We got up this morning and set off for the south of the island. The drive down was past a number of very old lava flows which can be clearly seen on the land as they leave a dark scar where the magma flowed. This side of the island hasn’t seen an eruption since 1871 but the vegetation still hasn’t grown back. Hawaii was originally divided into five areas each being ruled over by a king and having a Pu’uhonua which means place of refuge. These were areas that could be used if you were accused of a crime as the majority of punishments were death even for things like standing in the kings shadow or eating a meal with the opposite sex. The way you could save yourself was to swim to the Pu’uhonua and ask forgiveness from the king. Not many of these areas remain but the one at Honaunau does so after an introductory talk by the ranger we set off to explore the site. It is divided into two areas the royal grounds, this area was used to hold ceremonies, host gatherings and may even be used to negotiate peace (or war). They lived in the thatched shelter for a few months while this was going on and brought a number of servants and attendants to look after them while they were there. Once they had finished their visit they would go to the next area and do the same again. As we were walking round we stopped by the inlet where the canoe’s used to land and there were some brilliantly yellow fish swimming very close in as they were eating the seaweed that had attached itself to the rocks, then Chris noticed that one of the rocks was moving and it was a Turtle. We stood watching him for a while, but they can spend a ridiculously long time under the water and they are very well camouflaged. The Pu’uhonua or place of refuge was used for that very reason to gain refuge. The laws included things like catching fish out of season, a woman eating with a man or a commoner casting his shadow on an ali’i- royalty. The only way you can avoid punishment of death is to elude your pursuers on foot, make your way to the coast and swim to the Pu’uhonua, if you make it – many didn’t, then you may be absolved by a priest. It was also used during times of war as a sanctuary for children, elders and other non combatants, a defeated warrior could seek safety in the refuge and when the battle ended they were free to return home to resume their lives regardless of the battle outcome. It was last used in 1819 when Kalaniopu’u died he named his wife Ka’ahumanu as his successor but as a woman she wasn’t allowed to enter the place so she and the kings son Liholiho defied the rules by eating together and when the volcano didn’t erupt they decided it was safe to change the system. The site is littered with statues that look very similar to some of the ones we saw in New Zealand and you can see that the same group of people colonised the areas. We had a look round each of the areas then started heading back. We stopped at the side of the road where what looked like a lava tube had collapsed in places. We had a walk round and it was interesting to see the different layers of rock that had been thrown up during this eruption, you could also see the flow ripples which were fascinating. We walked around the site then came back to the hotel. We got back mid afternoon so we decided to go to the pool for a swim, as it is a little windy it was quite cool despite the car saying it was 90F when we got back to the car park. They have a water slide which I think should be for children but was great fun so after a few go’s of that and a very short swim we sat down to dry off then went back to the room for a drink before heading out for something to eat tonight.
