Big Island Rentals

Holy Places of Ancient Hawaii

The Heiau is an Enduring Monument to Early Hawaiian Civilization.

A heiau is one of the most important cultural and archeological remnants of prehistoric Hawaii.  These ancient temples were constructed as a place where Hawaiian chiefs could worship and consult with their gods for guidance.  A priest, or kahuna, acted as a mediator in this process. 

Heiau were built according to the kind of guidance chiefs wished to summon.  The larger luakini type was a place where contact with the spiritual world could best be practiced.  Reserved only for the highest chiefs and their kahuna, the luakini heiau is where human and animal sacrifices were offered for the purpose of ensuring political power or maintaining societal order.  Sacrificial candidates were selected based on their status.  It was believed that the spiritual power, or mana, of warriors and chiefs (alii) were more valuable than that of criminals. 

Hawaiians elicited the assistance of a specific god for a definite purpose.  Ku, the great god of war, was sometimes brought forth for mastery and strength.  Kanaloa, the god of the ocean, was conferred with on matters involving the sea, sailors or fishermen.  Lono, the god of fertility, agriculture and peace, might be summoned for issues involving livestock or medicinal plants.  Numerous other gods were employed by Hawaiian kahuna in their various heiau, with Lono and Ku being historically the most revered. 

There were also heiau of lesser importance which were erected for everyday concerns, such as increasing the food supply or promoting rainfall.  Moa Heiau at Kamoamoa in Volcanoes National Park, now covered in lava, promoted success in agriculture and the increase of livestock.  There were temples that fostered human health, such as Oahu’s Keaiwa Heiau.  Here medicinal healers, called lapa’au, practiced herbal and spiritual healing. 

In addition to heiau, various small shrines were commonly set up throughout the islands as a place of worship, to mark a boundary line, or to assist in meeting a certain goal.  These include the ‘aumakua, a structure built to house the guardian spirit (akua), which was placed somewhere inside or outside of a family’s home.  Ko’a shrines, built near water, were designed to attract a certain fish species, or as a dedication to a god to whom a fisherman might offer his first catch.

The largest heiau on the Big Island of Hawaii is Mookini Heiau State Monument in North Kohala, near the site of the birthplace of Kamehameha I.  The restored Puukohola Heiau National Historical Site in South Kohala was the last of the luakini heiau to be built on the islands.  The reconstructed Hale o Keawe Heiau at Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park (The City of Refuge), located on the south coast of Kona, was a sanctuary for violators of the kapu. 

The heiau stands as a vital connection to Hawaii’s ancient belief systems, and a religious relic that should be highly respected and preserved.