Pi'ilanihale Heiau Adventure

Wayne had a very interesting private tour this week: It was a family from Tahiti and Maui who were on a quest to gather information about the "ulu" (breadfruit) tree (you may remember that it was the breadfruit tree that Captain Bligh in such trouble in Mutiny on the Bounty). They wanted to go to Maui's Kahanu Natinal Botanical Garden in Hana to see their remarkable collection of tropical trees and plants.

At the garden they are attempting to gather and preserve old plants from all over Polynesia. The Garden also has a specific area dedicated to preserving the original "canoe plants" brought to Hawaii by the colonizing Marcassens when they sailed to the Islands 1,500 years ago.

They have a huge selection of ulu trees from throughout the Tropical Pacific Basin - over 120 varities and over 220 trees, the largest and most complete collection in the world. The family were interested in creating an ulu forest in their huge family held valley in Tahiti - tough, huh?

Ulu grows all over the South Pacific and, because of the wide-spread and very useful nature of the tree and its fruit it went along with the migration to all the islands in the huge region, including Hawaii. On each island groupings, each with a slightly varied environment, the trees developed many different varieties to survive in each grouping. So, there are many distinct ulu trees "native" to many distinct islands. That happens with a lot of plants in the islands - coconut is another good example with several hundred distinct varieties. While the differences are small, they are discernable when you see bunches of them together.

While that was interesting to Wayne, the highpoint of the trip was seeing, experiencing and walking on the Pi'ilanihale Heiau. This is Hawaii's largest ancient place of worship that is still intact. The heiau was constructed completely out of lava rock and dates back to the 14th century. It is associated with Maui's Pi'ilani dynasty that ruled Maui for nearly 100 years. The area was overgrown until the 1970's which kept the site a secret and therefore in excellent condition today. The stone platform is 340 feet by 415 feet or the size of two football fields. It covers almost three acres and !s thought to be the largest heiau ever built by the widespread Polynesian cultures.



Built by Hawaiian chiefs and kings as temples to the gods, heiaus are lava or limestone enclosures that once contained prayer towers, taboo houses, drum houses, and altars. They are the most enduring architectural statement of a people who sought spiritual guidance not only to understand the ways of the universe but also to deal with practical issues such as fishing, mending broken bones, planting, and harvesting. Each heiau was a place of great mana, or power.

Pi'ilanihale is situated on a large bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. From this vantage point, you can see how Pi'ilani's fortress commands the rugged coast and lowlands below.

We have visited many heiau before on Maui, Hawaii and Kauai, but none compare with this place in sheer size, sense of power or majesty. It was a remarkable experience to be cherished.