Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 6, 1 June 1988 — Heiau Guided Tours [ARTICLE]

Heiau Guided Tours

Park Superintendent Jerry Y. Shimoda announced that guided tours are now being eonducted at Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site in Kawaihae. Advance arrangements must be made via telephone or mail. The cost is $1 per person with six or more people in a tour. Through these one-hour tours, the Nahonal Park Service ean offer the public an opportunity to better understand Hawaiian history and culture. Pu'ukohola Heiau was the last major religious temple built in Hawai'i before the fall of the Kapu (religious system) in 1819 after the death of Kamehameha The Great. Kamehameha had to build this temple in honor of his war god, Kuka'ilimoku, to gain the spiritual power to unify the Hawaiian islands under his rule. The temple is only one feature of the park. Among others are Mailekini Heiau, an older temple used by Kamehameha's ancestors; Hale O Ka Puni, onee dedicated to the family ancestral shark deity or aumakua and the John Young homestead. More information is available during these guided tours. For reservations and information, eall park headquarters at (808) 882-7218.