Sacred Pu‘u o Mahuka Heiau
Sacred Pu‘u o Mahuka Heiau
Waimea Valley is surrounded by three heiau. Kupopolo Heiau on the south side of the valley, near the beach, Hale o Lono, a heiau dedicated to Lono in the valley, and the largest heiau on Oahu, Pu‘u o Mahuka which rests on the slope of Pupukea. Being in the class of luakini heiau means it was dedicated to human sacrifice.
Pu‘u o Mahuka is thought to have been built around the 1600s and there were many changes to the structure over time.
One historical account of this sacred space says that it was built solely for the purpose of telepathic communication. One legend tells of the Ali‘i Kahahana asking his Kahuna, the great seer, Ka‘opulupulu, to determine whether Kauai would surrender to his invasion. Ka‘opulupulu had a Kupopolo built on the beach at Waimea Bay where he attempted to speak to the great chief Kekaulike of Kauai through the thoughts of the akua, Mahuka.
Receiving no answer at first, he had another heiau, Pu‘u o Mahuka, built atop the hill and then sent his message from inside the heiau and received an immediate answer, Kauai wished for peace.
Being 86.4 miles from Hikinaakala, the heiau located at the mouth of the Wailua River on Kaua‘i, it is thought that Pu‘u o Mahuka was used for regular communication between the great seers of each island.
The mana here is ever-present and powerful. However, before you try to charge your crystals here (yes, unfortunately, it’s been attempted), one must understand that there is so much more here. The residual negative energy of the untold numbers of men that were sacrificed in the space is also constant.
As the heiau was dedicated to the god, Ku, it demanded human sacrifice. One of the most famous sacrifices, however, was not Hawaiians.
The Capture and Killing of Richard Hergest and William Gooch
In 1790, Richard Hergest was appointed as naval agent to the Daedalus, a merchant ship hired by the government, with instructions to meet with Captain George Vancouver’s expedition at Nootka Sound in the Pacific Northwest. It is said that this was not a command that Hergest was completely happy about as the ship was not part of the Royal Navy and Hergest, a naval officer commanding a merchant ship, might have had problems with the crew and discipline. A young man by the name of William Gooch caught a ride on the Daedalus in order to join Vancouver’s expedition as its astronomer.
The Daedalus sailed into the Pacific Ocean via Cape Horn and arrived at the Northern Marquesas islands in March 1792. From there, they sailed on to Hawai‘i.
Sometime before the Daedalus arrived, Englishman Isaac Ridley, who had been in the service of the Oahu Chiefs, deserted them, fled to the Grace, an English West Indian ship, and persuaded the captain of that vessel to fire upon the Oahu chiefs. This brutal act caused the Hawaiians to distrust all British sailors, including those of the Daedalus that arrived later.
When the Daedalus arrived at Waimea, in May 1792, Hergest and Gooch went ashore, despite advice from some Hawaiians on board not to do so. The pair and a Portuguese seaman called Manuel were taken by Pahupu, warriors whose bodies were tattooed black on one side, from head to toe.
It is believed that the men were brought to Pu‘u o Mahuka heiau and sacrificed.
Vancouver himself was not in Hawaii at the time but arrived in March the following year to demand the murderers be turned over to him for execution.
Night Marchers
It has also been said that the area is commonly visited by the legendary night marchers. The night marchers are warriors who march in a procession, carrying out their duties in death, as they did in life. The dedication of a luakini heiau involved extremely strict protocol, including walking in procession to retrieve the materials in which to build the hale and the main ki‘i, or idols, dedicated to Ku. Any deviation or break in protocol would mean instant death. Time is meaningless in the afterlife and, to witness this ghost army in the present without heeding the warning of vacating the area or lying prostrate until they’re gone, would mean instant death for the present-day voyeur as well.
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