Kohala Historical Sites State Monument includes the

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

Mookini Heiau and the birthplace of

Kamehameha I Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; to May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii ...

. It is located in remote North Kohala on the

Island of Hawaii Hawaii is the List of islands of the United States by area, largest island in the United States, located in the Hawaii, state of Hawaii, the southernmost state in the union. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcani ...

History

Mookini Heiau is one of the oldest historical sites in Hawaii and among its most sacred. ''Mookini'' means "many lineages" or "many Moo" in the

Hawaiian Language Hawaiian (', ) is a critically endangered Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family, originating in and native to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the native language of the Hawaiian people. Hawaiian, along with English, is an offi ...

Moo A MOO ("Multi-user dungeon, MUD, object-oriented") is a text-based online virtual reality system to which multiple users (players) are connected at the same time. The term MOO is used in two distinct, but related, senses. One is to refer to th ...

are large reptile goddesses honored by Hawaiians since before the time of Paao. This

heiau A ''heiau'' () is a Hawaiian temple. Made in different architectural styles depending upon their purpose and location, they range from simple earth terraces, to elaborately constructed stone platforms. There are heiau to treat the sick (''heia ...

is a living spiritual temple and not just an historic artifact of the Hawaiian culture. Oral histories indicate the original temple on the site may be 1500 years old: the

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of no ...

of the

kahuna Kahuna (; ) is a Hawaiian word that refers to an expert in any field. Historically, it has been used to refer to doctors, surgeons and dentists, as well as priests, ministers, and sorcerers. Background A may be versed in agriculture,Archiv ...

tells of Kuamo'o Mo'okini arriving here in 480, not from

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

, but from the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. Evidence suggests the current temple was built on the site of this smaller older one by Paao, who brought the Hawaiian Religion to the islands sometime between 1100 and 1300 A.D. The current site includes the remains of the heiau measuring 250' x 130' with an open stone paved court enclosed by 20'-high stone walls, and the sacrificial stone. The heiau is constructed of stones that are said to have been passed from hand to hand from the Pololū Valley, over away. One tradition states that the heiau was completed by the

menehune Menehune are a mythological race of dwarf people in Hawaiian tradition who are said to live in the deep forests and hidden valleys of the Hawaiian Islands, hidden and far away from human settlements. The Menehune are described as superb craft ...

(mythical Hawai'ian little people) in one night. For centuries a strict set of rules ( kapu) were enforced at the heiau. It was a closed heiau reserved exclusively for the Alii Nui (the highest chiefs) for praying and offering

human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease deity, gods, a human ruler, public or jurisdictional demands for justice by capital punishment, an authoritative/prie ...

s, primarily to the war god

Kū In Hawaiian religion, Kū is one of the four great gods. The other three are Kanaloa, Kāne, and Lono. Some feathered god images or ''akua hulu manu'' are considered to represent Kū. Kū is worshiped under many names, including Kūkāilimoku ...

. In Kohala Mookini Heiau was the focus of religious life and order. In November 1978 Kahuna Nui Leimomi Mookini Lum rededicated the Mookini

Luakini In ancient Hawaii, a luakini temple, or luakini ''heiau'', was a Native Hawaiian sacred place where human and animal blood sacrifices were offered. In Hawaiian tradition, ''luakini heiaus'' were first established by Paʻao, a legendary priest c ...

to the "Children of the Land" (''kama aina'') and lifted the restrictive kapu. In doing this she made the site safe for all persons to enter the heiau and created a place of learning for future generations to discover the past. Her family has been taking care of the temple for centuries. A few hundred yards away is ''Kamehameha Akahi ʻĀina Hānau'', the birthplace of

Kamehameha the Great Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; to May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii ...

. He is said to have been born here in 1758 as

Halley's Comet Halley's Comet is the only known List of periodic comets, short-period comet that is consistently visible to the naked eye from Earth, appearing every 72–80 years, though with the majority of recorded apparitions (25 of 30) occurring after ...

passed overhead. The entrance to the site is on the south side. A rock is said to mark the precise place of the birth of Kamehameha.Van James, ''Ancient Sites of Hawaii'', 1995, Mutual Publishing, , page 143

Location

Kohala Historical Sites State Monument can only be reached by a dirt road from Upolu Airport and is located about 1½ miles off the Akoni Pule Highway. Turn North on Upolu Point road near the town of Hawi, and West at the small air strip. A four-wheel drive vehicle is recommended, especially if it has been raining. The birthplace includes a sign and enclosure located at coordinates . The Heiau was declared a

on December 29, 1962, and added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1966 as site 66000284. A clear day provides a striking view of

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

Mahukona Heiau and Kukuipahu Heiau

Near Mo'okini Heiau are two other smaller heiaus whose access is limited.Allan Seiden, in Cooperation with Momi Mo'okini Lum, "Mookini Luakini Heiau, A Living Part of Hawai'i's Spiritual Heritage" (Honolulu: Legacy Archive Press, 2014), Ch. 3 Mahukona Heiau, dedicated to

Lono In Hawaiian religion, the god Lono is associated with fertility, agriculture, rainfall, music and peace. In one of the many Hawaiian stories of Lono, he is a fertility and music god who descended to Earth on a rainbow to marry Laka. In agricul ...

god, nine miles from Mo'okini, rises from a steep hillside. Navigators used to be trained here, in an open air setting where night skies, off-shore clouds, winds and ocean currents could be studied, to pursue voyages across the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Kukuipahu Heiau, dedicated to

Kāne In Hawaiian mythology, Kāne is considered the highest of the three major Hawaiian deities, along with Kū and Lono. He represented the god of procreation and was worshipped as ancestor of chiefs and commoners. Kāne is the creator and giv ...

god, is located in the Kohala Mountains. It is one of the three heiaus that formed a spiritual triangle in North Kohala, with heiaus dedicated to Ku, Lono and Kāne.

References

External links

*
Mo'okini Heiau (National Park Service)
{{Protected areas of Hawaii Protected areas of Hawaii (island) Hawaiian religion Hawaiian architecture Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii National Historic Landmarks in Hawaii Human sacrifice Heiau Protected areas established in 1962 1962 establishments in Hawaii Beaches of Hawaii (island) National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii County, Hawaii