Aloha and Mahalo Nui Loa for once again navigating the interwebs and stumbling on this humble blog post. I recently visited a historic site here in Hawaii- the summer palace for King Kamehameha III. This post will carry a different tone than my normal posts. I will attempt to tone down the snark out of respect for the Hawaiians, who truly treasure this site I am about to mention.
The Hawaiian people have a very long and rich history. They are a very spiritual people. They greatly revere their ancestors and treasure their history. Modern Hawaiians strive to preserve the ancient culture by protecting historical sites and by teaching language, arts, dance, and other cultural aspects practiced by their ancestors.
Kapu. This is the Hawaiian word meaning "sacred" or "forbidden." There are many kapu sites in the islands- heiaus (temples), birthing sites, graveyards, etc. The site that is the focus of this entry is one of these kapu sites. It is a sacred place to the Hawaiians and its preservation is very important to them. Out of respect to the native Hawaiians, I will not post directions to this place. There are many jackass hikers/tourists that don't respect the land. They leave their trash lying around, they move the rocks, they take flowers and other offerings laid at this site, and they generally don't care about protecting the land. Some people even come here to conduct modeling photo shoots. If you are intent on visiting this place, there are plenty of places to get directions on the interwebs. Just please understand this is a sacred site and treat it as such. Think of it as a cemetery- would you do a fashion shoot or throw your trash on the ground in a cemetery?
I call this a "hike," but it really is a leisurely stroll through the forest. It is conveniently located close to a major road, but its entrance is so cleverly masked that you need to know where it is or else you would never stumble across it. The path itself is somewhat interesting in that you are wandering through a bamboo forest and have to climb over, under, around, and through fallen trees and other objects.
What we have here are the remnants of the summer palace of King Kamehameha III. It is in a mountainous area of Oahu, and therefore is much cooler than Honolulu. It is easy to see why the king would live up here during the hot summer months in a time before air conditioning. I have a fantastic 360 degree photo of the place from the center of the structure, but I can't get the file small enough for Blogger to accept it. Sorry, folks.
This might not look big enough to be a royal palace by western standards. It looks like little more than a cabin in the woods. However, consider that Hawaiians didn't (and still don't) really live indoors like most Americans do. They used the house for sleeping, and that's about it. They spent most of their time outdoors. Cooking, hunting, gardening, and socializing all were outdoor activities to the Hawaiians. Even today, if you stroll through the neighborhoods of Hawaii you will find people on their lawns eating food, playing with kids, or just sitting and enjoying the weather. They don't have to deal with cold or inclement weather out here, so there's nothing keeping them indoors.
As you walk around the site, you can feel the mana, or spirit, flowing through the site. It feels as though this continues to be a gathering place for the ancient Hawaiian spirits. I wish I knew more about this site. Just walking around I was trying to reconstruct the place in my head. I guessed where the gathering places were, where the imu (cooking pit) was, and how the king had his sleeping quarters. I would love to see an actual artist rendering of this place.
The photo below shows some interesting objects I found hanging in one of the tree. I have no clue what they are or what they are for. I assume they are some sort of wind chime or offering to the ancestors or something to that effect. They are man made and hung by fishing line, so I know someone put them there. If you know what they are, please leave me a comment.
A bit further down the path there is a nice little waterfall. This was a great place for me to set up and try some long exposure photography. I wish I had used a polarizer to take some of the glare off the water, but I didn't think I needed it since it was so cloudy and covered by the trees. In any event, this was a peaceful place to stop for a bit. I actually got confused and crossed the stream because I saw a trail marker. I thought the trail continued. If it did, it was not very well marked or worn. I decided it was time to turn back.
This was a very short hike that was more of a nature walk than anything. It was fascinating to experience a bit of Hawaiian culture like this. Part of me wishes someone would take control of this, restore it, and allow visitors, but that would cheapen the land and make it more of a tourist attraction than a sacred site. In any event, this was a very good trip for me.
