Post #287451 by Phillip Roberts on Thu, Feb 22, 2007 1:17 PM

The article linked here is gone...

However... a good question was asked on the Waikiki Tiki thread, so I'll add it here for the future...

Aloha Greg,

On 2012-05-04 08:26, Greg_D_R wrote:
Do we know who carved the large City of Refuge park tikis, and when?

Yes I do and it has not been addressed in this thread or any other about about Honaunau. I thank you for your question.

But first, a little background, briefly...

The Ki'i (also known as Hawaiian Temple Sculpture) were a part of the site until the death of Kamehameha I in 1819. As Kamehameha II assumes the throne of the Kingdom, (with the urging of his mother) he declares the Kapu system over. He orders the heiau walls broken and the idols burned. His law does not take root overnight but the islands are now ruled by more Western-styled laws.

Many images are burned. Others are simply ignored and left to decay naturally in the elements. Others still go into hiding in private collections, caves, and of course museums like the B.P. Bishop. It takes many years for the images to return to the site. 147 years to be exact.

The Honolulu Star Bulletin reports in their Thursday March 31, 1966 issue... (Sadly the pictures from the article are not currently available to post... I have to go back and scan the article again. :( )

Hawaiian Temple Sculpture revived at Big Isle's Honaunau.

Hawaiian temple sculpture is being revived at Honaunau on the Big Island.

At left, Ako Grace, employee of the National Park Service works on a green ohia log, felled from the Honaunau Forest. For speed, he uses a steel instead of a stone adz but his cutting edges are shaped like those used two centuries ago when the City of Refuge was just that, and not a national park.

Grace and other employees are being directed by Jacob Lindberg-Hansen, professor emeritus of art from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Their designs are based on early sketches and on sculptures in British Museums.

A half dozen sculptures are complete and being displayed near the entrance of the park. Eventually they and some three dozen others will be moved to the restored Hale-'O-Keawe within the old sacred area that provided inviolable sanctuary for ancient Polynesians fleeing from their enemies or the government.

The sculpture is part of the general restoration of the area being undertaken by the National Park Service. Superintendent Russell A. Apple estimates it will take two or three years to complete the carving. One central carving will be made using a stone adze.

It is my understanding that occasionally replacements are carved by the park service with assistance by students of Kamehameha Schools-Hawaii, but most of the work is original to the 1966 restoration. Your tax dollars ARE at work!

Here is a slide scan from 1967 (that I think came from Sabu the Coconut Boy in a trade) that shows a ranger explaining the carving process to interested visitors!

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2012-05-04 16:14 ]