It was a breezy, blue-skied Thursday morning after a storm when Aloha State Daily visited Kūʻīlioloa Heiau.
The Hawaiian temple dates to the 11th or 12th century, according to a sculpture from the City and County of Honolulu, which manages the site situated on the Kaneʻilio Point near Pōkaʻī Bay in Waiʻanae.
The ancient name for this place was Neneʻu before it became Kūʻīlioloa, translated to "the long dog form of Kū,” or the God of War as a dog. Legend says a navigator from Tahiti, Lonokaeho, constructed it as a training center and lighthouse for navigation. It is the only heiau in the Islands that is bordered on three sides by the ocean.
Today, The Royal Order of Kamehameha I, Moku O Kapuāiwa Chapter, helps mālama the land by mowing the grass, restoring rock walls, pulling weeds, planting trees and more, at least twice a month, so that the local community can still use and enjoy it.
“Itʻs not a burial heaiu, but a navigation point. Not many people know that,” Rocky Naeʻole, member of Order, told ASD. “Itʻs part of our kuleana. This is for us to maintain. We donʻt receive income from anybody. Itʻs all volunteer. Weʻre just here to do the work.”
Naeʻole was born in Honolulu and moved to the West Side at age 12. Heʻs fully retired, yet committed to six to eight community organizations, he said.
“Our Order has 10 mokus. Kapuāiwa covers the Waiʻanae Coast to the North Shore to ʻEwa,” he explained, adding that its membership is in the hundreds, while about 30 to 40 individuals remain currently active.
The purpose of the Order are “to preserve and perpetuate the ancient customs of Hawaiʻi” and uplift the Hawaiian people, its website states.
He noted that the group collectively decides what they want to do in the community each year; this project has remained a priority for 12 or more years.
“You can see the stars so clear out here,” he said, noting that University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa students, nonprofits, visitors and community members have come out before to stargaze. The Order plans to host a navigation event open to the public on Saturday, Dec. 5.
Naeʻole is looking forward to the community events lined up this year and hopes to work with the county on signage for additional moʻolelo of Kūʻīlioloa Heiau.
Another member of the Order Abraham Kalani Kaʻio, presented a map, showcasing the 13 public-access heiaus along the Leeward Coast. (Aloha State Daily Staff) 
Marine life, consisting of at least three species of birds, as well as Hawaiian monk seals, take refuge at the site. (Aloha State Daily Staff) 
The Hawaiian temple dates to the 11th or 12th century, according to a sculpture from the City and County of Honolulu, which manages the site situated on the Kaneʻilio Point near Pōkaʻī Bay in Waiʻanae. (Aloha State Daily Staff) 
Though Kūʻīlioloa Heiau is not a burial site, the Order created a ceremonial place at the site to remember ancestors. (Aloha State Daily Staff)
Another member of the Order, Abraham Kalani Kaʻio, shared what the ancient site means to him.
“This heiau is a gathering of all of the Pacific Triangle. Every island in the triangle, you can get there from here. This is a tie to all of our brothers and sisters in the triangle, and I try to explain that to every race that comes here. In one way or another, your family [has] been here.”
He presented a map, showcasing the 13 public-access heiaus along the Leeward Coast. Others sit on military-owned land, he added.
Kaʻio, who was born in Germany and raised on Oʻahu, said that when they first started cleaning the heiau years ago, “it was in bad shape.”
“The place was overrun by homeless and nobody took care of it.” Now, he says some have returned to lend a hand on cleanup days, which typically run on the first and third Thursdays of the month.
Not to mention, several organizations have aided in caring for the marine life, consisting of at least three species of birds, as well as Hawaiian monk seals.
His advice to young people is to learn their culture instead of playing games, he said with a laugh. “Your knowledge of culture is knowing who you are.”
A quiet place
While standing at the point of Kūʻīlioloa Heiau, Naeʻole asked if there was anything I needed to let go of.
I replied with a nod.
He said to face the ocean and close my eyes, then began to pray in ōlelo Hawaiʻi.
I breathed in and out twice as instructed. The wind grazed my cheek and tossed my hair.
“You can see the ocean from three sides and take it all in, feel how quiet it is,” he said. “If I’m stressed out — which I don’t try to stress myself out, sometimes you can’t help it — this is where I come.”
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Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
