Day 354: Kamakahonu, Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i
📌APIA Every Day (354) - Kamakahonu, located on the western coast of the Big Island, was the royal compound of King Kamehameha I, the first ruler of the unified Kingdom of Hawai’i. With a documented history stretching back to 1812, the complex served as Kamehameha’s final residence and his initial resting place. Recognized as one the most important historic sites in Hawai’i, Kamakahonu once represented the center of political and social change on the Islands.
In 1813, Kamehameha I moved the capital of his kingdom from Honolulu to Kona on the Big Island. Local ali’i (chiefs) gifted him the land at Kamakahonu to establish a royal compound. During this period, several structures were constructed, including the king’s personal quarters—Hale Nana Mahina‘ai—alongside thatched houses for ali‘i, storehouses, work sheds, and an enclosing wall. The site also incorporated the Ahu‘ena Heiau, a preexisting temple that Kamehameha restored to use as his personal place of worship and as a space to hold secret political meetings.
After Kamehameha’s death in 1819, his son and heir, Liholiho, temporarily left Kamakahonu to allow for traditional purification rituals. A hale poki (mortuary house) was added to the complex to house the king’s bones and the kapu system—a strict code of laws governing Hawaiian society—was suspended for the mourning period. When Liholiho became ali'i 'ai moku (supreme chief) and returned to Kamakahonu, he attempted to reintroduce kapu, but faced opposition from his mother, Keopuolani, and Queen Ka'ahumanu. This development led to the end of kapu on the Islands and significantly altered Hawaiian society, bringing an end to much of the Native religion through the destruction of heiau.
A few months after kapu was abolished, the first Christian missionaries to Hawai’i arrived at Kamakahonu, seeking the king’s approval to travel throughout the islands. Around the same time, Liholiho moved the kingdom’s capital to Lahaina, but retained Kamakahonu as the Big Island’s capital, governed by his advisor Kuakini. By 1855, the island’s administrative center was relocated to Hilo by Governor Ruth Ke‘elikolani, and Kamakahonu fell into decline. By the 1880s, most of its original structures had been demolished, and Kamehameha’s remains were moved to a secret location. In the decades that followed, the site was used as a sugar plantation warehouse in the 1910s and a lumberyard in the 1950s.
Recognizing Kamakahonu’s significance to Hawaiian political and social history, the complex was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962. Eventually, in the 1960s and ‘70s, restoration of Ahu‘ena Heiau and Hale Nana Mahina‘ai, along with recreations of several traditional structures including Hale Mana (spiritual house), Hale Pahu (drum house), and Hale Kia‘i (guard house). In 2019, the 200th anniversary of King Kamehameha I’s death was commemorated at Kamakahonu, honoring his enduring legacy in Hawaiian history.
Written by Avneet Dhaliwal
LEARN MORE:
National Park Service: Kamakahonu, HI
Historic Hawaii Foundation: Kamakahonu National Historic Landmark
Keola Magazine: Ahu‘ena Heiau: “Malama i Ko Kākou Ho‘olina”—Preserving Our Past
Big Island Video News: 200th Anniversary Of King Kamehameha Passing To Be Commemorated
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