Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 4, 1 April 1997 — Monument to Tahitian healers respected [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Monument to Tahitian healers respected

by Barbra An Pleadwell Four large stones sit 30 feet away from the Waiklkī Poliee Substation in Kūhiō Beach Park. Their signifieanee is explained by a nondescript plaque. The stones are a monument to four legendary healers from Moa'ulanuiakea in Ra'iatea, Tahiti who eame to Hawai'i long before the reign of Kakuhihewa, Chief of O'ahu. Improvements proposed by Queen Emma Foundation and supported by the City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation aim to restore respect for the monument. Formerly called the "Wizard Stones," they have been renamed Nā Pōhaku Ola Kapaemāhū a Kapuni by Papa Henry Auwae, respected traditional healer and herbal medicine practitioner.

The monument is part of a Waikiki Historic Trail that a public-private partnership is building to restore a native Hawaiian presence to Waikikī. Eventually, the trail will mark 21 sites of Hawaiian historical significance in the

Waikīkī District. The stones are being placed on a platform 25 inches high , a fence is enclosing the monument, native plants are being added, and additional Nō Pōhaku continued on page 6 1

Community and Hawaiian agencies and organizations honored Nō Pōhaku Ola Kapaemōhū a Kapuni monument (tormerly called the "Wizard Stones") last month with ho'okupu at a blessing by Papa Henry Auwae. Pictured above is a special ahu tor the ceremony.

Na Pohaku con-tinued from page I signs in Hawaiian and English with the story of the stones are being put up as part of the efforts to improve the site. To begin the restoration Auwae led a public ceremony blessing the stones. Representatives from the City and County, the Queen Emma Foundation, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate and other community and Hawaiian agencies and organizations attended and offered ho'okupu presentations. Auwae's lā'au lapa'au haumana (students) performed as part of the ceremony. A protocol cultural specialist from the island of Raiatea, Pierre Sham Koua, offered a stone from the land the healers were from as ho'okupu. The stone is called Ta'ahu Ea, with means "the life." After the blessing Auwae talked about the need for people of today tp

understand the traditions of the past and rekindle respect for the history of Hawai'i. An offieial dedication for the monument is planned for early April when the restoration is comp!eted. The healers represented by the stones — Kapaemāhū, Kapuni, Kahaloa and Kinohi —

requested the monument when they left the islands. They were known for their curing powers throughout the Hawaiian Islands. Richard Paglinawan of the Queen Emma Foundation, and a cultural expert, researched the stones. According to Paglinawan, the stones were

t quarried from Kaimukī at the former site of Chief Kakuhihewa's daughter's home (now the juncture of Fifth and Wai'alae Avenues) and brought to Ulukou (near the present site of the Moana Hotel in Waikikī). Two were placed on the grounds of their residence and two at their usual bathing plaee in the sea. Thousands turned out to help because the stones weighed several tons eaeh. The healers named the stones for themselves and gave mana (supernatural powers) to them. Rituals, prayers and celebrations followed and the healers returned to their homeland. In 1907, the stones were placed together on Princess Miriam Likelike and Gov. Archibald Cleghorn's property in Waikiki. In 1941, part of the property was leased for a bowling alley and the stones were broken and buried under the building. In 1958, the bowling alley was demolished and the area taken over by the City and County of Honolulu for a park. During the excavations. the stones were rediscovered.

Because of their historical and spiritual significance, the City and County decided to keep the stones and plaee them just above the wash of the waves. In 1980, the stones were moved again further mauka to their present site.

Nā Pōhaku Ola Kapaemāhū a Kapuni monumenl, pre-improvement. The stones are being raised otf the ground with 25-ineh plattorms, a fence is going up, native plants are being incorporated into the monument, and signs in English and Hawaiian will better explain their significance.