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Kohala Historical Sites State Monument includes the National Historic Landmark Mookini Heiau and the birthplace of Kamehameha I. It is located in remote North Kohala on the Island of Hawaii.〔 ==History== Mookini Heiau is one of the oldest historical sites in Hawaii and among its most sacred. ''Mookini'' means "many lineages" or "many Moo" in the Hawaiian Language.〔(lookup of Mookini ) on Hawaiian place names web site〕 Moo are large reptile goddesses honored by Hawaiians since before the time of Paao. This heiau is a living spiritual temple and not just an historic artifact of the Hawaiian culture. Oral histories indicate the original temple on the site may be 1500 years old. Evidence suggests the current temple was built on the site of this smaller older one by Paao, who brought the Hawaiian Religion to the islands sometime between 1100 and 1300 A.D. The current site includes the remains of the heiau measuring 250’ x 130’ with an open stone paved court enclosed by 20’-high stone walls, and the sacrificial stone.〔http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/66000284.pdf〕 the heiau is constructed of stones that are said to have been passed from hand to hand from the Pololū Valley, over away. One tradition states that the heiau was completed by the menehune (mythical Hawai'ian little people) in one night.〔''All about Hawaii'', published by Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 1891, page 117 (Google Books )〕 For centuries a strict set of rules (kapu) were enforced at the heiau. It was a closed heiau reserved exclusively for the Alii Nui (the highest chiefs) for praying and offering human sacrifices, primarily to the war god Kū. In Kohala Mookini Heiau was the focus of religious life and order. In November 1978 Kahuna Nui Leimomi Mookini rededicated the Mookini Luakini to the “Children of the Land” (''kama aina'') and lifted the restrictive kapu. In doing this she made the site safe for all persons to enter the heiau and created a place of learning for future generations to discover the past. Her family has been taking care of the temple for centuries.〔 A few hundred yards away is ''Kamehameha Akahi ʻĀina Hānau'', the birthplace of Kamehameha the Great. He is said to have been born here in 1758 as Halley's Comet passed overhead. The entrance to the site is on the south side. A rock is said to mark the precise place of the birth of Kamehameha.〔Van James, ''Ancient Sites of Hawaii'', 1995, Mutual Publishing, ISBN 978-1-56647-200-5, page 143〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kohala Historical Sites State Monument」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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