Kawa'ewa'e Heiau

Yesterday morning I finally took a drive out to Kaneohe to visit Kawa'ewa'e Heiau. It is said to have been built by Olopana in the 12th century. Along with four other heiau on this side of the island.

 Olopana was a ruling chief on Oahu. A grandchild from the line of Maweke from Kahiki. These were during the times when Hawaii and the south pacific islands were more closely linked. As these expert navigators subdued the Pacific and claimed glory and land by their undaunted travels across vast distances.  

Maweke arrived in Hawaii first. He had three sons. Muli'eleali'i, the eldest inherited Maweke's lands on the Kona side of Oahu. Keaunui lived in the Waianae/Ewa district, and Kalehenui lived in the Waialua/Koolau district (keep in mind that solid divisions of land were not yet firmly established. I am simply relating to which area they would have been in at).

Muli'eleali'i would have three sons of his own. Kumuhonua, Mo'ikeha, and Olopana. Kumuhonua, like his father was the eldest and inherited his father's lands and rank. Mo'ikeha and Olopana seem to have been fed up by this and left the island for some time. Some stories say that they attacked their brother. Some that they went back to ocean journeying. Mo'ikeha is even said to have traveled back to Kahiki and then finally returning and settling in Kauai. Where he inherits that island from his wife's side of the family and the following rulers of Kauai will claim descent from him. Mo'ikeha's sons and family travel to the other Hawaiian islands to make their homes and so is how the ancient royal families are all connected.

Olopana is said to have went to Waipio, where the ancient capitol of Hawaii island was located for generations to come until Umi relocated to Kona, and then the Kahuna from Tahiti, Pa'ao would bring new royal blood from across the Pacific in the second migration.

Olopana somehow ends up on the Koolau side of Oahu in his later years and is accredited with building five heiau in the district.

Atop a small knoll on the bottom of the ridge that separates Kaneohe and Kailua is Kawa'ewa'e Heiau.

The opening of the trail to the ridge passes a few large pohaku that seem to keep guard of the path ahead.

I parked and asked a man standing outside if he ever heard of the heiau. He had but never chose to take a look at it ever since living nearby since the 70's. He was told that it was around a slope that rose from behind his house. He wasn't a believer though as he mentioned that through descriptions told to him by people that saw it. He surmised that it was an old cattle pen. McAllister even mentions that the only thing that didn't physically incline him to think it was a pen was because it had no opening in the walls.

After walking through what seemed to be a nice little camp ground complete with a fire place and benches made from fallen trees. I found a corner of the heiau emerge from the overgrowth on the hill...

Here is the southeast corner that came into view first. McAllister scales this heiau at 120' by 253' with walls about 5' wide and varying in heights from 4' to 7' depending on the contour of the land. All of which seem spot on for Kawa'ewa'e Heiau during my visit. I could not located the south west wall under the overgrowth. But while taking a look at his diagram I realized that it was lower down the hill, and the opening to the sea are usually more gradual for heiau function.

Someone or some group of people are clearing the overgrowth just outside of the heiau's highest wall.

The interior of the heiau is covered in a shorter overgrowth that isn't as bad as the outside. But I wasn't about to blindly go walking around inside it on my own.

 Sadly some of the wall looks to have rolled down the hill. Some shifts seem to have taken place in the past and some look almost recent...

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Here is the highest wall overlooking the Pohai Nani retirement home.

I myself cannot accept that this is simply a cattle pen. Almost all of the stones used for the walls are uniformly the same size. Some have interlocking notches broken into them and I also found smaller ili ili stones filling and leveling the spaces between the larger stones.

After I felt satisfied with the amount of what crappy picture taking ability I have. I did my traditional mana tower hands in the air gesture. As I lowered my arms looking back mauka toward the Pali. I noticed that the Pali Puka almost looks like it is directly aimed at this heiau...

Olopana is said have met his fate here by the demigod Kamapua'a. Olopana had no hope of beating Kamapua'a at battle. So Olopana's Kahuna, Malae devised a way to trap Kamapua'a by using offerings of meat. Kamapua'a is told of in legends as being able to transform into his pig form. He even is accredited with growing very large and carving out large sections of stone with his body. In order to pursue people or evade them. This trick of Malae somehow worked and Kamapua'a was bound in Waianae and taken to be sacrificed here at Kawa'ewa'e Heiau. All myth aside, Kamapua'a had aid from Kahuna on his side through Lonoaohi. Whowas also captured with him. Lonoaohi devised his own way to save Kamapua'a by informing his captures that they should not harm Kamapua'a in anyway so that at the time of sacrifice it will be pure. His captures were left behind by a weary Olopana and at Pahoa they planned to gather stone azde daggers ( the meaning of Pahoa is dagger) and cut Kamapua'a open and gut him. So that he'd be lighter to carry to Olopana. Luckily Lonoaohi's messengers reached them before they did so. They agreed and ditched the dagger idea.

When Kamapua'a was finally tied up along with his Kahuna Lonoaohi at Kawa'ewa'e. They slept and were t be sacrificed the next day. While everyone was sleeping Lonoaohi freed himself. Sometimes said with the help of praying to his god. Lonoaohi freed Kamapua'a and set a pig on the alter to burn. Olopana was tricked to think that the sacrifice had already happened and was caught by surprise by a freed and empowered Kamapua'a. He ended up killing Olopana and Malae. Kamapua'a then took over rule for some time and gave the watered lands of the island of Oahu to the Kahuna class that Lonoaohi was from. Lonoaohi is actually said to have been the last Kahuna of Kawa'ewa'e Heiau. Kamapua'a's family did not agree with his giving of all of the watered lands. But in time the generations to follow would find this was a very good consummation that would shape the dealings of the land and the cooperation of the Kahuna and Ali'i class.

Update: This Olopana may have shared the name of Olopana of Maweke. But may have lived generations later also as a ruling chief on Oahu...