Mo'okini
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Moʻokini is the name of a heiau or temple in Kohala on the Island of Hawaiʻi.
Moʻokini Heiau and the nearby birthplace of Kamehameha the Great is one of oldest historical sites in Hawaiʻi and among its most sacred. This heiau is a living spiritual temple and not just a historic artifact of the Hawaiian culture. Over 1500 years old, the temple was erected in 480 A.D. and dedicated to Kū, the Hawaiian god of war. The temple itself is the largest in Hawaiʻi, approximately the size of a football field. It is constructed of stones that are said to have been passed from hand to hand from the Pololū Valley, over 14 miles away. It is said that the temple was completed in one night. A few hundred yards away you will find Kamehameha Akahi ʻĀina Hānau, the birthplace of Kamehameha the Great, who is said to have been born here in 1758, as Halley's Comet passed overhead. The entrance to the site is on the south side. You will find a rock that is said to mark the precise place of the birth of Kamehameha.
For centuries there was a restrictive kapu at the heiau. It was a closed heiau reserved exclusively for the Aliʻi Nui for fasting, praying and offering of human sacrifices to their gods. In Kohala it was the focus of religious life and order. In November 1978 Kahuna Nui Leimomi Moʻokini rededicated the Moʻokini Luakini to the “Children of the Land” and lifted the restrictive kapu. In doing this she made the site safe for all persons to enter the heiau and created a place of learning for future generations to discover the past. The heiau can only be reached by a dirt road and is located about 1½ miles off the highway. A four wheel drive vehicle is recommended, especially if it has been raining.
