You will walk past a reconstructed temple, the Hale o Keawe Heiau. The original temple, built around 1650 and long ago destroyed, housed the bones of at least 23 chiefs. As late as 1818, a son of Kamehameha I was buried on these sacred grounds. It was believed that the mana in the bones of the dead chiefs gave additional protection to the place of refuge.
Once you have passed the temple you have entered Puʻuhonua. People who had been sentenced to death for breaking kapu fled to this section to seek refuge, often by swimming across the entire bay. Also came men, women and children, those weak and ill, those defeated in battle, or those who were non-combatants in battle but on the losing side.
Once the petitioner arrived the kahuna pule, priest, would be obligated to offer them sanctuary and absolution, under pain of his own death should he refuse to do so. Often the petitioner would be freed within hours to resume a normal life. These people had been given a second chance for life itself. This was not a place teeming with hardened criminals. This was a sacred place on which life began anew for the ancient Hawaiians.
