find refuge here during times of battle. The grounds just outside the Great Wall that encloses the puʻuhonua were home to several generations of powerful chiefs. Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau is one of the only four places in Hawaii where the

flag of Hawaii The flag of Hawaii, also known as the Hawaiian flag, is the State flag, official flag of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It consists of a field of eight horizontal stripes, in the sequence of white, red, blue, white, red, blue, white, red with a Brit ...

can officially fly alone without the American flag; the other three places are

ʻIolani Palace The Iolani Palace () was the royal residence of the rulers of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi beginning with Kamehameha III under the Kamehameha Dynasty (1845) and ending with Queen Liliʻuokalani (1893) under the Kalākaua Dynasty. It is located i ...

, the Mauna ʻAla and Thomas Square.

Park name and features

The 420 acre (1.7 km²) site was originally established in 1955 as City of Refuge National Historical Park and was renamed on November 10, 1978. In 2000 the name was changed by the ''Hawaiian National Park Language Correction Act of 2000'', observing the Hawaiian spelling. It includes the puʻuhonua and a complex of archeological sites including: temple platforms, royal fishponds, sledding tracks, and some coastal village sites. The Hale o Keawe temple and several thatched structures have been reconstructed.

Hale o Keawe heiau

Hale o Keawe was an ancient Hawaiian

heiau A ''heiau'' () is a Hawaiian temple. Made in different architectural styles depending upon their purpose and location, they range from simple earth terraces, to elaborately constructed stone platforms. There are heiau to treat the sick (''heia ...

originally built in approximately 1650 AD as the burial site for the ruling monarch ( aliʻi nui) of the

Island of Hawaii Hawaii is the List of islands of the United States by area, largest island in the United States, located in the Hawaii, state of Hawaii, the southernmost state in the union. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcani ...

named Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku. It was built by his son, a Kona chief named Kanuha. The complex may have been established as early as 1475 under the aliʻi nui ʻEhu-kai-malino. The nobility ''( ali'i)'' of Kona continued to be buried until the abolition of the kapu system. The last person buried here was a son of

Kamehameha I Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; to May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii ...

in 1818.

Radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...

has not been done extensively in the area. Testing of the nearby 'Āle'ale'a heiau site gave deceptive results. Oral traditions compiled by Dorothy Barrère are still considered the best for chronological order of the surrounding complex. The heiau contained 23 remains including that of Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku. It was situated near a great ancient wall near the royal residence to the east side of the wall. Further south were further

aliʻi The aliʻi were the traditional nobility of the Hawaiian islands. They were part of a hereditary line of rulers, the ''noho aliʻi''. Cognates of the word ''aliʻi'' have a similar meaning in other Polynesian languages; in Māori it is pronoun ...

homes were built. Excavations of the area indicate a large crafting community to support the royal residence. The heiau would lay untouched after the banning of the Hawaiian religion while all other such temples were destroyed until Kaahumanu had the building dismantled and all the remains moved to the royal mausoleum in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

. It was believed that additional protection to the place of refuge was received from the

mana Mana may refer to: Religion and mythology * Mana (Oceanian cultures), the spiritual life force energy or healing power that permeates the universe in Melanesian and Polynesian mythology * Mana (food), archaic name for manna, an edible substance m ...

in the bones of the chiefs. It survived several years after other temples were destroyed. It was looted by Lord George Byron (cousin of the distinguished English poet) in 1825. In 1829, High Chiefess Kapiʻolani removed the remaining bones and hid them in the ''Pali Kapu O Keōua'' cliffs above nearby

Kealakekua Bay Kealakekua Bay is located on the Kona coast of the island of Hawaii about south of Kailua-Kona. Settled over a thousand years ago, the surrounding area contains many archeological and historical sites such as religious temples ( heiaus) an ...

. She then ordered this last temple to be destroyed. The bones were later moved to the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii in 1858. The heiau in the park was reconstructed in the 1960s. File:PuuhonuaEntrance.jpg, Park entrance File:Hawaiian Hale at Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park.jpg, Hawaiian ''hale'' (house) at the Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park File:The Protectors.jpg, Protector ''kii'' (statues) at the Place of Refuge

References

* Ward, Greg. 2004, ''The Rough Guide to Hawaii''. Rough Guides.

External links

*
Pu`uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park
– National Park Service official site *

Photographs of the reflecting pools at Pu`uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park *Broken Link*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park Heiau Protected areas of Hawaii (island) Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii Archaeological sites in Hawaii National historical parks of the United States Museums in Hawaii County, Hawaii Open-air museums in Hawaii Protected areas established in 1955 National Park Service areas in Hawaii Parks in Hawaii 1955 establishments in Hawaii Beaches of Hawaii (island) National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii County, Hawaii Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii

Park name and features

Hale o Keawe heiau

See also

References

External links