A Connection to an Unkown Past

There was no reason to feel the sense of familiarity that was lingering as I climbed the hill to the remains of the heiau. This structure had nothing to do with my history, or that of my ancestors. In fact it was born of a belief system much different than my own; to honor gods that I do not worship.

What's left of the heiau is perched above the town of Wailuku, on Maui. From it's remains, one can look down on residential blocks and industrial areas. Heiaus were erected before the Kapu system was abolished. Perhaps this one was built to honor the Gods of War, or possibly to give thanks for good weather or a particularly fruitful harvest.

A haole like myself would have been forbidden from coming near a structure such as this. My sentence may have been death; for only Ali'i could enter. But the passing of time has made this heiau an insignificant relic to many. Yet I yearned to know more about it's history, and thus, that of the land it was built upon.

Not far from the heiau is the 'Iao Valley. Here, one of the bloodiest battles on Hawaiian soil took place, when Kamehameha overtook Maui, sometime in the late eighteenth century. As peaceful as the valley was on this particular morning, I couldn't help but think of the Hawaiians whose screams echoed through these canyons. It's interesting to note that there were some teenagers there at the same time as I was; almost definitely locals. Perhaps they weren't even sure as to how much Hawaiian blood was running through their veins; not an uncommon situation for kama'aina to find themselves in. Maybe they were there to get a glimpse of the past of their people. It could be that they were ditching school, and the fact that they ended up in the peaceful 'Iao Valley was incidental. In any case, having them there made the link from the past to the present a little more tangible for me.

Many spots on Maui that I visited motivated me to learn more. More about the people and the land, the culture and the history. It's this curiosity that will keep me coming back, both physically and in my mind. Through reading and through photographs. Through 'talking story' with anyone who has anything to share about this, and all the Hawaiian Islands.

It's this fascination that, even though I'm far away, keeps me crying for the 'aina.