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| King Kamehameha |
Today we visited one of the last major sacred structures on the island known as Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic site. What an interesting story you will find here! The early Hawaiians prophesied that a great leader would one day come to bring peace and unity among the islands. They were looking for a sign from the gods in the sky to announce the birth of child that would become the king. A white-tailed star streaked across the dark sky in the year of 1758, believed to be Haley's Comet. This was the very night that an infant named Kamehameha, was born in the Kohala district on the northwestern tip of the island of Hawai'i. The destined king was to be hidden away so that other kings could not find him and kill him before prophesy was fulfilled. Does the story sound familiar yet? The child grew to be a strong and powerful warrior working his way in the ranks of his family. Kamehameha had a rival that also wanted to rule the island, non other than his cousin Keoua Kuahu'ula. Kamehameha invited his cousin to view the great heiau (temple) that he and his warriors had recently constructed and Keoua willingly accepted the invitation. Now this wasn't the family reunion you would expect! Kamehameha had intentions of killing his cousin to overtake the rule of the islands and his cousin was fully aware the outcome would be death. A great battle happened between the cousins at the site of the temple and as you guessed it, he became the king. Kamehameha was successful in bringing unity and peace among the islands. His rule lasted until his death in the year of 1819.
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