Last updated: March 30, 2021
Place
Hawaiian History Interpretive Wall Exhibit
NPS
Quick Facts
Location:
Makai (towards the ocean) of the Visitor Center
Designation:
National Register of Historical Places
Amenities
4 listed
Audio Description, Benches/Seating, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Wheelchair Accessible
The interpretive wall exhibit blends interpretive graphics and architetural design with a recorded interpretive story conveying the intense history of Hawaiian culture. Along the breezeway railing you will see three buttons, each plays a recorded story. From the visitor center to the Royal Grounds the stories cover the first Polynesian voyagers, kapu and Hawaiian chiefs, and the Puʻuhonua.
A transcript for each of the three audio stories can be found below.
Story #1: Oli
Button Location: Closest to the visitor center
The sea, the sky, the land, and the living things of the island world were created by the gods. At one time this island and its neighbors were voiceless. No one was here to laugh, shout, or sing. The nearest people lived on specks of land to the south, over the horizon. One day, my ancestors left the southern islands, I don’t know why, maybe there were too many people for the land; maybe they set out to find a place where they could do things their way. It was a long voyage, and many died, the double canoes were tossed like leaves on the shaky sea. Paddlers died of thirst on a hot still day. The voyagers had pigs, dogs, chickens, and useful plants on board, but they used them sparingly, fearfully. What if they ate all their supplies and then sighted land? Aue! Better to die at sea then to find a barren land and have no life to bring to it. With the help of the gods and goddesses my ancestors reached these shores alive. They and the life they brought with them are my inheritance.
Story #2: Pu Kani
Button Location: Center of the wall
When the ruling chief traveled, men went before him sounding the kapu, the taboo. Everyone else got out of the road, ran and hid, or just fell with their faces to the ground when they heard the sound of the conch. The chiefs were descended from the gods; their power came form their mana, spiritual power the gods had given them. Lesser men couldn’t even look at the chief. The very ground he walked on was sacred; it had his mana, it was protected by the gods. A man of my family long ago stepped on a place where the chief had walked. The warriors killed him right away. By stepping on the mana, he had insulted the gods. Angry gods took their revenge with lava flows and tidal waves. The kapu breaker was sure to die. If the warriors killed him, others wouldn’t die because of him.
Story #3: Refuge
Button Location: Closest to the Royal Grounds
Our wise gods caused the ancient rulers to set aside pieces of ground as sanctuaries. They were few and far between, but if you broke the law and reached the place of refuge, no harm could come to you. The priest of the refuge purified you, and you returned home again all in a matter of hours, if you made it. In times of war, if you couldn’t fight, you went into the place of refuge; if you fought and lost, getting to the refuge would save you. Battles were short, so you would only be there a few days. The refuge was not pleasant, but it kept you alive. Ant then Captain Cook came, and others after him, and ours was no longer an island world. Changes came faster and faster. Kamehameha the first united the islands for the first time in our long history. Kamehameha the second saw his world changing and he destroyed the religion. With the religion went the kapu, the temples, and the refuges. The ancient problems are still with us: how to get along with each other and how to use the world wisely.