Haleki'i and Pihanakalani Heiaus

Heiaus were Hawaiian religious structures that centralized the ceremonies and rituals of old Hawaii. Their construction was directed by the highest chiefs, or alii, and required a great expenditure of organized labor, while priests, or kahunas, oversaw the ceremonies and offerings held there. Halekii, meaning “house of images,” is believed to have been a chiefly complex with images of ki’i placed on its terraces, and Kahekili, chief of Maui, lived and worshiped there during religious observances in the 1760s. Pihanakalani, meaning “gathering place of high supernatural beings,” is recorded as a luakini heiau, a type dedicated to Ku, the god of war, and built for success in war. The time when Halekii and Pihanakalani were built is unknown, though tradition says the menehunes built them in one night in the distant past with stones from nearby ‘Iao Stream. In 1819, when the traditional Hawaiian religion was abolished, the images were removed, the structures on the heiaus were dismantled, and the heiaus were abandoned.

Waiheʻe, Hawaii · United States