52 Weeks of Nature – Week 7| Hawaii Landscape Photographer

Posted on February 14, 2010

My daughters and I were invited to visit

Ulupo Heiau

and what a wonderful experience it was!

The Heiau is a sacred site to the Hawaiian people.

It has been used an Agricultural Heiau

to honor the Gods and insure fertility of the crops of

Kalo, Sugar Cane, Sweet Potato, and Bananas.

Here you can see the Kalo Lo'i that have been recently re-cultivated

through the efforts of Hanaloa Helela (pictured below) and many students and schools.

In later times, this Heiau may have been used as a luakini heiau dedicated to success in war.  

This massive stone platform was built by the people

and stones were probably passed by hand from as far away as Kualoa (10 miles away!)

Structures such as an altar, thatched hale(meeting houses), and an oracle tower

were then built on top of the platform

The rocks used to be terraced but

in the early 1900's a Cattle Pen was built atop the heiau

and that probably hastened the collapse of those terraces.

Below, you can see the massive stone structure, the children playing in the a'wai

and the students working to build a new lo'i as it's being flooded.

I couldn't resist posting this of my daughter.

She is so drawn to the water wherever we go!

This is the poor little frog that the children were chasing around the grounds.

While walking around the grounds,

Mother Earth wanted to remind me that

she shows her love for us

everyday.

The offering we left in thanks to the 

Spirit of the Spring

after washing the mud off the kids' shoes.

 

If you visit Ulupo Heiau,

Please remember that it is a sacred site 

and show respect for the Aina and the Spirit of the Sacred Spring.



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