Eia Hōnaunau ke ku aku nei
Meka manaʻo ulu ma hiehie
Hoʻohie ka manao ke ike aku
Ka hale o keawe oia no e ka ʻoe
Kaulana hale o Keawe a puni Hawaiʻi
Maikaʻi ia eka lehulehu
Mea ʻole i ka loa i nā malihini
No ke ake noe ike i ka nani oia wahi
Eia puʻuhonua hoʻola ona pio
Komo no i loko a pakela eka ola
Eia Kaʻahumanu ame Keoua
Nā aliʻi kaulana o ke au kahiko
Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana
Eia Hōnaunau ka ku aku nei
Mea ʻole e ka loa i nā malihini
No ke ake noe ike i ka nani oia wahi
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Here stands Hōnaunau
Making a fine stately
appearance
One can see there the
distinguished
House of Keawe, you were the
best
The house of Keawe is
famous
Thoughout Hawaiʻi, visted by
the public
The distance is nothing for the
visitor
Who long to see the beauty of
this place
This refuge, saving the
prisoner
Who enters, having escaped with
his life
Here Kaʻahumanu and
Keoua
Famous chiefs of ancient
times
The story is told
Of Hōnaunau standing
there
The distance is nothing for the
visitor
Who long to see the beauty of
this place
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Source: Hines Collection - In a culture of harsh
penalties for law-breakers, there was a safety valve called puʻuhonua
or place of refuge. There are many places of refuge on
every island,
but Hōnaunau (1550 a.d.) is the most intact refuge in all of the islands
because it was not descreated in 1819 when the old religion was abolished. The
puʻuhonua was a safe haven for law breakers and/or refugees who could reach the
puʻuhonua before being captured. The offender would be pardoned after ritual
ceremonies of absolution performed by the resident priest of the puʻuhonua. After
the offender
was purified, he was able to leave in safety. The purification ceremony sometimes
was completed in a few hours and sometimes it took many days, depending on the
offense. The punishment for harming the offender after he was purified, was death.
1782, the battle of Mokuʻōhai, 3 miles north of Hōnaunau, drove many
of the defeated warriors to seek refuge here. Hōnaunau was on grounds reserved
for royalty and off limits to the average person. To reach the puʻuhonua, the
sinner would have to swim across the bay. There was another recourse for offenders
who could not reach the places of refuge. A high chief or chiefess could act
as a puʻuhonua and forgive law breakers of their crimes. Verse 3, stanza 3, high
chief Keoua and high
chiefess, Kaʻahumanu were puʻuhonua. During times of war, puʻuhonua
could
be set
up outside
of man-made refuges. The area would be consecrated and the boundaries marked
by tall poles or spears. White kapa or pennants would be attached to the top
of the poles and the enclosure would provide a place of safety for the elderly,
children and women not assisting the warriors in battle.
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