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GP Merfeld | profile | all galleries >> Hawai'i: Culture >> *******Gallery******* Cultural Festivals >> Pu'ukohola Heiau tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Pu'ukohola Heiau

Aloha Kakou!
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PU'UKOHOLA HEIAU
(40th Annual Ho'oku'ikahi Establishment Day Hawaiian Cultural Festival)

Honoring the "Lonely One"
Remembering The Warriors
Celebrating Unity
Living Aloha

Pu'ukohola Heiau, the massive stone structure that dominates "the Hill of the Whale" on the
Kohala Coast of the Big Island, is the primary structure associated with the founding of the Kingdom of Hawai'i.
This major temple was finished in 1791 by Kamehameha The Great to honor, regain favor,
and enlist the services of his family war god, Kuka'ilimoku.

After building and dedicating the heiau, which included offering the sacrificial remains of 11 warriors killed in battle,
Kamehameha embarked on a mission to conquer the rest of the islands, and succeeded, with the exception of Kaua'i,
which joined the Kingdom by mutual consent in 1810.

Following the death of Kamehameha in 1819, the traditional religion was abandoned. Today, the Heiau
is a National Historic Site, and is actively used as a learning center to preserve the Hawaiian Culture.

This area, with its stark landscape and arid climate, with its blue-gray saged hillsides bursting into
searing silver-white tones with the rising sun, echoes the quiet solemnity of the dawn ceremony at hand.
It is a serious event, commemorating a very different Hawai'i, a flipside of this renowned tropical paradise,
a harsher side, united through battle and sacrifice, and the unwavering strength of "The Lonely One."

But with knowledge of the past, hope remains constant for the continuance of unity by peaceful means in the present.
The Aloha Spirit has replaced the ways of the Warrior, and the Cultural Festival that followed was
truly a celebration of art and craft, music, food and laughter.

This first selection of images are from the Ceremony, and I have attempted to portray the atmosphere
of the event with a duotone palette that is a bit different than my usual style.
Images of the Festival to follow...
Entrance of the Ali'i (bw)
Entrance of the Ali'i (bw)		 Entrance of the Wahine (bw)
Entrance of the Wahine (bw)		 The Ali'i (bw)
The Ali'i (bw)		 The Warriors (bw)
The Warriors (bw)
Ho'okupu (bw)
Ho'okupu (bw)		 Warrior and Wahine (bw)
Warrior and Wahine (bw)		 Warrior Turn (bw)
Warrior Turn (bw)		 Royal Guard
Royal Guard
Pu'ukohola Warrior, 2012
Pu'ukohola Warrior, 2012 		Warrior Stance
Warrior Stance		 Tatu Mo'o (bw)
Tatu Mo'o (bw)		 Guarded
Guarded
Chanter
Chanter 		Kupuna in White
Kupuna in White		 Kupuna Cane (bw)
Kupuna Cane (bw)		 Kupuna (bw)
Kupuna (bw)
Guarded (high key bw)
Guarded (high key bw)		 Kupuna in White (high key bw)
Kupuna in White (high key bw)		 Looking East (high key bw)
Looking East (high key bw)		 Guard With Chest Tatu (high key bw)
Guard With Chest Tatu (high key bw)
Sunrise On Warrior (bw)
Sunrise On Warrior (bw)		 Kahuna (bw)
Kahuna (bw)		 Entrance Of The Ali'i
Entrance Of The Ali'i		 Entrance Of The Wahine
Entrance Of The Wahine
Entrance Of The Wahine 2
Entrance Of The Wahine 2		 Entrance Of The Ali'i 2
Entrance Of The Ali'i 2		 The Warriors
The Warriors		 The Ali'i
The Ali'i
Ho'okupu
Ho'okupu		 Chanter
Chanter		 Warrior and Wahine
Warrior and Wahine		 Pu'ukohola Warrior, 2012
Pu'ukohola Warrior, 2012
Sunrise On Warrior
Sunrise On Warrior		 Tatu Mo'o
Tatu Mo'o		 Kupuna Cane
Kupuna Cane		 Kupuna
Kupuna
Kupuna Wahine
Kupuna Wahine		 Kahuna
Kahuna

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