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28-510: The Menehune are described as superb craftspeople. They built temples ( heiau ), fishponds , roads, canoes , and houses. Some of these structures that Hawaiian folklore attributed to the Menehune still exist. They are said to have lived in Hawaiʻi before settlers arrived from Polynesia many centuries ago. Their favorite food is the maiʻa ( banana ), and they also like fish. Legend has it that

56-618: A missionary, even after Sybil's death on February 27, 1848. He published a memoir, A Residence of Twenty-One Years in the Sandwich Islands , in 1847. Bingham remained in New England, where he served as the pastor of an African-American church. In 1852 he remarried, to Naomi Morse, who ran a girls' school. He died on November 11, 1869, and was buried at Grove Street Cemetery , in New Haven, Connecticut . Leonard Bacon gave

84-603: A new bride, Sybil Moseley . He needed to be married to be accepted as a missionary. On October 23, 1819, the young couple sailed out of Boston aboard the brig Thaddeus along with Asa and Lucy Goodale Thurston to lead a mission in the Sandwich Islands ( Hawaii ) for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions . Bingham and his wife arrived first on the island of Hawaii in 1820, and sailed on to Honolulu on Oʻahu on April 19. In 1823, Queen Kaʻahumanu and six high chiefs requested baptism. Soon after,

112-510: Is claimed that "Menehune" are not mentioned in pre-contact mythology, but that is unproven since it was an oral mythology; the legendary "overnight" creation of the Alekoko fishpond, for example, finds its equivalent in the legend about the creation of a corresponding structure on Oʻahu , which was supposedly indeed completed in a single day not by menehune but as a show of power by a local aliʻi , who commanded all of his subjects to appear at

140-515: The gods associated with that particular temple. There were also altars (Ahu) on which to offer sacrifices (plant, animal and human). The heiau were sacred places; only the kahuna (priests) and certain sacred ali'i (high chiefs) were allowed to enter. The largest heiau known to exist, Hale O Pi'ilani Heiau, is a massive, three-acre (12,000-square-meter) platform with fifty-foot retaining walls, located in Hāna on Maui . Built for Pi'ilani, it dates to

168-483: The menehune, that is, a long time ago. It is thought to have been used first as an agricultural heiau and later as a luakini. The kapu or ' ʻai kapu system was abolished in October 1819 by Kamehameha II (Liholiho) . The abolition of the kapu system ended the use of heiau as places of worship and sacrifice. A period referred to as the 'Ai Noa or "free eating" followed. Missionaries arrived in 1820, and most of

196-538: The mu people, and the wa people. Some early scholars hypothesized that there was a first settlement of Hawaiʻi, by settlers from the Marquesas Islands , and a second, from Tahiti . The Tahitian settlers oppressed the "commoners", the manahune in the Tahitian language , who fled to the mountains and were called Menahune. Proponents of this hypothesis point to an 1820 census of Kauaʻi by Kaumualiʻi ,

224-491: The 13th century. Agricultural heiau, called generally Hale-o-Lono for the god of fertility, can be found today on Oʻahu at Makaha (Kaneaki heiau - fully restored) and in Hawaii Kai (Pahua heiau - partially restored). The Kaneaki heiau was built in the 17th century, containing grass and thatched huts that were chambers used for prayer and meditation. The ruins of a healing heiau, Keaiwa ("the mysterious"), are located at

252-626: The Father, the God of us all, ...’, which were typically quiet and reflective but powerful. His hymns are still sung in Hawaii at the churches and by the choruses in concert. Bingham's son, Hiram Bingham II , was also a missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi . His daughter Lydia married the later Hawaiian missionary Titus Coan . His grandson Hiram Bingham III was an explorer who brought Machu Picchu to

280-468: The Hawaiian government banned prostitution and drunkenness, which resulted in the shipping industry and the foreign community resenting Bingham's influence. Bingham wrote extensively about the natives and was critical of their land-holding regime and of their "state of civilization". He supported the introduction of market values along with Christianity: historians now reference his writings to illustrate

308-541: The Hawaiian missionaries, is one of the oldest standing Christian places of worship in Hawaiʻi. Bingham used his influence with Queen Kaʻahumanu to instigate a strongly anti-Catholic policy in Hawaii, considerably impeding the work of the French Catholic missionary Alexis Bachelot (1796-1837) and resulting in decades of persecution of those Hawaiians who converted to Catholicism. This was motivated by opposition to

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336-455: The Menehune appear only during the night hours to build masterpieces. But if they fail to complete their work in the length of the night, they will leave it unoccupied. No one but their children and humans connected to them can see the Menehune. In Martha Warren Beckwith 's Hawaiian AKA Ilenes Mythology , there are references to several other forest dwelling races: the ilene Irenes , who were large-sized wild hunters descended from Lua-nuʻu ,

364-786: The address at his funeral. Bingham was the leader of a group of missionaries that included Asa Thurston and Artemas Bishop and they translated the Christian Bible into the Hawaiian language . The New Testament was published in 1832 and the Old Testament in 1839. The entire NT/OT Bible was revised in 1868 and was republished as Ka Baibala Hemolele (The Holy Bible) in 2018 in print and electronic forms. Binamu (Bingham's Hawaiian name) also composed Hawaiian hymns such as ‘Himeni Hope’ (closing hymn), starting with "Ho'omaika'i i ka Makua Ke Akua o kakou, ..." , meaning ‘Blessings to

392-402: The aliʻi converted to Christianity, including Kaʻahumanu and Keōpūolani . It took 11 years for Kaʻahumanu to proclaim laws against indigenous religious practices. All heiau were officially abandoned; most were destroyed over the years. Often they were broken up and plowed under to make way for fields of sugar cane. However, some of the families who were responsible for the heiau have continued

420-659: The attention of the west and became a US Senator and Governor of Connecticut . Another grandson, Edwin Lincoln Moseley , was a naturalist. His great-grandson Hiram Bingham IV was the US Vice Consul in Marseilles , France , during World War II and rescued Jews from the Holocaust . Another great-grandson, Jonathan Brewster Bingham , was a long-time Reform Democratic Congressman from The Bronx from

448-480: The coastline touching the sea. Some koʻa or fishing shrines were built underwater. Heiau of the people varied in size. Large heiau were built by prominent people while small heiau were built by the humble. US missionary Hiram Bingham described a heiau he saw on route hiking between the summits of Mauna Kea and Hualalai. Made of piled lava rock, it was a square of 100 feet (30 m), with walls eight feet high and four feet thick (2.5 by 1.3m). A doorway led through

476-420: The construction site and to assist in building. Heiau A heiau ( / ˈ h eɪ . aʊ / ) is a Hawaiian temple . Made in different architectural styles depending upon their purpose and location, they range from simple earth terraces, to elaborately constructed stone platforms. There are heiau to treat the sick ( heiau hōʻola ), offer first fruits, offer first catch, start rain, stop rain, increase

504-533: The entrance to Keaiwa State Park in ʻAiea. Puʻuhonua o Honaunau, in South Kona on the island of Hawaiʻi, is a place of refuge . It incorporates a heiau complex within it. Because the land of heiau was sacred, it was not unusual for successive generations to add to original structures and the heiau purpose could change over time. An example is Ulupo heiau in Kailua on Oʻahu, which is said to have been built by

532-723: The imperial values that were central to the attitudes of the United States towards Hawaii. Bingham became involved in the development of the spelling system for writing the Hawaiian language , and also translated parts of the Bible into Hawaiian . Bingham designed the Kawaiahaʻo Church in Honolulu on the Hawaiian Island of Oʻahu. The building, constructed between 1836 and 1842 in the New England style typical of

560-842: The inhabitants of Hawaii, and some are not open to the public. In ancient times, only chiefs and priests were allowed into some of these heiau. There are even stories from Hawaiian folklore attributing the creation of these temples to the menehunes , a group of legendary dwarf people. Some heiau structures have been fully restored physically and are operated in the 21st century as public attractions. Heiau were made in different shapes depending upon their purpose, varying from simple stone markers to large stone platforms and often included high stacked stone walls surrounding an open central enclosure. Their shapes could be rectangular, square, or rounded. Some consisted of simple earth terraces, while others were elaborately constructed stone platforms. They could be placed on hills, cliffs, level earth, valleys and on

588-464: The middle of the north wall. Eight pyramids surrounded the outside of the temple. Made also of piled lava rock, they were 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter and 12 to 15 feet (4.6 m) high. The luakini poʻokanaka were large heiaus. Only the Aliʻi nui of an island or moku could use this type of heiau. Other chiefs or the makaʻainana that built this type of heiau were considered rebels. This type of heiau

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616-600: The more common form visible in the rest of the island chain today after the abandonment of those islands. In general, maraes in Hawaii are represented by stone platforms, sometimes tiered, with stone uprights typically located near the edges of the platform or tier. The heiau most commonly preserved are war temples of the later period of history (e.g. Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site ). They are composed of large stone platforms with various structures built upon them. The structures were used to house priests, sacred ceremonial drums, sacred items, and cult images representing

644-542: The population, ensure the health of the nation, achieve success in distant voyaging, reach peace, and achieve success in war ( luakini ). Only the luakini was dedicated through human sacrifice. There are two types of luakini. They were called the ʻohiʻa ko and hakuʻohiʻa . After the official end of Hawaiian religion in 1819 and with later pressure from Christian missionaries (who first arrived in 1820), many were deliberately destroyed, while others were left into disrepair. Heiau are still considered sacred by many of

672-571: The ruling aliʻi aimoku of the island, which listed 65 people as menehune . Folklorist Katharine Luomala believes that the legends of the Menehune are a post-European contact mythology created by adaptation of the term manahune (which by the time of the colonization of the Hawaiian Islands by Europeans had acquired a meaning of "lowly people" or "low social status" and not diminutive in stature) to European legends of brownies . It

700-410: The spread of French influence in Hawaii as well as by the religious Protestant-Catholic rivalry and enmity. The board grew concerned that Bingham was interfering too often in Hawaiian politics and recalled him. The Binghams left on August 3, 1840 and reached New England on February 4, 1841. It was intended to be a sabbatical owing to Sybil's poor health, but the board refused to reappoint Bingham as

728-469: The tradition of caring for them. Hawaii Maui Molokai Oahu Kauai Niihau Hiram Bingham I Hiram Bingham , formally Hiram Bingham I (October 30, 1789 – November 11, 1869), was the leader of the first group of American Protestant missionaries to introduce Christianity to the Hawaiian Islands . Like most of the missionaries, he was from New England . Bingham

756-820: Was descended from Deacon Thomas Bingham , who emigrated to the American colonies in 1650 and settled in Connecticut Colony . He was born October 30, 1789, in Bennington, Vermont , one of thirteen children of his mother, Lydia, and father, Calvin Bingham. He attended Middlebury College and the Andover Theological Seminary . He had as private tutor Rev. Elisha Yale , who taught him Greek and Latin and prepared him for higher education. After breaking his first engagement Bingham found

784-692: Was usually built alongside coastlines, in the interior of the land, or on mountain sides. The largest heiau on Oahu is Puʻu O Mahuka , which covers almost two acres of land. This heiau was not only used for religious purposes. As it was also used to track fire signals from the Wailua Complex of Heiaus on Kauai An older form of heiau is preserved on Nihoa and Necker Island . This form is typically referred to as marae as these structures more closely resemble structures referred to by similar names elsewhere in Polynesia and in general were replaced by

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