Hawaii’s Ancient Temples: Exploring the Sacred History of the Islands
The air shifts the moment you step onto the packed-earth platform of Puʻu o Kona. At more than two acres, this heiau in Haleakalā National Park is the largest known temple platform in Hawaiʻi, and standing there — with the wind cutting across the volcanic slope — you feel the weight of centuries. Heiau were built between 1000 AD and the late 1700s, serving as spiritual centers, chiefly meeting grounds, and in some cases, sites where human sacrifice was practiced until that tradition was abolished. These weren’t just places of worship; they were the political and ceremonial anchor of