The Hawai'i That Was: What Happened to the Stones of Pololu? A Look at Pu'ukohala Heiau

There's a different feel to the north country of the Big Island of Hawai'i. Gone are the sere and blasted basalt flows of recent volcanic eruptions. The older soils of Kohala instead support a luxurious growth of grass that supports a thriving cattle industry. It's lonely country too. There aren't the larger towns like Hilo or Kailua-Kona, just a number of small fishing villages and former sugar cane company towns. The beautiful Pololu Valley, which we explored in the last post, is on the eastern shoreline. It's hard to picture that some of the most momentous events in the history of Hawai'i took place here just over two hundred years ago.

We were high on the flank of Kohala volcano looking at a vast expanse of the Big Island. In the upper center of the picture above, one can just make out the small harbor village of Kawaihae (the white spot on the shoreline is the breakwater). Next to the harbor is an immense pile of rocks forming a terrace that looks out on the Pacific Ocean (check out the zoomed view in the picture below).

We were looking at the Pu'ukohala Heiau, a massive structure built at the behest of King Kamehameha I in 1790. The construction of the heiau precipitated a series of events that led to the unification of the Hawaiian Islands under a single ruler just as contact was being made with European cultures. It produced a kingdom that would last for several generations before foreign corporations would destroy the sovereignty of the nascent country. 

Kamehamea was born about 1758 in the Kohala region. He was born to a relatively moderate position in the heirarchy of Hawaiian royalty, but the legends about his birth suggest he was destined for greater things. Because the prophecies threatened other royal figures, he was hidden away during the first years of his life. He emerged as a powerful young warrior who was present when Captain Cook arrived (and was later killed) on the islands. As a nephew to the king of the Big Island, he was not in line to take the throne. When King Kalani'opu'u passed, he gave the kingship to his son Kiwala'o, but gave custody of the war god Kuka'ilimoku (Ku) to Kamehameha.

The years following the death of King Kalani'opu'u in 1782 were chaotic, with different chiefs fighting for ownership of the Big Island, with invasions, some successful and some not, of the other islands in the chain. A prophet from Kaua'i told Kamehameha that he needed to honor the war god Ku by building a massive heiau. In 1790, the work began. Thousands of Kamehameha's men formed a human chain that stretched for more than 20 miles across the north end of the island to the Pololu Valley, where vast numbers of rounded river stones were available. Hand to hand the boulders were carried to Whale Hill at Kawaihae. The heiau was completed a year later, and Kamehameha's chief rival on the Big Island, Keoua, was invited to the dedication. Keoua almost surely knew that it was his fate to be sacrificed on the altar, and that is what happened. The fighting continued for a number of years, but by 1810, when Kaua'i submitted to Kamehameha's rule (by agreement rather than battle) the islands had been united. Kamehameha lived in Kailua-Kona until 1819, and his descendants ruled the nation until 1893 when corporate forces took control. Hawai'i became a U.S. territory in 1898.

The heiau is quiet today, and is preserved as the Pu'ukohala National Historic Site. There are several heiaus at the park, including the Mailekini heiau, which predates Kamehameha's reign. It was adapted into a fort during the campaigns to unite the islands. There is also a heiau buried in the sands of the harbor, and a "leaning" stone. A paved trail visits the sites, but the heiaus are still used for ceremonies, and casual visitors are not allowed to walk on them.

Mailekini heiau, with Pu'ukohala heiau in the distance up the hill

The northwest coastline of the Big Island of Hawai'i is rich in archaeological treasures. We headed up the coast to see what life was like for the non-royal inhabitants of the island. More on that next time!

This is what happened to the stones of Pololu. Source: National Park Service

A Most Misunderstood Island: One of the Most Diverse Landscapes on Earth

Shall we start with a stereotypical Hawaiian beach?

One can certainly be forgiven for thinking that Hawai'i is a group of high-rise hotels next to a wide sandy beach. It isn't as if a string of television shows (Magnum, P.I. and Hawaii 5-0 for example) have spent decades putting that stereotype into our heads. And the majority of tourists never venture beyond the hotel row at Waikiki and Honolulu. A visit to some of the other islands can be a real revelation (and adventure). The Hawaiian Islands, and especially the Big Island, are one of the most diverse landscapes on planet Earth.

The view from Pu'u Huluhulu at Saddle Road summit

Not convinced? Here is a selection of pictures taken over just two days of reconnaissance on the Big Island. How about an African savanna? A lone Koa tree (I think, I'm still learning these!) overlooks the plains along the summit of Saddle Road, a highway that links the two sides of the island. There are even grazing cattle, sheep, pigs, and goats (which are doing terrible things to the natural ecosystems).

Perhaps an archaeological site in the wilds of the Sinai Desert? The great heiaus on the Big Island served a variety of purposes, including refuges, sacrificial sites, and temples. They date back hundreds of years. This one can be seen at Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historical Site on the dry side of the island in the rain shadow of the Kohala volcano. Rainfall averages less than 20 inches a year, compared to more than a hundred just a few miles away.

A recovering mesic coastal forest? Not a desert, not a rainforest, but somewhere in-between (mostly on the dry side) We are looking at the Lapakahi State Historical Park on the west slope of Kohala. The original forest was cut down for a number of reasons, but humans lived in this village for hundreds of years.

How about the high plains prairie? One of the largest privately owned ranches in the United States is found on the Big Island (the Parker Ranch). The cattle graze on rich grasslands that cover some of the older volcanoes. When they reach the right age, they fly in a 747 to the mainland. As a guide to Hawaii mentions, they probably enjoy more foot room than the average tourist in coach...

 As can be seen, some of the grasslands are windy.

Big Sur on the Big Island? Sure. This Big Island is not as famed for the coastal cliffs like those in Kaua'i and Molokai, but several tens of thousands of years ago, a large part of the northern coastline of the island collapsed into the sea. It probably produced a mega-tsunami in the local islands that had run-ups amounting to hundreds of feet in elevation.The Pololu Valley and coast is stunning.

The Pololu coast is also known for the gorgeous river valleys that extend into the Kohala volcano ("gorgeous"; Did you get it?). The canyons are hundreds of feet deep, and were once even deeper, but the islands are slowly sinking and the valleys fill with sediment.

I doubt that Sauron would have ever established Mordor in a place like this. These a'a lava flows from Mauna Loa are only a few decades old, and are practically impossible to traverse. Somehow a highway got built across part of it, and there is even a strange housing complex in the immediate vicinity. The few trees are the native Ohi'a, a tree that can grow from coastal environments to as high as 10,000 feet or so. I don't believe there is another tree on the planet that can do that.

And how about glacial environments? Yes, Hawai'i had glaciers during the Ice Ages! The top of Mauna Kea was mantled with flowing ice only a few thousand years ago. There are glacial moraines, and even a small lake that is the third highest in United States. Eruptions happening in the ice produced a glassy form of basalt that was much harder than normal, so the native Hawaiians would climb to the summit of the mountain to gather the rock for tool-making.

And finally, yes, there are rainforests! Beautiful green forests filled with rare and endemic plants found nowhere else on the planet. Don't tell anyone about this, but I see scenes like this and think of the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland! But these forests are real.

There are even more ecosystems and biomes on the island that we just didn't happen to see on our short excursions. Expect to see some more as the week progresses. We've got two more weeks on the islands, and lots of exploring to do!