City of Refuge Hawaii Website, and Virtual tour

Pu`uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park

http://www.nps.gov/puho/

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2012-05-04 11:00 ]

This is really cool - but note to all Mac OS X users - Safari won't work for the virtual images, use IE as your browser instead....

it's an awesome place! there is some strong mojo working there though - the first time I was there I took like 100 digitial pics and then they mysteriously disappeared from my camera a few hours later.

the second time I went they were renovating the heaiu so the scaffolding kind of got in the way of my pics...

next time will be better! luckily I get to visit there often thanks to the parents.

Hunter S. Thompson writes about this place in his book "The Curse of Lono" - some good illustrations by Steadman of the tikis in it too.

I to have been there, and its amazing, lots of turtles in the little bay as well. Will try to post some pics.

Definitley a very spiritual vibe about that place. And I'm not usually hooky-pooky about that kind of stuff.

Someone should take some levitation pictures there!

Highly recommended if you visit the Big Island.

[i]On 2004-11-04 12:54, tikifish wrote:

Definitley a very spiritual vibe about that place. And I'm not usually hooky-pooky about that kind of stuff.

Procinema29 previously posted a very spiritual heiau story:

This is something I've posted elsewhere on the Net, and I thought that you folks in particular would appreciate it...it may also, to a degree, explain why I take this stuff somewhat seriously...

The events described might just have been a coincidence, by the way, so please take the following story only as an anecdote:

When I was much younger, ten years old to be exact, I visited some relatives in Hawaii. With my relatives, I went on a tour of some historic sites, including a sacred burial ground (these are called "heiaus"). This heiau was many hundreds of years old, and royalty was buried there. The tour guide explained that we must disturb nothing on the site, and that we must act respectfully at all times during our visit. He also explained that--as is also apparently true of many historic sites throughout the world--strange things tended to happen to people who tried to take anything from the site (rocks, etc.).

To be more specific, he said that people who tried to take things from the site were not allowed to leave. The site was watched over by guardian spirits. He was very serious about this, and said that people coming in using cars or bicycles, for example, would experience mechanical problems that would persist, and prevent them from leaving, until they put back whatever it was they had taken.

Being young, I thought it would be a good idea to try to test this. So while we were looking around, I picked up a very small pebble from the path, very tiny, and put it in my pocket. I thought I was being really clever.

When the tour was over, we all got in the car to leave. My aunt turned the key in the ignition, but the engine wouldn't start--it made only a squeaking, whining sound. After this went on for a few moments, I figured I knew what was happening, and started shouting for someone to roll a window down. I almost got hysterical. They didn't know what I was shouting about, but someone did roll a window down. I reached into my pocket and threw the pebble out the window. And at that very moment, the car engine roared to life. We drove out of there, and I never did anything like that again.

Once again, this might easily have been just a coincidence. But it sure made an impression on me. Was something trying to put the fear into me that day? I don't know, but I believe a good scare can often be a useful learning experience.

Hope you like my story! Thanks for reading.

[ Edited by: procinema29 on 2003-08-06 11:00 ]

Maybe this is a direct link

The Swank Pad Broadcast - If it's Swank...

[ Edited by: Swanky on 2004-11-05 20:28 ]

the first time I was on the big island, I thought it would be "cool" to collect both a piece of the black lava rock and a piece of white coral. I immediately took ill; couldn't keep anything down for about 5 days, and finally went to the emergency room (which ended up costing me a lot, since I didn't have health insurance at the time). they said they could see nothing wrong with me. I learned that day though that it was bad luck to keep the black lava rock, so I returned it to the ground and then I got better.

still, on my last day there, when i felt better but was pretty weak, all my digital pics of the place of refuge disappeared, and then when I went snorkeling, I almost drowned! I must have pissed Pele off!

happy Haole to be alive,

dangergirl

More photos:

http://tropicdiver.com/refuge.htm

A few pictures from place of refuge. Try to get there early in the morning before the crowds arrive to get the best pictures. In the second and last photo you can see the haze from the volcano bog. When the trades shut down the volcanic gas tends to drift north towards Captain Cook.

I just got back from Hawaii from a family vacation a week ago. I have never been and it was so incredible. This site was on the top of my list to visit. It really was an amazing place. I tool a lot of pics and then a roll of black and whites. Some turned out pretty cool.

tj

Me and my wife visited the Place of Refuge just a few weeks ago. I just HAD to go to see this place....but I swear I hadn't seen this thread NOR the photo above before we went there!

[ Edited by: PEDDRO 2007-02-11 21:59 ]

[ Edited by: peddro 2007-02-15 19:10 ]

This is probably my first post, but had to add this little tidbit...Visited the "Place of Refuge" on super bowl Sunday. While there I phoned my wife on the mainland, and she said "look for a heart shaped rock" not six inches from my foot was a heart shaped piece of coral. Now, we know not to disturb Pele, but presents from the ocean are acceptable, and this heart became not only my souvenir, but a spiritual symbol. I truly feel a deeper connection with my wife (of twenty years) had the best of many of my trips to the islands, found a great overhead break on the way back to Kailua and the infusion of aloha has not subsided yet.

[ Edited by: surfer 2007-02-22 08:46 ]

True, it wasn't lava rock, and Pele seems not to have taken offense.
She may appreciate the true love, as her sister slept with her man when she was away.

Nice first post, Surfer, and welcome.

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 ]

CITY OF REFUGE (HOONAUNAU)
"Ancient tikis and relics are preserved in this historic sanctuary on the island of Hawaii. Hoonaunau is one of the most important and impressive landmarks of old Hawaii."

Photo by Charles Fujimoto

The tikis were very cool but what got me were those rock walls that all fit together so perfectly.

Found this postcard