The Hawaiian temple system developed over many centuries before being shut down in 1820. It was the arrival of Christianity on the islands that spelled the end for the old gods, but the beliefs associated with them were not forgotten. These had once been passed from generation to generation as part of a rich oral tradition, but with Christianity came literacy. In the decades after the closure of the temples, some islanders were encouraged to write down accounts of their history and culture. The result is a wealth of information about pre-Christian rituals, which is supplemented by earlier European voyagers’ accounts. Captain James Cook, for instance, visited in the late 1770s, when temple worship was still in full swing.
Drawings made by these early explorers capture the original appearance of the monuments, which generally featured timber fencing, a thatched house, and wooden idols, with an offering platform set in front of them. Today, it is only the stone foundations that survive, and these display very different designs. Although general styles are apparent, archaeologists examining temple sites in the early 20th century struggled to develop a typology, with one despairing that ‘no two… are alike’. It was also accepted that the temples were not laid out according to a consistent orientation. Despite this, we know from the written records that there were functional differences between certain types of temples, while offerings to the gods could range from the root of the ‘awa plant all the way to human sacrifice. This role seemingly inspired the traditional name for the temples – heiau – which probably came from the root ‘hai’, meaning ‘to sacrifice’.
Written accounts also identify the beneficiaries of such offerings, by describing the four main Hawaiian gods. Of these, Kū was the god of war and also linked to high mountains; Lono the god of dryland agriculture, rain, thunder, fertility, and birth; while Kāne was the deity associated with flowing water and male procreation; and Kanaloa presided over the sea and death. Despite this invaluable information, the surviving records do not disclose everything. Four times a month, local men would spend a night or two at some temples, for instance, but what they did there is glossed over. Now, a new book (see ‘Further information’ below) documenting a survey of 78 heiau sites on the Hawaiian island of Maui has filled in some of these gaps in the historical records by revealing the remarkable range of roles the temples fulfilled.
