IDNO

T.152543.RPT

Description

On Catalogue Card: "S.P. 263. Hawaii - Kona District. 35mm. Koda." [Poignant's manuscript]
"27. Bay of Honaunau, looking towards Hale - o - Keawe. Pu'uhonua Honaunau was City of refuge of 180 acres. on south shorr [sic] of Honaunau Bay. Place of refuge of Kamehameha dynasty. Haven for defated [sic] in war and breakers of kapu. The actual area behind enclosure was 20 acres and once reached were safe. Priest purified." [Poignant's typed text]

Place

Oceania Polynesia; N America; United States of America; Hawaii; Island of Hawai'i; Pu'uhonua o Hōnaunau; Hale o Keawe

Cultural Affliation

Named Person

Photographer

Poignant, Axel

Collector / Expedition

Date

pre January 1970

Collection Name

Poignant Collection

Source

Poignant, Roslyn

Format

Colour Transparency

Primary Documentation

Other Information

T.148696.RPT - T.152693.RPT were located in the drawer file of transparency sheets, numbered C1021/.

T.152518.RPT - T.152543.RPT were located in a transparency sheet, numbered C1021/162.

Context: "Hale o Keawe, located at the northern end of the eastern wing of the Great Wall, is the only representation of a traditional hale poki (consecrated house) on the island. In ancient times the heiau served as a royal mausoleum, housing the remains of 23 deified high chiefs or aliʻi, including Keawe-i-kekahi-aliʻi-o-ka-moku, the great-grandfather of Kamehameha I. The powerful mana (divine power) associated with these bones served to sanctify and validate the existence of the Puʻuhonua. While the original structure was destroyed and the bones removed, the immense mana still remains. Native Hawaiians still revere this place and sometimes leave hoʻokupu (offerings) on the lele (tower). Genealogies and traditional accounts indicate that Hale o Keawe was likely built either by or for Keawe-i-kekahi-aliʻi-o-ka-moku around A.D. 1700. The earliest western accounts indicate that in the 1820's the structure was largely intact with thatched hale, wooden palisade, and multiple kiʻi. This indicates that even after end of the kapu system and the general destruction of heiau throughout the islands, Hale o Keawe survived largely unscathed, and continued to function as a royal mausoleum. In 1829 Queen Kaʻahumanu ordered the removal of the remaining bones and the complete deconstruction of the temple. The platform itself survived until high surf, including at least two tsunamis in 1868 and 1877, caused extensive damage. By 1902 the site was described as a heap of stones with no definite lines.
The journey to restoring the Hale o Keawe heiau began in 1902 when the platform was rebuilt under the direction of W. A. Wall. Not much is known about the decision-making process in this restoration, only that it resulted in a reconstruction consisting of four terraces, like a truncated pyramid, and a passage between the southern end of the platform and the northern end of the Great Wall. In 1966-67 Edmund J. Ladd directed the excavation and restoration of the Hale o Keawe platform. Eye-witness historical accounts and drawings indicated that the platform was smaller and did not originally have multiple tiers. Ladd's work revealed the original, smaller platform covered by the 1902 restoration. Therefore, the 1967 work restored the platform to its more authentic form that joins the Great Wall on its south side." [source: https://www.nps.gov/puho/learn/historyculture/hale-o-keawe.htm KK 26/08/2022]