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)

N. Management Recommendations (continued)

1. Analysis of Pu'ukohola Heiau (continued)

     d) Traditional Plans and Furnishings of Luakini According to Native Historians and Other Scholars

          (1) David Kalakaua

Oral traditions of ancient Hawaiian religious customs suggest that a specific method of construction was used in building luakini and that specific types of structures were associated with them.

David Kalakaua, who became king of the Hawaiian Islands in 1874, wrote that the surrounding walls of this type of temple were often ten feet thick and twenty feet high, composed of unhewn, mortarless stone. They grew increasingly narrow from the base upward. Within the courtyard formed by this imposing enclosure could be found a small stone or wooden temple referred to as the luakina (house of sacrifice). The lele, or altar, consisting of a raised stone platform, stood in front of its entrance. This inner temple was sacred to the priests, and within it was the 'anu'u, the wicker enclosure within which the priests communicated with the gods. Around the walls of this small temple hung charms and god images. Images of the principal gods stood beside the entrance to this "sacred apartment," and lines of stone and wooden idols surmounted the outer and inner walls. Other buildings within the larger sacred enclosure included those used by the high priest and his assistants and one for the ruling chief, or king, some distance away, which he used when consulting the high priest or as a refuge in times of war. A kapu staff, or elevated cross, stood on each side of the entrance to the outer enclosure and near it was a small walled structure in which humans were sacrificed. [255]

This "sacred apartment" that Kalakaua describes appears to be an enclosed structure of some sort, although if it contained the 'anu'u, it must have been roofless. Maybe he is alluding to a stone or wooden fence surrounding the tower. Ellis, in describing the procedure the king followed when consulting the gods at Pu'ukohola, said that he, accompanied by his attendants, "proceeded to the door of the inner temple, and standing immediately before the obelisk, inquired respecting . . . any other affair of importance." Ellis stated the altar at Pu'ukohola was located outside the entrance to the inner court, which agrees with Kalakaua's arrangement.

          (2) David Malo

The information on luakini David Malo provides mentions a stone wall enclosing the temple proper. At the rear of the enclosed court stood the oracle tower (lan'anu'u), a tall framework covered with white cloth with a small entrance on one side. A fence surrounded it. Beneath it was the luakini, or sacrificial pit into which the remains of the victim were thrown. In front of this, arranged in a semicircle, were figures of the presiding gods, with Ku-ka'ili-moku in the central position. In front of this row of figures lay a pavement of pebbles and the altar — a frame structure on which offerings were laid (note that Ellis talked of seeing one of the pillars that had supported the altar at Pu'ukohola). Next to the altar, toward the front of the temple, stood the hale pahu (drum house). Beyond this was the hale mana, a large structure containing the portable figures of the war gods. The doors of these houses faced the altar. Beyond them was another house standing close by the entrance to the enclosure, possibly a guardhouse through which one entered the temple. At one end of the mana was a small structure (wai'ea) in which the sacred symbol, the coconut fiber cord intertwined with seaweed, was kept. At the other end of the mana stood the oven house where feasts were prepared for the priests during the war rite. Malo also mentioned that outside the temple enclosure on the north was a level pavement whose outer borders were marked by kapu signs in the form of crosses indicating the limits of the holy ground. On the south outside the enclosure was the hale papa, where women of chiefly rank assembled at a certain time during war ceremonies to perform purification rites. [256]

Illustration 81. Plans of luakini inner courts according to David Malo and John Papa I'i. Figures 5 and 4 in Valeri, Kingship and Sacrifice, pp. 241-42.

          (3) William Davenport

William Davenport, in his discussion of luakini, states that the usual temple of this type consisted of an oblong series of open terraces surrounded by a massive stone wall and containing a few interior enclosures. Davenport also states that the most sacred part of the temple, which would have comprised the oracle tower, the images, and the altar, had to be oriented toward the sunrise or the north. [257] (This confusing question of orientation of structures will be discussed later.)

          (4) Samuel Kamakau

Samuel Kamakau speaks of heiau po'okanaka, "heiaus of human heads" (a reference to sacrifices and perhaps to the custom of displaying the skulls of victims), which were very large and called luakini. These, he said, were constructed on hills, ridges, and headlands, or on level ground between the seashore and the mountains on former temple sites. Many of these earlier sites dated from the time of conflict between the chiefs of Hawai'i and Maui and were known to the po'e kuhikuhi pu'uone (temple designers). In discussing construction, Kamakau speaks of the pebble pavements associated with the foundations of the various houses inside the heiau. His discussion of images is somewhat confusing. He seems to describe images both inside and outside the heiau (or possibly inside and outside the platform area). He says that those outside the north (or right) wall or enclosure were male and those outside the south (or left) wall were female. He then states that these carved images formed a wooden enclosure or fence outside of the heiau, while the lines of images inside were more skillfully carved. Thrum seems to think Kamakau was talking about two rows of images within the heiau. He believed Kamakau meant that the principal image on the right side of the "enclosure" of images on the temple pavement was a male figure and that on the left was a female. Those images facing within, that is, the line of inside images, were more carefully carved than those of the outward row.

Relative to the four or five houses within the heiau, Kamakau states that the oven house was the largest — a shed-like structure for baking offerings. The "house to revive life" (wai'ea, used in the 'aha ritual) stood in front of the oracle tower. Between the mana house and the hale pahu was the altar. At another altar below the mo'i image in the mana house were burned the sacrifices for the atonement and absolution of sins. [258] Kamakau also stated that outside the "first" pavement, by the fence, was the refuse pit. Directly in front of it was the mana house, which faced the pavements. In front of its door stood the altar made of scaffolding. [259] This is interesting because William Alexander stated that Pu'ukohola had a refuse pit in the area of the first terrace next to the northern platform area, which would have been immediately in back of a fence if Stokes is correct in his assumption that there might have been a fence along the top terrace to define the sacred limits of the temple courtyard.

          (5) John Papa I'i

John Papa I'i offered this information: the hale pahu was enclosed on the side and back walls, but the front was supported on posts, like a lanai. It faced the 'anu'u tower and the row of idols in front of that structure, with the altar in between. The largest house was the hale mana, a very long structure with its front and door facing the entrance of the heiau. The hale umu stood on the left side of the hale mana as one faced the interior, extending forward of it a little with its front and door toward the back of the hale pahu. The small hale wai'ea stood between the hale umu and the hale pahu. Two images stood in front of this hut, on either side of its opening. [260] This description of a luakini was followed by Paul Rockwood in depicting the luakini Wahaula Heiau in Puna, Hawai'i (Illustration 13).

          (6) William Alexander

William Alexander stated, based in large part on Ellis's description of Pu'ukohola, that the configuration of a luakini included: an inner court at the south end where the main idol stood surrounded by other deities; an oracle tower in the center of the court; an altar supported by posts near the entrance to the inner court; a sacred house for the king's use during periods of kapu in about the center of the terrace; houses of the priests at the northern end; a drum house in front of the altar with its door facing it; the mana house beyond with its door facing the altar; the small wai'ea house at the end of the mana house; the long hale umu (oven house) at the other end of the mana house; a lua pa'u pit, a receptacle for the bones of the victims, somewhere in the heiau; wooden idols of varying shapes and sizes crowning the outer walls; and a Hale o Papa in the outer court. [261]

          (7) Wendell Bennett

Wendell Bennett's 1930s doctoral dissertation provided a long list of features that, from historical documentation and archeological records, he found to have been associated with Hawaiian heiau. These included:

Bennett pointed out that house foundations, platforms, and terraces were the most common features. He stated that "minor features," including trenches and chambers (such as are found at Pu'ukohola), were possibly construction techniques rather than formal components of this type of structure. [262]

          (8) Valerio Valeri

One of the most complete discussions of luakini temples and their furnishings is found in Valerio Valeri's book, Kingship and Sacrifice. In this book the author specifically addresses some of the problems encountered in trying to determine Pu'ukohola's original appearance. His discussions are useful in shedding light on some of that heiau's more confusing aspects.

Valeri agreed with other students of Hawaiian heiau architecture that "The extraordinary structural variety of the temples [luakini] makes it hard to generalize concerning their plans and dimensions." [263] He discerned, however, usually a fixed infrastructure of courts or stone platforms and a wooden superstructure of houses and miscellaneous features that varied according to the type of rites being performed. He mentions some additional components of luakini temples, information on which he acquired from a number of sources, that might have relevance to Pu'ukohola's original configuration. These include:

a ledge on the walls of some temples used as seating by those observing the rites;

large stones at some distance from the temple on which the victims were killed before being brought into the temple;

Polynesian ovens either outside the temple or within the enclosure used to cook corpses of victims to hasten decomposition;

Lua (pits) where the remains of victims were thrown, sometimes inside the 'anu'u tower and sometimes outside this "inner temple;"

tombs sometimes found within enclosures, either of ali'i or of priests who officiated in temple ceremonies;

a level pavement lying outside the "inner temple" enclosure on the right or north side — crossed sticks at its end marked the external limits of the heiau — according to Valeri, the majority of the audience probably stood on this pavement to watch the rites; and a

Hale o Papa used by noblewomen during some rites, lying on the left or south side of the temple on a special platform [264]

Valeri believes that the most important wooden superstructures of the temple consisted of:

the paehumu, a fence separating the temple or its inner precincts from the exterior — it could have been only an invisible barrier, but was usually a fence of planks and poles on which images were carved. (This type of enclosure would have been what Stokes envisioned on the top terrace of Pu'ukohola) — often the heads of victims were fixed on top of the poles that were part of the paehumu — near an entrance in the paehumu were two crossed poles guarding the way to the sacred areas — sometimes these were statues;

the tower, or 'anu'u, located at one end of the sanctum sanctorum — all the statues and houses were oriented relative to it — a second tower, or opu, could have been situated on the side opposite the 'anu'u, but was probably a rare structure because European observers did not note them in luakini;

houses, four of which existed in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple: hale mana (largest, containing small images and cult paraphernalia, feather gods when they were brought into the temple for certain rites, and possibly tombs of nobles and priests), hale pahu (drum house between mana house and lele altar), hale wai'ea (smallest house), and hale umu (where temple fires were lighted) — the orientation and type of wood used to build these houses was dictated by the nature of the temple — their construction was an important part of the inauguration ritual;

altars, any place where sacrificial offerings were made, ranging from the pavement or a level terrace in front of the images to the oracle tower itself — the lele was an elevated wooden structure ranging from a scaffold to a simple pole on which offerings were hung; and

images, both fixed and mobile [265]

Valeri also discusses the location of luakini, noting that war temples were often built next to battlefields, as at Pu'ukohola. Although usually they were not erected in the midst of populated areas, they were often found near royal residences, as on Hawai'i Island at Kealakekua, Kailua, Honaunau, and Kawaihae, and on elevated locations. [266]

Valeri valiantly attempts to deal with the question of location of the oracle tower at Pu'ukohola, an especially intriguing problem of orientation when trying to postulate furnishings and layouts. As mentioned earlier, Malo stated that if the front of the heiau faced west or east, the 'anu'u was located at the 'akau (north) end of the temple; if it faced north or hema (south), the tower was found to the east. Kamakau also said the 'anu'u tower was located on the 'akau side of the temple. In the first case, 'akau means north and hema south; according to Kamakau's usage, 'akau means right and hema left. Valeri points out that the Hawaiians use two systems of orientation, one referring to an east-west axis, the other based on a land-sea opposition. Using the first system, the observer always faces west so that his right corresponds with north and his left with the south. Using the land-sea axis, 'akau and hema change depending on the observer's position. Malo appears to use the absolute orientation system ('akau meaning north and hema south), while Kamakau's references seem to be to the right and left. But it is unclear whether right and left are from the standpoint of an observer facing the entrance of the temple from the outside or facing the entry door from the inside, though Valeri thinks the latter is the case as borne out by comparisons with accounts of known temple layouts. [267] If true, this would mean that Kamakau is in agreement that the tower was to the north in a west-facing temple.

Pu'ukohola Heiau, which faces west, seems to disprove these statements, however, because early accounts and the archeological evidence indicate that the tower was at the south end. Valeri explains the seeming discrepancy in the oracle tower location at Pu'ukohola by suggesting that this southerly orientation was used because Keoua, whose death Kamehameha sought by building the temple, lived in Ka'u, to the south of Pu'ukohola. Possibly the altar upon which Keoua was to be sacrificed, and the tower that was always located next to it, were oriented toward the direction of the enemy. [268] He continues,

The temples of Kona that are known to us and the Pu'ukohola temple, taken together, suggest a broader principle, however. In all these temples the main image and the tower are on the side toward the mountains, that is, the direction from which both the god and the enemy are supposed to come. [269]