That's a temple right?

Well yes it means a temple in hawaiian, and so much more.
Any discussion of ancient Hawaiian Heiau/temples would be inane without an understanding of the class system used by the peoples who built them. Lets take a quick look so as to get an overview of the Hawaiian class system of old. I say of old because essential the backbone of the class system was the socio-religious/system referred to as the Kapu" system. As I said on the first page, the word Kapu does not and never did mean "forbidden" to a native speaker. The use of the context of Kapu as meaning forbidden is rather a western Judeo/ Christian interpretation (imposition) of the hawaiian word. To a native speaker the word Kapu means "Sacred" something to be revered and respected.

the kapu system was such that if an Ali'i/ royalty were to for any reason decide to instate a rule/ Kapu regarding anything from Temple protocol and religious practise to eating practices and personal hygiene, then the society as a whole would respect and obey as gospel or law. This might sound like the Hawaiian people were perhaps a little sheepish and easily controlled by off handed laws. This however was/ is hardly the case. In days of old an Ali'i, be it the chief of an island district, a whole island or to a degree all the islands (as in the case of King Kamehameha ), was not followed or respected blindly.

The royalty had a very high level of education, not to mention access to the finest counsel.So unlike the American/western system of democracy (ruling over and perpetuating a military industrial complex), the kapu system relied on the trust and knowledge that the rulers were nothing without the physical and spiritual support of the common people. And the commoners were more than satisfied to have their environmental and social rules created by an esteemed, highly educated person/ persons, with a solid overview of the workings of a society and it's impact on the natural environment. In short when an ali'i declared to the fisherman that a certain reef system was Kapu/sacred and it was to be left alone and not to be fished anymore, the fisherman would respect this as "law". The commoner or fishermen in this case, knew that the descion was not a malicious one or the exercise of the rulers "control issues".It was an understood reality that the ali'i sought the best for his/ her people and there was solid rationale to the Kapu. It was understood by all in the (unlike our contemporary American), society that the rulers greatest asset was the people!

There was very strong bond of respect and compassion between the top and bottom classes of the society. At all levels of the class system there was a strong sense of "place". The commoner needed the educated leadership of the ali'i. The ali'i/ rulers respected and treated thus, their greatest asset, the common people.

"Yah right, sure" you might say. Well of course this was the general picture. Of course there was the occasional tyranical leader. These tyrants were also occasionally disposed of. If you wish to learn more about the Hawaiian class system I suggest you read the polynesian class system authored by Mary Kawena Puku'i.

In short the class system consisted of three main levels.Supporting the whole mess physically was the commoner, this would be the lawai'a/ fishermen, Maka'ainana/farmers, weavers etc. In the middle would be theKahuna /priests And of course the leaders were the ali'i/ royalty.

Well I think thats enough said (for now) about the Hawaiian Heiau/ or temple. We have a general overview of what a heiau was constructed and used for.

So what does "Heiau" mean? An, at this point a redundant question you think? In the "Haw.Dic" it has but this simple definition for the word, "n. Pre-Christian place of worship, shrine; some were elaborately constructed stone platforms, others simple earthen terraces," and then several examples of various types are listed below that.

Well we know that Hawai'i means so much more than just the name of a group of islands and that the word "Aumakua" contains smaller words making up the whole of it's meaning. So lets take a look at Heiau in the same manner and break the word down into its component words. The first breakdown would be to split the word in half and we get the two words "Hei" and again "Au".

example #1:

The word "Hei" in the "Haw. Dic." has six contexts, the first is "nvt. net, snare, stratagem, ruse; to ensnare, entangle, catch in a net;" Second context is "string figure, cats cradle; to make such." Third, "n. motion of hands and fingers, especially of the dying (some did not play hei at night because of the association of the figures with the motions of death)" Forth "adept, deft; to absorb, as knowledge or skill." Fifth "Var. of Hei, to sacrifice". And the sixth context is "n. Water oozing from a cliff and trickling down."

Ah there's that mention of "Water" again and in a descending motion to boot, "Hmmm".

We all ready went over the meaning of the word "Au" and learned, essentially it means 1. I, in the first person. 2. period of time, epoch, era, cycle, current, flow, eddy, movement channel, canal, conduit 3.to trap.

There is still further breakdowns of the word such as:
example #2:

So as we breakdown this seemingly common Hawaiian word we see that yes it is indeed made up of smaller words and that once again these subsequent words fully support the greater concept of what a Heiau is, and what it is used for. When broken down we see that the concept of a heiau is not so much a temple or shrine, but rather a designated place for the practise of prayer.Bearing this in mind I think of a heiau as not just a physical place but a place in "time"!

yet another breakdown. example #3:

This breakdown is difficult to explain to someone not well versed in basic Hawaiian language structure. For example in Hawaiian there is no actual word for the english "Is". However "He" is very close although it generally implies or is used in a singular manner.The word "Ia'u" would be easiest to explain with a few contextual examples. In hawaiian one might ask "A Hiki Ia'u" or is it possible, to/ for me? "'olu'olu, 'E ha'awi mai Ia'u i ka pa'akai" Please pass (to me) the salt/pa'akai. Lets take a look at the actual Haw.Dic. definition for "Ia'u". there are two contexts stated in the Puku'i dictionary, the first is: "pronoun.Me, to me, because of, or due to me." Second context is: "Conj. while I, at the time that I, while I, as soon as I, no sooner than I" and then gives this example, "Ia'u i puka ai mai ka hale aku nei, When I emerged from this house."

What I see is a word that in it's components says "a Heiau is a place where we can go with intention. A place to tap/ manipulate the space time continuum for (hopefully) a positive alteration of the fabric of space/ universe. A place where we, as conduits ourselves, can accumulate and direct mana/ life force. The life force that is emanated from the supreme/ "Ke Akua Oia'i'o".

When I first became interested in hawaiian culture/ spirituality, I could not understand how a culture with such advanced craftsman and artisans would build temples that are in a sense very simple and void of any higher masonry (forgive the pun) skills. They (the builders) obviously shunned the use of techniques considered basic amongst the stone masonry world. They (heiau) were consistent in that they never employed the use of stone cutting, or for that matter even any serious fitting of the stones used. Nor was any mortar used. I couldn't believe that these both physically and spiritually adept people would simply stack rocks in their construction of these highly revered sacred sites.I then (with time) realized that this was not a short coming of the craftsmen that built the various heiau.

As I learned more, both from observation and from my Kumu/ teachers, I realized that the Ahu/ alter that was built, or rather placed, within the walls of so many Heiau were in fact just as simple. Usually an ahu/alter is just a large, rather flat stone set in a prominent place within the Heiau. Ahu stones rarely have anything significant about them, that is to say, they aren't/ weren't ever carved or adorned with any type of craftsman ship. Then I was discussing this with some friends that are Bible scholars and they pointed me towards and told me the story from the bible that is Exodus-20:24 which reads like this-"Ye shalt not make with me gods of silver, neither shalt you make unto you gods of gold." 20:24 "An alter of earth thou shall make unto me," and further on in 20:25 we read "And if thou wilt make an alter of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone; for if you lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it."

My interpretation of this passage from the bible is this, God did not want people to make temples of ornately hewn stone, or for that matter elaborate temples. Perhaps God was considering Man's propensity for getting a little to "Ego'ed out" about things we build. Perhaps God was saying that he wanted to see temples built, but in his/her honor, not just to honor the skill and ego of the craftspeople who built it. Perhaps the Hawaiians felt the same way!