Big Island
Pu-ukohola heiau National Historic Site / Kohala
Kona, Big Island, Hawaii
Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site is located right off to the side of the infamous Outrigger Hotel. It is a National Register historic site that preserves the ruins of one of Hawaii’s most major native temples. The temple existed from the time that Kamehameha I took control of northern and western Hawaii in 1782 and was attacked by his cousin Keoua Kuahu’ula who controlled the eastern side of the island. Eight years of fighting through to 1790, this temple was built to gain the favor of the war god Kuka’ilimoku in order to assist in the conflicts. The temples name means “Temple on the Hill of the Whale” because it was built on an older 1580 temple, by hand, with no mortar, in less than a year. Red stones were professed to be transported by a human chain about 14 miles long from the Pololu Valley in the East. The ship “Fair American” was captured in 1790 with a surviving crew member named Isaac Davis after the incident at Olowalu, who became military advisors to King Kamehameha teaching his army the use of muskets and mounted cannons giving defeat to the invaders. The temple was finished in the summer of 1791 measuring 224 x 100 feet. The battle took place in 1791 when the temple was finished and Kamehameha summoned his cousin Keoua Kuahu-ula for a peace treaty which resulted in a surrender after losses in the Battle of Hilo and the volcanic eruptions that destroyed many troops. His soldiers were sacrificed to the temple. Today the site is blocked off as there is believede to still be bones buried at the site. Just offshore from the temple is Hale o Kapuni, an underwater structure dedicated to sharks. There is a visitor center on site, as well as an interpretive trail, even though entering the temple itself is not permitted. About 170 feet west of the temple are the ruins of the earlier Mailekini Heiau which was later converted by John Young into a fort to protect the harbor. The site became a National Historic Landmark on October 15, 1966.
