Praise, Pool, and Pu’ uhonua O Hōnaunau
Sunday mass was especially fun this year because LAST year we were invited to join the choir when we returned to Kona this year. Deb, the flautist, had heard us singing at weekday mass and introduced us to Walter, the choir leader. We kept in touch and this year we got to sing with these talented folks. Walter plays at every mass with his wife, Thelma, as seen far right in the far right photo above. Deb is beside me. The wee lady with the guitar is Pam and she is with Don and Terry.
We had a delicious brunch at Kai restaurant and another restful day by the pool. This is doing me a world of good as my injured body is truly able to recuperate from that bad fall. The bruising is ‘calming down’ and the pain is almost gone too! The sunsets here are SO beautiful that they’re one of things I miss most when we leave for another year.
On Monday we decided to go on a bit of a road trip to find another place to sketch. We didn’t end up doing this artistic endeavour but we did discover a national park that we’d never been to before ….AND…it was free admission because it was Martin Luther King day. Bonus!
Pu’ uhonua O Hōnaunau is an incredible national park that is known as being a place of refuge and royalty.
It is said that in the time of ancient Hawaii this place possessed extraordinary spiritual power (mana).
There are 23 chiefs buried in the temple there whose bones lay protected in that temple. During times of war the Pu’uhonua served as a sanctuary for children, elders, and other peaceful people . Even defeated warriors could seek safety in the refuge. No matter what the outcome of the battle they were free to return home after the war ended.
On our walkabout we looked down into an anchialine pond which held fish that used to be eaten by the ali’i. It was cool to see the odd circular formations that each seemed to hold one fish. Then we passed through ‘The Great Wall’. Up to 12 feet tall and 18 feet wide, AND over 950 feet long, it defined the sacred space of the Pu’uhonua. It was constructed over 400 (!) years ago using stones fitted without mortar.
We came upon an ancient games table called the Kōnane. It held a strategy game played with black and white pebbles on a papamū (stone playing surface).
Soon we turned a corner and came upon the temple that held the bones…..
Lots of incredible ‘tiki’ type carvings off all different shapes, sizes….and….endowments…ha ha.
It was a very very interesting exploration of these royal grounds but we couldn’t have our picnic there so afterwards we drove down the road to one of our favourite beaches (Ho’Okena) and had a beautiful view of the crashing surf while we enjoyed our lunch.