PU'UKOHOLA HEIAU NHS • KALOKO-HONOKOHAU NHP • PU'UHONUA O HONAUNAU NHP A Cultural History of Three Traditional Hawaiian Sites on the West Coast of Hawai'i Island

CHAPTER VII:
PU'UKOHOLA HEIAU NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE (continued)

D. Hale-o-Kapuni Heiau

1. Shark Heiau

Submerged just offshore below Mailekini Heiau are the ruins of what is believed to have been another temple, which local lore relates was dedicated to the shark gods. The ancient Hawaiians believed in animal helpers and protectors, half god and half human, who relayed their counsels through the lips of some medium who became for the moment possessed by their spirit. These 'aumakua were served and worshipped by particular families, this duty being passed down through the generations. Martha Beckwith points out that "On the coast, sharks are the particular object selected for veneration." [134]

In her discussion of 'aumakua, Beckwith states that sometimes specific individuals are worshiped, such as particular sharks that are recognized as individuals and are expected to calm the seas or provide bountiful catches for their keeper, and sometimes all the species of a class are venerated as being representative of the 'aumakua. [135] She quotes Joseph S. Emerson as saying that each locality along the coast of the islands had a "special patron shark whose name, history, place of abode, and appearance were well known to all frequenters of that coast." [136] Shark gods were invoked with specific prayers, and temples were erected for their worship. According to Emerson there were several well-known shark gods worshiped at various places in the islands. Among these were Uukanipo, two great sharks who were twin brothers, and another called Kaaipai, all of whom lived at Kawaihae. The first two lived at Kamani and were regularly fed. When the king wished to see them, their keeper hung two bowls of 'awa from a forked stick to attract them. Kaaipai was kept by a couple living at Puako in Kawaihae who often went hungry because the taro plant did not grow there. Their shark would capsize boats carrying food and take the cargo to his cave. He would then appear in a dream to the couple and tell them where to find it. [137]

Illustration 52. Aerial view of Pu'ukohola and Mailekini heiau. Date and original source of photo unknown, possibly ca. 1970.

Illustration 53. Cultural remains at Pu'ukohola Heiau NHS. Top left: walled enclosure, Pelekane area. Bottom left: beach trail. Top right: leaning stone. Submerged site of Hale-o-Kapuni Heiau in water offshore. NPS photos, 1989.

2. Historical Descriptions

     a) Abraham Fornander

Fornander mentions Hale-o-Kapuni in connection with the legend of Lonoikamakahiki's battles as being a camping spot "immediately below the temple of Pu'ukohola and Mailekini at Kawaihae." [138]

     b) Theophilus Davies, 1859

Theophilus Davies arrived off Kawaihae in 1859, passing in the water beneath a "sacred enclosure" about twenty yards square and formed by a massive stone fence five feet high (probably Mailekini Heiau). A large stone formed its altar, he said,

and here the bleeding victims were placed before the gods until they became offensive, when they were carried to a heap of stones in the ocean (a little to seaward of our boat) and devoured by the sharks, the supposed deities. [139]

The reader assumes from this description that Davies actually saw a pile of rocks in the water. This heiau is identified on Jackson's 1883 map.

     c) Oral Tradition

The presence of Hale-o-Kapuni is well known to local inhabitants:

When the tide was real low, big boulders use [sic] to come out, and it's all build [sic] up of big boulders see, so you know it's man made. And around the side area is all deep and it's anywhere's [sic] from low water mark 5 feet. About 8, 9 feet when high water mark. . . .

It was built under water purposely. . . .

It's all sand around so that time when the University kids came I told him you go get the spear, poke it all over. When shallow it means the heiau, when he get deep it's off the heiau. They found it right outside there. . . .[140]

An informant pointed out to Marion Kelly the location of the heiau structure, now covered by silt washed off the coral stockpile area nearby. [141] Anthropologist Lloyd Soehren stated that, as children, older residents of the area remembered seeing the heiau rising about two feet above the water. One person remembered a channel leading into a larger area within the temple where the bodies were placed for the sharks. [142]

This area is known to be frequented by sharks, perhaps as a result of having been lured there in ancient times. This heiau has never been located or documented through underwater archeology. Tidal wave activity and the silting resulting from harbor construction activities have covered any features in this area. One Kawaihae informant stated that during World War II, amphibious equipment landed in the water and on the beach and may have obscured or scattered remains of the heiau. [143]