Pu'u O Mahuka Heiau State Monument
Puʻu o Mahuka means "Hill of Escape." Hawaiian legends have it that from this point, the volcano goddess Pele leaped from Oʻahu to the next island, Molokaʻi.
The highest of the heiau's three walled enclosures may date to the 17th century, with the lower two enclosures perhaps added during the 18th century. These were times of great conflict, and the upper platform appears to have functioned as a luakini heiau (a sacrificial temple) to bring success in war. During the 1770s, the overseer of this heiau was Kaʻopulupulu, the high priest of the last independent high chief of Oʻahu, Kahāhana. In 1792, George Vancouver's ship, HMS Daedalus, anchored near Waimea Bay to collect water. Three men in his shore party were killed in a skirmish with Native Hawaiians, 1930's archeologist J. Gilbert McAllister noted it was "probable" that the bodies of the three men were then taken to the heiau as human sacrifices. After Kamehameha I conquered Oʻahu in 1795, his high priest Hewahewa led religious ceremonies here and the heiau remained in use until the traditional kapu system was abolished in 1819.
At the start of Makahiki, the four months of Hawaiian New Year, an observer standing at Kaʻena Point would see the Pleiades (Makaliʻi) rising out of Pu'u o Mahuka Heiau just after sunset.
The site can be reached from Pupukea Homestead Road (Highway 835), which starts at Kamehameha Highway (Highway 83) across from Pupukea fire station.
Gallery
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Panoramic view of Pu'u o Mahuka Heiau
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View from top corner toward Kaʻena Point
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View from top corner looking north
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View toward Shark's Cove
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Lower wall and pathway
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View across Waimea Valley
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Visitor altar with guardian rooster
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ "Puu O Mahuka Heiau". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
- ^ Fournier, Rasa. "Hiking Puu O Mahuka Heiau". Hawaii.com. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
- ^ "Hawaii State Parks: Oahu: Pu'u o Mahuka Heiau State Historic Site". Archived from the original on March 15, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
- ^ McAllister, J. Gilbert (1933). Archaeology of Oahu. Honolulu: Bishop Museum.