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| Eia Honaunau ke ku aku nei Meka mana`o ulu ma hiehie Ho`ohie ka manao ke ike aku Ka hale o keawe oia no e ka `oe Kaulana hale o Keawe a puni Hawai`i Maika`i ia eka lehulehu Mea `ole i ka loa i nâ malihini No ke ake noe ike i ka nani oia wahi Eia pu`uhonua ho`ola ona pio Komo no i loko a pakela eka ola Eia Ka`ahumanu ame Keoua Nâ ali`i kaulana o ke au kahiko Ha`ina `ia mai ana ka puana Eia Honaunau ka ku aku nei Mea o`le e ka loa i nâ malihini No ke ake noe ike i ka nani oia wahi | Here stands Honaunau Making a fine stately appearance One can see there the distinguished House of Keawe, you were the best The house of Keawe is famous Thoughout Hawai`i, visted by the public The distance is nothing for the visitor Who long to see the beauty of this place This refuge, saving the prisoner Who enters, having escaped with his life Here Ka`ahumanu and Keoua Famous chiefs of ancient times The story is told Of Honaunau standing there The distance is nothing for the visitor Who long to see the beauty of this place |
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Source: Hines Collection - In a culture of harsh penalties for law-breakers, there was a safety valve called pu`uhonua or place of refuge. There are many places of refuge on every island, but Hônaunau (1550 a.d.) is the most intact refuge in all of the islands because it was not descreated in 1819 when the old religion was abolished. The pu`uhonua was a safe haven for law breakers and/or refugees who could reach the pu`uhonua before being captured. The offender would be pardoned after ritual ceremonies of absolution performed by the resident priest of the pu`uhonua. After the offender was purified, he was able to leave in safety. The purification ceremony sometimes was completed in a few hours and sometimes it took many days, depending on the offense. The punishment for harming the offender after he was purified, was death. 1782, the battle of Moku`ôhai, 3 miles north of Hônaunau, drove many of the defeated warriors to seek refuge here. Hônaunau was on grounds reserved for royalty and off limits to the average person. To reach the pu`uhonua, the sinner would have to swim across the bay. There was another recourse for offenders who could not reach the places of refuge. A high chief or chiefess could act as a pu`uhonua and forgive law breakers of their crimes. Verse 3, stanza 3, high chief Keoua and high chiefess, Ka`ahumanu were pu`uhonua. During times of war, pu`uhonua could be set up outside of man-made refuges. The area would be consecrated and the boundaries marked by tall poles or spears. White kapa or pennants would be attached to the top of the poles and the enclosure would provide a place of safety for the elderly, children and women not assisting the warriors in battle.
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