Heiau were temples or places of worship. They consisted of one or more stone-paved platforms or terraces enclosed by stone walls. There were a few bulidings, each with some special use during worship ceremonies. Today, the people of Hawaii are Christians, Catholics, Buddhists, and belong to many other religious groups. However, you will see people still today making offerings to Pele at the rim of the Halemaumau Crater in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Hawaiian families know what their family s amakua is.
If the family s aumakua is the lizard, no family member will cause harm to a lizard. Heiau are preserved as historical sites. Much respect is shown to the beliefs of the old Hawaiians with the idea of perpetuating the customs and beliefs of the people who lived on this land before us. In the Hawaiian culture, ohana means family. Members of an ohana could be relatives by blood, non-relations who are accepted by the ohana, as well as members of the ohana who have died.