Aloha to the Big Island - Pu`uhonua O Hōnaunau (Place of Refuge)

From the National Park Service (at this link),

A Furious Journey of Life or Death was Determined by the Gods

Imagine you had just broken the sacred laws, the Kapu, and the only punishment was death. Your only chance of survival is to elude your pursuers and reach the Pu'uhonua, a place of refuge. The Pu'uhonua protected the kapu breaker, civilians during the time of war and the defeated warriors. No harm could come to those who reached the boundaries of the place of refuge. 

We begin our adventure with the Tiki gods ... 

   
... who are plentiful at the Place of Refuge!

The carvings are replicas ...

... with authentic details!

The palm trees are also plentiful ... 

... with jalapeno shaped coconuts!

Do you have a historic site near you?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's blogs wins a book choice from my convention stash.  This giveaway is open to all readers.  Comments are open through Saturday, August 25, 10 pm in Hawaii.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, August 26.

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii

Hawaiian checkers, anyone?

Weekly Winners and the Pu`u Loa Petroglyphs

We have a winner from last week - June!  I am a winner as another mom gave me a disk with Scout pictures!  I was particularly excited because she has a better camera ....

Today I share pictures from the Scouts' trip to the Big Island.  We stayed at the Kilauea Military Camp at the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.   The scouts hiked a small trail off the Chain of Craters Road to the Pu'u Loa Petroglyphs.  From its website at this link,


Pu`u Loa, translated as the “long hill”, is a place considered sacred to the people of Hawai`i .... (it) contains a vast area covered with incredible numbers of pecked images in the harden lava, images known as petroglyphs. 

The archaeological site contains over 23,000 petroglyph images; motifs of circles, other geometric as well as cryptic designs, human representations known as anthropomorphs, canoe sails, and even feathered cape motifs.

What do you think the petroglyphs say?  Be creative!  One randomly selected commenter from this week's blogs wins a book choice from my convention stash.  This giveaway is open to all readers.  Comments are open through Saturday, June 23, 10 pm in Hawaii.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, June 24.



Mahalo,


Kim in Hawaii

The landscape is breathtaking.