Puuhonua o Honauau National Historical Park
Honaunau, Hawaii
The place of refuge on Hawaii's Kona coast where those who broke kapu could be absolved, its royal grounds and reconstructed temple walls preserved as a national historical park.
Puuhonua o Honauau was one of Hawaii's places of refuge: under the kapu system, lawbreakers, defeated warriors, and those who violated a sacred rule could flee here and be absolved by priests, escaping death. The royal grounds beside it held the chiefs' homes and the great temple walls, and after the kapu system was abolished in 1819, the site's religious function ended and its structures were left to the elements.
The national historical park preserves the royal grounds, the reconstructed temple walls, and the refuge itself, and its interpretation carries the traditional laws as the culture's own system rather than as folklore. The puuhonua's concept, sanctuary as a defined physical place with a defined ritual process, is the reason it stands in this library.
Visiting
The National Park Service's Puuhonua o Honauau page carries access and rules; entrance fee per vehicle; the royal grounds trail and the refuge are the main walks.
Photo: [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pu%CA%BBuhonua_o_H%C5%8Dnaunau.jpg), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Associated traditions & practices
Visitor stories