Post #658896 by bigbrotiki on Thu, Nov 15, 2012 10:39 PM

I like this thread, as it represents the three factors I like most about Tiki culture: Art, History, and exploration. It should have a close up of the Tikis at the Heiau:

And here is the best description of the oracle tower I could find:

"lananuumamao, or 'anu'u —a wooden framework obelisk that served as an oracle tower. It was usually more than twenty feet tall and contained three platforms. The lowest symbolized the earth, the abode of humans, and was where offerings were placed; the middle was viewed as the space of birds and clouds and was where the high priest and his attendants conducted services; the highest platform symbolized the heavens — dwelling place of the gods — and could only be ascended by the high priest and the king. This was where the high priest received inspiration and acted as intermediary with the gods. The entire structure was covered with bleached kapa. It was a highly visible component of the temple platform area and contained within a refuse or bone pit where decayed offerings and bones of victims were cast (lua pa'u)."

And here a little anecdote in the spirit of exploration:

The True KAPU SITE next to the Hotel King Kamehameha:

When staying at the King Kam hotel with my son in the mid-2000s, our room had a view onto the property next door to the hotel. This little "village" had its own harbor, and several 50s bungalows grouped together. I never saw a human being around. When I tried to get there from the Hotel's Luau grounds next to Ahuena heiau, I found a high lava rock wall preventing any access.

In this areal shot you can see the hotel on top, and Ahuena Heiau with its sea wall at the opening of the lagoon. To the left is the private harbor and several buildings:

Since seemingly deserted abodes exude a magnetic attraction for me, one day I decided to snorkel with my son out of the King Kam lagoon and around the sea wall into this snug harbor. We successful entered through the mouth of the exotic port, but halfway to the shore, a loudspeaker voice barked: TURN BACK! Do NOT come ashore!

Having come as far as this, I was not gonna turn back, and feigned exhaustion, threatening the voice from nowhere with the possibility of my drowning. My son was already on his way back, but I called to him to go on land with me. As soon as we did, a guard appeared, and very politely lead us past the bungalows through a locked gate to the Hotel side of the wall.

In this shot you can see the lava rock wall separating the Ahuena Heiau area from the private harbor in the foreground, and the seawall we swam around to get past it into the secret harbor:

As I found out later from Hotel employees, the property belongs to Bill Gates. Nobody could tell me if he ever stays there, or if it just sits there as one of the many investment properties he owns around the world.