53. Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park, Hawaii

               Hello again and welcome back to our blog.  We will be returning to Hawaii in this post to visit a place that was sacred to ancient Hawaiians, Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park.

Entrance Sign

BACKGROUND:

               Prior to European contact, the native peoples of Hawaii lived by a strict set of religious laws, known as the kapu, which governed many facets of daily life.  The punishment for breaking these laws was death.  However, if a person who had broken the kapu laws was able to evade capture and reach a Pu’uhonua, or refuge, the lawbreaker would need to only wait three days within the sacred grounds before receiving absolution from a priest and being able to walk free once more.  The kapu remained the law of the Hawaiian islands until 1819, when Kamehameha II, the son of Kamehameha the Great who united the islands into one kingdom, shattered the system by daring eat dinner alongside his mother.

The cove on the shore of the royal grounds at Pu'uhonua O Honaunau.

THE PARK:

               Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park, is located on the western coast of the Island of Hawaii, better known as the Big Island.  The name of the site is derived from the word for refuge, Pu’uhonua, and Honaunau, the name of the ancient Hawaii local land division called Ahupua’a.  The park preserves coastline from two additional Ahupua’a, but is centered on the sacred refuge and the royal grounds that were adjacent to it.  Pu’uhonua were once common on the island of Hawaii, but the refuge at Honaunau is the only one that has not been lost to the ravages of time thanks to the efforts of a local land owner who preserved the site, allowing it to be incorporated into the National Park Service in 1961.

The reconstructed Hale O Keawe mausoleum.  The Totem pole-like structures are Ki'i, wooden carvings of ancient Hawaiian gods.

               The main attraction at the park is the royal grounds and the temple that once made up the original Pu’uhonua.  The structures present at the site today, are mostly reconstructions, and include a Halau, or canoe house, and the Hale o Keawe, the royal mausoleum.  One original structure that does remain intact is The Great Wall, a large stone wall which marked the boundary between the royal grounds and the Pu’uhonua refuge.  The refuge itself is a small point of barren land made of lava rock that extends into Honaunau Bay.  As the Pu’uhonua is surrounded on its landward side by the royal grounds, which commoners were forbidden to enter under the kapu, the only way for a lawbreaker to reach the refuge would have been to swim onto the point.  Within the park are the ruins of several Heiau, or temples, and a Keokua Holua, a sled track used in sporting competitions.  A section of the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, which runs along the west coast of Hawaii, extends down the length of the park.

The Great Wall separating the royal grounds from the Pu'uhonua sanctuary.

TRAVEL TIPS:

               Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park is roughly a twenty-five-minute drive south of Kailua Kona on the west coast of the island of Hawaii.  There is a fee for entry into the park, which is open year-round, the grounds being open from 7am until sunset.  The open-air visitor center is open from 8:30am to 4:30pm.  Tours of the park are self-guided, although Ranger led programs are available.  The park is mostly handicapped accessible, although the Ala Kahakai Trail is not, and much of the sandy terrain may be difficult for wheelchairs.  Warning signs are posted around the park to alert visitors not to interact with sea turtles which often come up onto the small beach at the royal grounds.  Passport stamps can be found at the visitor center.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:

The canoe house within the royal grounds

A fishpond within the royal grounds used to maintain a supply of fresh fish for meals.

A view of the rocky point of the Pu'uhonua.

A view of the enclosure within the Pu'uhonua.  The '13' in the foreground is a marker for the walking tour in the park brochure pointing out the flattened slab to the marker's left, a rock which was used as a game board for the Native Hawaiian game Konane.

The section of the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail which runs through Pu'uhonua National Historical Park.  The trail runs along Hawaii's west coast, connecting to two other NPS units, Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, and Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site.

A mural of Hawaiian culture at the visitor center.