Heiau - Preserved Sites

Preserved Sites

The heiau most commonly preserved are war temples of the later period of history (e.g. Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site). They are composed of large stone platforms with various structures built upon them. The structures were used to house priests, sacred ceremonial drums, sacred items, and cult images representing the gods associated with that particular temple. There were also altars (Ahu) on which to offer sacrifices (plant, animal and human). The heiau were sacred places; only the kahuna (priests) and certain sacred ali'i (high chiefs) were allowed to enter.

The largest heiau currently known to exist, Hale O Pi'ilani Heiau, is a massive, three-acre platform with fifty foot retaining walls located in Hāna on Maui. Built for Pi'ilani, it dates back to the 13th century.

Agricultural heiau, called generally Hale-o-Lono for the god of fertility, can be found today on Oʻahu at Makaha (Kaneaki heiau - fully restored) and in Hawaii Kai (Pahua heiau - partially restored). The Kaneaki heiau was built in the 17th century, containing grass and thatched huts that were chambers used for prayer and meditation. The ruins of a healing heiau, Keaiwa ("the mysterious") are located at the entrance to Keaiwa State Park in ʻAiea.

Puʻuhonua o Honaunau, in South Kona on the island of Hawaiʻi, itself is a place of refuge, but it includes a heiau complex within it.

Because the land of heiau was sacred, it was not unusual for successive generations to add to original structures and for the purposes of the heiau to change over time. An example is Ulupo heiau in Kailua on Oʻahu, which is said to have been built by the menehune, that is, a long time ago, and is thought to have been used first as an agricultural heiau and later as a luakini.