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| 1773 Pu'uhonua o Hōnaunau |
Posted on 24.07.2015, 25.01.2020
Located on the west coast of the island of Hawaii, Pu'uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park preserves the site where, up until the early 19th century, Hawaiians who violated the kapu (sacred laws) could avoid certain death by fleeing to this place of refuge. The offender would be absolved by a priest and freed to leave. Defeated warriors and non-combatants could also find refuge here during times of battle. The complex includes also temple platforms, royal fishponds, sledding tracks, and some coastal village sites. For several centuries, the pu'uhonua and adjacent areas formed one of the primary religious and political centers within the traditional district of Kona.
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| 3394 Ki'is which protect Hale o Keawe |
The park contains a reconstruction of the Hale O Keawe heiau, which was originally built by a Kona chief named Kanuha in honor of his father King Keawe'īkekahiali'iokamoku. After the death of the king, his bones were entombed within the heiau, which once held the consecrated bones of 23 great chiefs. It was believed that the mana (spiritual power) of the chiefly bones would offer additional protection to an already powerful place. Situated on a point of land near the sea and surrounded by dramatic ki'i (carved images), Hale o Keawe is still considered very sacred ground. The Hawaiian word ki'i may be heard in other parts of Polynesia as tiki.
The nobility (ali'i) continued to be buried until the abolition of the kapu system. The last person buried here was a son of Kamehameha I in 1818. It was looted by Lord George Byron (cousin of the English poet) in 1825. In 1829, High Chiefess Kapiʻolani removed the remaining bones and hid them in the Pali Kapu O Keōua cliffs above nearby Kealakekua Bay. She then ordered this last temple to be destroyed. The bones were moved in 1858 to the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii.
About the stamps
On the postcard 1773
The first stamp is part of the definitives series American Design (2002-2007), about which I wrote here. The second is the first of three stamps of a civil rights series, about which I wrote here.
The third stamp was issued on February 6, 1984. Design of this stamp recognized the 50th anniversary of cooperative federal, state, and local efforts to abate soil erosion and preserve water resources. Overgrazing and firewood gathering deprive vast areas of arid lands, resulting in the spread of desert and desert-like conditions.
The fourth stamp is part of the Black Heritage Series, about which I wrote here. The last stamp is part of a series of five, issued on January 6, 1994 to commemorate the 17th Winter Olympic Games, about which I wrote here.
On the postcard 3394
The stamp is a Global Forever one, depicting The Moon, about which I wrote here.
References
Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park - Wikipedia
Sender 1773: Denise
Sent from Greenvale (New York / United States), on 03.03.2013
Photo: Ann Cecil
Sender 3394: Marius Vasilescu
Sent from Honolulu (Hawaii / United States), on 29.03.2018
Photo: David Olsen
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