Honaunau, Kona

HONAUNAU, KONA

Pu'uhonua O'Honaunau (aka The City of Refuge) in Honaunau, Kona, is a sacred Hawaiian site 20 miles south of Kailua. This was built in the 12th century to provide political and religious asylum.

The royal grounds, where 50-100 families stayed, was separated by a massive wall from the pu'uhonua, a place of refuge for defeated warriors, noncombatants in time of war, and those who violated the kapu, the sacred laws.(Mouse over this photo to reveal another image--->)

The pu'uhonua was a sanctuary that provided the people with a second chance. No blood could be shed within its confines. Those too old, too young, or unable to fight could also find safety in the sanctuary. It was not the stone wall that bestowed sanctity to the area; it was the sacred bones of the chiefs. Only the priest stayed there within the walls.

Those seeking refuge stayed only for a short period of time. Around the surrounding areas, about 1,000 commoners lived. King Kamehameah II abolished traditional religious practices and many of the religious sites and structures were destroyed and abandoned. In the 1920s, it was set aside as a country park. In 1961, it became a national historical park to maintain a setting where many of the old Hawaiian ways carry on in the modern world.(Mouse over these photos to the left & the bottom to reveal other images.)

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St. Benedict's Catholic Church a.k.a."The Old Painted Church"

About 2-3 miles south, we checked out the "Old Painted Church of St. Benedict" at Honaunau. It is the oldest Catholic church on the Island constructed in 1875. The church is painted with brilliantly hued murals and frescoes depicting biblical scenes on the interior walls. Murals in the Star of the Sea Catholic church at Kalapana were painted by a priest half a century ago.(Mouse over this photo to reveal another image--->)

pineapple @ the Old Painted Church's garden