The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1885-06-29
HAWAIIAN ANTIQUITIES.
MARIA II. FORBES.

vi llOSl VI iut IltWtlidU lSltlllUS III
the heiaus or heather temples. Some
of these have stood for centuries.
The latest built was about the year
1890 by Kamehameha |. at the time
of his conquest of the islands. ka-
mehameha chose for this temple the
region near Kawaihae, and when it
was finished, dedicated it to his god
of war, Kali. Its shape is that of
an irregular parallelogram, two hun
lred and twenty-four feet long and
one hundred feet wide. The walls
are twenty feet in height, and twelve
feet in thickness at the bottom,
gradually decreasing to six feet at
the top. The entrance to this large
enclosure is by narrow passage at
one side. The paved floor within
was divided into an outer and an
inner court or sanctum, where the
principal idol stood surrounded by
inferior ones. Within this inner
court stood lofty frame of wicker
work, resembling hollow obelisk,
in which the priest stood when the
King came to inquire of the god.
Just outside of, and near the en-
trance to this inner court was the
altar upon which human sacrifices
and others were offered. Near the
centre stood the Kings sacred
house, which he occupied during the
season of strict "Tabu," and at
little distance from this were the
priests houses. All around were
holes in the walls, in which hideous
wooden idols were placed. The
principal one of these was a large
wooden image crowned with he'll
met and covered with feathers this
was the famous war god, Kali.
When this god of war was first
brought into the temple, offerings
were made to it of fruit, hogs and
dogs, and as many as eleven human
beings were sacrificed in its honor.
There were many heiaus much larger
than this one. The greatest number
seemed naturally to be on Hawaii.
One of these was built of immense
blocks of lava; another, whose di-
mansions are two hundred and
seventy by two hundred and ten
feet, is said to have been built in
the latter part of the fifteenth CEN
fury.
One of the most common Hawaiian
Antiquities was the Tabu system.
Tabu meant, entirely set apart,
sacred or forbidden. Tabu was of
two kinds, general and strict. Their
seasons were kept somewhat like
fast days. The time of observance
was before any great religious festi-
val, before going to war, and during
the sickness of any great chief.
Tradition states that in the days of
Uni, there was tabu kept thirty
years, during which the men were
not allowed to trim their boards.
Shortly before the time of Kameha-
meha l., forty days was the usual
duration of the tabu, and during his
reign the periods were much shorter.
At such times, no one, except the
priests (who went to offer sacrifices
at the heiaus) was allowed to go out
of the house. No pig must squeal,
nor dog bark or cock crow: and to
accomplish this, the people had to
tie the mouths of their pets and
favorite animals, while the fowls were
put under calabashes. The strictest
prohibition of all was put on the
people, and violation of the tabu
was visited by the penalty of death.
The victims we're sometimes sacri-
feed to the gods, and some were
burnt.
Another antiquity is that of the
Hawaiian cities of refuge. These
were large enclosures, whittier the
man-slayer, the person who had
broken tabu, the thief or the muir
derer, and those defeated in battle,
might fly from their pursuers. The
fugitive might be followed to the
gates of the enclosure but no fur
Their. AS soon as he entered, he
NcuI w tllC iuOl anu CApICSSCo ui1
obligation and returned thanks for
his safety. During times of war,
white flags were always seen flying
from the ends of long spears at the
eXtremities of the enclosures as
signs of hope to the vanquished.
The bones of the dead were gener-
ally buried in caves, and worship,
pers of Pele threw the bones of the
departed into the volcano, under
the impression that the spirits of the
deceased would be admitted to the
society of the volcanic deities, and
that, through their influence, the
survivors would be preserved from
visitatlons. Fishermen would wraI
their dead in red native cloth anG
cast them into the sea to be devour
ed by sharks, supposing that thei
departed spirits would animate the
Al. 4. i L.