I landed on the island of Hawaii on my birthday during the centennial. The mid-day landing at Kona left time for to visit the first of three historical park units on the island’s west coast. Pu’ukohola Heiau was constructed in 1790-91 at the direction of the Hawaiian King Kamehameha in honor of the war god, Ku. It took his laborers a full year to pass the smooth stones, lava rock eroded and polished by the sea, in a human chain from the north coast to the temple site, 20 miles away. No stone used in construction could touch the ground in transit. Kamehameha invited his cousin and chief rival for island control, Keoua Kuahu’ula, to the dedication ceremony, where he was slain and offered as a sacrifice to Ku. Kamehameha would unify his power over all the islands by 1810, ruling them until his death in 1819. One thing is certain. Kamehameha knew how to throw a wild party!
