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History:
Pu'u O Mahuka Heiau (translated
as the "Hill of Escape") is a well-preserved temple and the
largest on O'ahu covering almost 2 acres and consisting of
three adjoining enclosures measuring 575 feet by 170
feet. There is question about when this structure was
created, but its construction may have begun as early as the
1600s with the upper enclosure, and continued at times
throughout the 1700s.
Pu'u O Mahuka is one of two
large heiaus erected by the kahuna, or priests, of Waimea**.
The other is Kupopolo, which stands near the beach on the
Waialua side of the river. According to one legend, Kahahana,
who became ruler of Oahu in 1773, asked Waimea's presiding
priest, Kaopulupulu, to determine whether the gods approved
of him, and whether the island of Kauai would surrender if he
invaded its shores. Kaopulupulu requested that a temple be
built where he could "speak to the great chief Kekaulike (of
Kauai ) through the thoughts of the great akua Mahuka." At
first, Heiau Kupopolo was built on the beach of Waimea Bay;
however, when Kaopulupulu used it, he received no answer from
Kauai . It was thought the temple was in the wrong location.
Because the kahuna believed that "thoughts are little gods,
or kupua, that travel in space, above the earth … they fly
freely as soaring birds," he called on the people to build a
second temple high upon the cliffs. This was to become Heiau
Puu o Mahuka. From this temple, Kaopulupulu sent out thought
waves, and the answer quickly returned - Kauai wished for
peace. In some versions of the story, it is said that the
Menehune people built each of the heiau in a single night
with stones "passed hand-to-hand, all the way from Paumalu."
1
This heiau played an important
role in the social, political and religious system of Waimea
Valley, which was a major occupation center of O'ahu in the
time before contact with Westerners and a sacred place for
more than 700 years of Native Hawaiian history. During the
1770's, high priest Ka'opulupulu, under O'ahu chief Kahahana,
oversaw this heiau. This was a time of political upheaval and
it is likely that the heiau was used as a luakini heiau
(sacrificial temple), perhaps for success in war. In fact, it
has been said that in 1792 three of Captain George
Vancouver's men of the Daedalus were sacrificed here. In
1795, when Kamehameha I conquered O'ahu, his high priest
Hewahewa began conducting religious ceremonies at this heiau
until 1819 when the traditional religion was
abolished.
** Waimea, "The Valley of the
Priests," gained its title around 1090, when the ruler of
Oahu , Kamapuaa, awarded the land to the high priest
Lono-a-wohi. From that time until the overturn of the
indigenous Hawaiian religion, the land belonged to the kahuna
nui (high priests) of the Paao line.
Reference:
1.
http://www.oha.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=180&Itemid=2251.
This article combines portions of the Waimea Valley Cultural and
Archaeological Assessment report with excerpts from an article
written by the study's Principle Investigator, Joseph Kennedy, for
the October 2005 issue of Natural History magazine.
Special Note:
This site is sacred to the Hawaiian
people and should be treated with the utmost respect. Do not
move or remove anything from it! The cache is not on or near
the rock walls, so please do not climb or walk on
them. |