Towering Tikis

Cory and I were in Hawaii for our 10 year wedding anniversary, and Cory was determined to see some Native Hawaiian cultural sites. He did some research online and came across this, the Pu'uhanua O Honaunau National Historical Park. This park is dedicated to the culture and religious expressions of Native Hawaiians and includes a Hawaiian temple to their gods.

When Cory found this online, he was determined to go and get a sense of what Native Hawaiian life had been like before Europeans had come across the island. We were staying at the Kilauea Military Camp on the windward side of the island, this park was on the leeward side, the Kona Coast. While it was raining cats and dogs near our lodging, on this side of the island it was perfectly sunny. As we drove around the southern portion of the island, there was a clear demarcation between rain and sun.

When we arrived at the park, Cory and I headed straight for the temple, on the way we couldn't help but be impressed with the perfectly blue waters and the rocky, black volcanic beaches, the apparent serenity of the place and the feral goats running around. Tiki statues were scattered around the park, in the water and on the way to the temple. When we arrived at the temple we were greeted by 7 giant statues, within the temple palisade perimeter. These wood carved effigies of the Hawaiian deities must have been at least 14 feet tall. The statues were arranged in a horseshoe, just next to the temple proper.

As we took in the scene and examined the temple and tikis, we observed several sea turtles swimming near the tiki, in the cove near the Temple. Cory and I continued to walk around the temple perimeter, and I noticed some small palm leaf packets left at the entrance. Cory explained that they looked like votive offerings to the gods, but we weren't sure about this until he asked a park ranger whether the temple was still in use by local Native Hawaiians. It is really cool that there are still some native traditions that are still observed.

On our way back towards our vehicle, we found a man in a long, open air, beach canopy and in a loin cloth carving more tikis. The man explained that he was native Hawaiian and that he was hired by the National Historic Park to demonstrate native carving techniques. This was pretty fascinating, though some of the tools he used seemed pretty modern and Cory noted that he had a Norse Viking symbol, the Vegvisir, tattooed on his upper right arm. But other than that pretty traditional......maybe.

Regardless the Pu'uhanua O Honaunau National Historical Park is a must see if you are on the Kona coast of Hawaii's Big Island.

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