Puu O Mahuka Heiau Temple
The temple can be reached on foot as well as by car from Waimea Beach Park by turning on to Pupukea Road in Waimea. After about 3/4 mile/1.1km, an unmade-up red sandy road (please heed the street sign) is reached - follow this also for 3/4 mile/1.1km.
From the temple there is a lovely view on to Waimea Beach Park and the sea.
Puu O Mahuka Temple is one of the largest of the few remaining heiaus on Oahu.
From the temple there is a lovely view on to Waimea Beach Park and the sea.
Puu O Mahuka Temple is one of the largest of the few remaining heiaus on Oahu.
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Must-see attractions nearby:
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Typical of this temple site is its totally rectangular shape, which extends to the size of a football field. The temple was once surrounded by a stone wall. Inside, small stones were piled up and tree trunks were presumably laid on top to create a platform. The buildings erected on top of this no longer exist as perishable materials, such as wood, leaves and grass, were used.
Puu O Mahuka was apparently one of the temples to which human sacrifices were brought. According to legend three sailors from the crew of one of the ships that brought George Vancouver to Hawaii were supposed to have been sacrificed along with others here - because they had angered the natives. Human sacrifice was originally unknown in Hawaii. Polynesians from Tahiti brought this religious custom here for the first time in the 13th c., and it was then practiced for more than 500 years until the abolition of the kapu system by King Kamehameha II and his mother Kapiolani. Visitors to Puu O Mahuka are often surprised by the fact that "sacrifices" are still brought here. On the stone walls can be seen stones, bones or fruit wrapped in ti-leaves or other leaves and bound together with grass - a sign that even 170 years of Christianity has not been able to extinguish completely the old religious customs.
Puu O Mahuka was apparently one of the temples to which human sacrifices were brought. According to legend three sailors from the crew of one of the ships that brought George Vancouver to Hawaii were supposed to have been sacrificed along with others here - because they had angered the natives. Human sacrifice was originally unknown in Hawaii. Polynesians from Tahiti brought this religious custom here for the first time in the 13th c., and it was then practiced for more than 500 years until the abolition of the kapu system by King Kamehameha II and his mother Kapiolani. Visitors to Puu O Mahuka are often surprised by the fact that "sacrifices" are still brought here. On the stone walls can be seen stones, bones or fruit wrapped in ti-leaves or other leaves and bound together with grass - a sign that even 170 years of Christianity has not been able to extinguish completely the old religious customs.
