In 1927, ethnologist Kenneth P. Emery (1897-1992) of Bishop Museum visited Ke‘e, Ha‘ena, for the purpose of examining its three archaeological ruins and recording his findings. The first of these ruins, all of which remain today, is a stone heiau,
In 1927, ethnologist Kenneth P. Emery (1897-1992) of Bishop Museum visited Ke‘e, Ha‘ena, for the purpose of examining its three archaeological ruins and recording his findings.
The first of these ruins, all of which remain today, is a stone heiau, 100 feet long by 60 feet wide, named Kaulu o Paoa, which means “inspiration of Paoa,” that is located on the peninsula beyond Ke‘e Beach.
Its namesake, Paoa, was the kahuna nui and friend of Lohiau, a 13th century chief of Ha‘ena best known for his participation with Pele, the volcano goddess, and her sister, Hiiaka, in a legendary love story.
Below Kaulu o Paoa is situated a big rock called Pohaku Kilioe, which was created when Kilioe, a female mo‘o (water spirit) was turned to stone. In its crevices, Hawaiians still place the excised umbilical cords of their children.
Emery wrote, “Here the umbilical cords of the children of the neighborhood were deposited … to be safe from desecration. … The naval cord was one of the most sacred parts of the human body, as it was the maternal link with the past along which was communicated the spiritual power of ancestors. To have the cord destroyed, was in a measure, to cut the child off from his spiritual heritage.”
Above the heiau on a large terrace abutting a cliff is located the second ruin, Lohiau’s Ke‘ahu o Laka Halau Hula, which was dedicated to Laka, the goddess of dance and the forest. As its name indicates, the ruin was once a long house where dances were performed before an altar to Laka, a simple frame decorated with leaves.
The third ruin, Lohiau’s stone and earth house site, damaged in the 1950s by county workers, lies near the start of the Kalalau Trail.
