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Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park |
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Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park (daily
7.30am-5.30pm; $2; ), four miles on from Kealakekua, is the single most
evocative historical site in all the Hawaiian islands, jutting into the
Pacific on a small peninsula of jagged black lava. The grounds include
a palace, with fishpond and private canoe landing, and three heiaus
, guarded by large carved effigies of gods - reproductions, but still eerie in their original setting. An ancient "
place of refuge
" lies firmly protected behind the mortarless masonry of the sixteenth-century
Great Wall
. Those who broke ancient Hawaii's intricate system of
kapu
(taboo) - perhaps by treading on the shadow of a chief, or fishing in
the wrong season - could expect summary execution unless they fled to
the sanctuary of a place such as this. As chiefs lived on the
surrounding land, transgressors had to swim through the shark-infested
seas. If successful, they would be absolved and released overnight.
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Puuhonua O Honaunau 