Wailua altar dismantled

WAILUA — The sacredness of Wailua Beach is now gone, according to James Alalem, 55, of Wailua.

At approximately 9 a.m. Wednesday, workers from Kaikor Construction Company dismantled a kuahu, or altar, for a Hawaiian heiau that Alalem said was once in the area.

By hand, the workers placed the rocks and coral from the kuahu in a pile approximately 10 feet away under an ironwood tree, which features a plaque marked “Mahunapu‘uone Heiau.”

“That’s all it is now, a pile of rocks,” Alalem said. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

The dismantling of the kuahu by the county contractor came more than a month after Alalem and Ray Catania, 62, of Puhi, were arrested for obstructing the construction site. The two jumped an orange construction barrier after they said crews were working too close to the kuahu.

At that time, the two men cited a law that makes it illegal to destroy religious property or intentionally obstruct by force anyone from exercising religious beliefs. On Wednesday, to no avail, Alalem read sections of the United Nation’s Declaration of Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as desecration penal codes, to the workers.

Several Kaua‘i Police Department officers stood by while the kuahu was taken apart by the construction crew, who linked arms and offered a prayer before carrying out their orders.

“I didn’t want to do it,” said worker David Vasques, who could be spotted gathering the last bits of coral from the kuahu’s original location. “I just need to put food on my family’s table.”

In a statement on behalf of the county, public information officer Beth Tokioka wrote that the contractor “removed rocks that had been placed in the state right of way … in order to continue construction of Ke Ala Hele Makalai (multi-use path), along the Wailua corridor.”

Tokioka added that the site was studied extensively during the county’s Environmental Assessment in 2007, and again during its Supplemental Archeological Assessment in 2011.

“Neither the EA or the Supplemental Archeological Assessment identified a heiau in this location in the project area,” Tokioka wrote.

Alalem disagrees and said he and Catania rebuilt the kuahu two years ago, after using information gathered by Wailua resident Waldeen Palmeira. The two said they filed a police report with the KPD following Wednesday’s “desecration.”  

With the kuahu gone, Alalem said Wailua Beach is now cursed.

“Sacredness was put in place (there) for one reason,” he said. “When that sacredness is destroyed the darkness comes back — hate, anger, destruction, death, unhappiness, curse.”

Catania said the county’s decision to move the kuahu to make room for the multi-use path came as no surprise.

“We knew it was going to happen,” he said. “It’s very upsetting, but we’re emotionally prepared. And we’re going to continue to struggle to protect Wailua and its sacred places.”

Alalem and Catania have no hard feelings against the police officers or the workers, who reportedly dismantled the kuahu with ill feelings and regret.

“They were very respectful,” Alalem said. “The head (construction worker) came and talked to us first. He didn’t want to do it.”

“We know they’re not responsible,” Catania added. “The responsibility with this lies with the mayor and his staff.”

Judy Dalton, an executive committee member of the Kaua‘i Group Sierra Club, was also present Wednesday morning and expressed her opposition to the project.

“Concrete on beaches is environmentally destructive and building a concrete path on Wailua Beach, known throughout Hawai‘i as one of the most culturally, historically and spiritually significant, fails to respect Native Hawaiian values,” she said. “Preserving beaches in their natural state provides them with their best chance of survival.”

Alalem and Catania are scheduled to appear in court March 20 for their Feb. 6 obstructing a construction site charges.