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Historical Significance: Pu'ukohola Heiau is the last major ancient Hawaiian temple. It was built by King Kamehameha I, who was advised to build the temple to the war god Kūkāʻilimoku to help him unite the Hawaiian Islands. He achieved this by 1810 through conquest and treaties.
Construction: The temple was built without mortar, using lava rocks passed by hand in a human chain from Pololū Valley, about 25 miles away.
In 1791, after many battles, Kamehameha’s cousin and ruler of most of the eastern Island of Hawaii, Keoua, sailed into this harbor for the dedication of the Pu’ukohola Heiau and — theoretically — for a peace accord to end the conflict. According to oral histories, upon seeing the temple, Keoua sensed his time was up and that he was actually here to be offered as a human sacrifice. To deny Kamehameha a pure sacrifice for his big day, Keoua castrated himself on the canoes as they rowed in to ensure his cousin wouldn’t get the full mana from his ritual.
Think about that the next time you have to go to a family gathering with relatives you don’t get along with.
Because he fulfilled the prophecy (and, let’s face it, because he was also the first Hawaiian chief to trade with Westerners for firearms, cannons, and ships and also had two Western advisors), Kamehameha assumed complete control of the Island of Hawaii by 1792. Maui, Lana’i, Moloka’i, and O’ahu fell to Kamehameha’s forces by the end of 1795, and the ruler of Kaua’i pledged loyalty in 1810, allowing Kamehameha to form the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Construction: The temple was built without mortar, using lava rocks passed by hand in a human chain from Pololū Valley, about 25 miles away.
In 1791, after many battles, Kamehameha’s cousin and ruler of most of the eastern Island of Hawaii, Keoua, sailed into this harbor for the dedication of the Pu’ukohola Heiau and — theoretically — for a peace accord to end the conflict. According to oral histories, upon seeing the temple, Keoua sensed his time was up and that he was actually here to be offered as a human sacrifice. To deny Kamehameha a pure sacrifice for his big day, Keoua castrated himself on the canoes as they rowed in to ensure his cousin wouldn’t get the full mana from his ritual.
Think about that the next time you have to go to a family gathering with relatives you don’t get along with.
Because he fulfilled the prophecy (and, let’s face it, because he was also the first Hawaiian chief to trade with Westerners for firearms, cannons, and ships and also had two Western advisors), Kamehameha assumed complete control of the Island of Hawaii by 1792. Maui, Lana’i, Moloka’i, and O’ahu fell to Kamehameha’s forces by the end of 1795, and the ruler of Kaua’i pledged loyalty in 1810, allowing Kamehameha to form the Kingdom of Hawaii.
May 15 2025