Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park

Visited: September 2023

Nearby town: Honaunau-Napoopoo, HI

Ancient Hawaii was governed by a code of conduct known as kapu. Kapu (which translates roughly to "forbidden" in English) was a series of strict laws that regulated nearly every aspect of life - gender roles, religion, politics, customs, social etiquette, even eating.

Some examples of kapu: a commoner could not make direct eye contact with a chief (the king), a commoner could not come in contact with a chief's hair or fingernail clippings, a commoner's shadow could not be cast on a chief, men and women could not eat meals together. Women were prohibited from eating certain foods: pork, bananas, and coconuts. 

Kapu was strictly enforced, and the penalty...death. Even if you violated the kapu unintentionally. 😬  

However, there was one sole way to avoid the death penalty. If one could elude the authorities and reach the walls of a Pu'uhonua ("house of refuge"), they could be blessed by a priest, absolved of their sins, and return to their village.

The house of refuge on the western coast of the Big Island is one of the most sacred sites in Hawaii. Scholars believe that this complex was established as early as 1475. The site is tranquil and beautiful.

the complex overlooks the beautiful blue waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Standing at the entrance to the Pu'uhonua. If you could reach these walls before the authorities caught you, you would be safe from the death penalty. Kind of like a very intense game of capture-the-flag 😆

the tall building on the right was a heiau ("temple") known as Hale o Keawe. Hale o Keawe was the burial place of Keawe and other chiefs. Keawe died in approximately 1725 and was the great-grandfather of Kamehameha I, the great warrior chief who united all the Hawaiian Islands into one kingdom.

In 1825, British naval officer Lord George Byron looted the Hale o Keawe. A few years later, High Chiefess Kapi'olani removed the remains of the chiefs from Hale o Keawe and ordered that the temple be destroyed. The temple was reconstructed in the 1960s.

These statues, called kii, protected the house of refuge.

the Hale o Keawe

we visited this site twice. It's located right next to a popular snorkeling spot known as "Two-step"

Our first visit was cloudy, but the second visit had bright, sunny skies that really highlighted and complemented the blue waters of the ocean.

along the walls of the house of refuge. The walls were built in approximately 1550

the walls are over 1,000 ft long, 12 feet high, and 18 feet wide

small pond inside the house of refuge

the royal fishponds

Just outside the grounds of the house of refuge was the Hale ("home") where the chiefs lived for generations. The buildings and dwellings have been reconstructed.

according to local tradition, this large stone was a favorite resting place of the high chief Keoua

As Hawaiian culture had more interaction with the Western World, King Kamehameha II sought to modernize his kingdom. In 1819, a mere six months into his reign, Kamehameha II broke the kapu system by eating a meal together with his wife and his mother. This symbolic gesture began a period known as 'Ai Noa (literally "free eating") in which prohibitions were relaxed and the kapu system was eventually abolished.

It was very interesting to learn about this period of Hawaiian history. 

For more info: https://www.nps.gov/puho/index.htm