Religious, Spiritual sights in Hawaii
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Mo'okini Luakini Heiau
One of the oldest and most historically significant temples in the Hawaiian islands, Mo'okini Luakini Heiau sits on a grassy knoll near 'Upolu Point at the northern tip of the Big Island. The massive structure, which measures about 250ft by 125ft, with walls 6ft high, was a 'closed' heiau, reserved for ali'i nui (kings and ruling chiefs) for fasting, praying and offering of human sacrifices to their gods.
There's a clear view of Maui and, during winter, humpback whales, from the heiau site. There are no facilities. The heiau was dedicated to the god Ku, and built from 'sunrise to first light' by up to 18,000 'little people' passing water-worn basalt stones in complete sil…
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Kane'aki Heiau
Set within the Makaha Valley, this is one of the best restored sacred sites on the island. According to legend the rain goddess was impressed with the fishing prowess of a local chief. His generous offering to her was reciprocated with generous rainfall to the parched valley and in turn a heiau was built in her honor. The site was later used as a luakini, a temple to the war god Ku and a place for human sacrifices. Kamehameha worshipped here.
The site remained in use until the time of his death in 1812. Restoration, undertaken by the Bishop Museum and completed in 1970, added two prayer towers, a taboo house, drum house, altar and god images. The heiau was reconstructed u…
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Valley of the Temples
The Valley of the Temples is an interdenominational cemetery in a stunning setting just off the Kahekili Hwy. For most visitors the main attraction is Byodo-In, the 'Temple of Equality.' Dedicated in 1968 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Hawaii, Byodo-In is a replica of the 950-year-old temple in Kyoto, Japan. For a panoramic view of the valley, head up to the hilltop mausoleum with the cross.
The Byodo-In temple's symmetry is a classic example of Japanese Heian architecture and garden design symbolizing the Pure Land of Mahayana Buddhism. The seated 9ft-tall tall Buddha in the main hall is positioned to catch the first rays of morning sunli…
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Kaua'i's Hindu Monastery
On an island virtually devoid of Hinduism, the splendid Kaua'i Aadheenam, commonly called simply Kaua'i's Hindu Monastery, is both serious monastery and growing tourist attraction. Located on 458 acres of lush rainforest above Wailua River, the traditional South Indian Saivite (Shiva-worshipping) monastery is a sprawling garden oasis, with a meditation hall and Ganesha statues sitting amid wildly tropical landscaping. The gift shop here has chanting CDs, alarm clocks with the Great Crystal on the face, granite lingams and tiger-eye Ganesha figurines.
Access is limited to tours three or four times a month, which are well worth the time. Check the website for tour dates.
In…
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Wai'oli Hui'ia Church
A popular site for quaint church weddings, Wai'oli Hui'ia Church was built by Hanalei's first missionaries, Reverend and Mrs William Alexander, who arrived in 1834 in a double-hulled canoe. Their church, hall and mission house remain in the middle of town, set on a huge manicured lawn with a beautiful mountain backdrop.
The pretty green wooden church retains an airy Pacific feel, with large, outward-opening windows and high ceilings. The doors remain open during the day and visitors are welcome. A Bible printed in Hawaiian and dating from 1868 is displayed on top of the old organ. The Wai'oli Church Choir, the island's best, sings hymns in Hawaiian at the 10:00 Sunday ser…
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Kukaniloko
Just north of Wahiawa is the area known as Kukaniloko, which marks a group of royal birthstones where Hawaiian queens gave birth to generations of royalty. The stones date from the 12th century. Legend held that if a woman lay properly against the stones while giving birth, her child would be blessed by the gods, and indeed, many of O'ahu's great chiefs were born at this site.
These stones are one of only two documented birthstone sites in Hawaii (the other is on Kaua'i). Many of the petroglyphs on the stones are of recent origin, but the eroded circular patterns are original.
To get to the site from town, go three-quarters of a mile north on Kamehameha Hwy from its inters…
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Moku'aikaua Church
On April 4, 1820, the first Christian missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands sailed into Kailua Bay. When they landed, they were unaware that Hawai'i's old religion had been abolished on that very spot just a few months before. King Liholiho gave them this site, just a few minutes' walk from Kamehameha's Ahu'ena Heiau, to establish Hawai'i's first Christian church.
Completed in 1836, Moku'aikaua Church is a handsome building with walls of lava rock held together by sand and coral lime mortar. The posts and beams, hewn with stone adzes, and smoothed down with chunks of coral, are made from resilient ohia, and the pews and pulpit are made of koa, the most prized native hardwo…
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St Andrew's Cathedral
The French Gothic St Andrew's Cathedral was King Kamehameha IV's personal homage to the architecture and faith of the Church of England. Following the tradition of the church's English founder, the Hawaiian king and his consort, Queen Emma, founded the Anglican Church of Hawaii in 1858. King Kamehameha V had the cornerstone laid in 1867 four years after the death of Kamehameha IV on St Andrew's Day - hence the name.
The construction of stone and glass was shipped from England. The impressive window of hand-blown stained glass forms the western facade reaching from the floor to the eaves. In the right-hand section of the stained glass the Reverend Thomas Staley, the first …
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Waine'e Church
The first stone church in Hawaii, Waine'e Church was built in 1832 and cursed with a run of bad luck. First the steeple collapsed in 1858, then in 1894 royalists enraged that the minister supported Hawaii's annexation torched it to the ground. A second church, built to replace the original, burned in 1947, and the third was blown away in a storm a few years later. One might get the impression that the old Hawaiian gods didn't take kindly to the house of this foreign deity!
The fourth version, however, has been standing since 1953 and still holds regular Sunday services.
The adjacent cemetery holds as much intrigue as the church. Here lie several notables: Governor Hoapili,…
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Kaulu Paoa Heiau
The vague remains of Kaulu Paoa Heiau stand just five minutes' walk from Ke'e Beach. Here, beneath a cliff face, large stones create a long flat grassy platform where a thatched-roof hula halau (school) once stood. In ancient Hawai'i this halau was Kaua'i's most sacred; students aspiring to learn hula came from all of the Hawaiian Islands and the legendary Kaua'i chief Lohi'au trained here.
Present-day hula halau (troupes) still leave lei and other offerings to Laka (goddess of hula) in crevices in the cliff face.
To find the remains of the heiau, take the path on the western side of the beach. Follow the stone wall as it curves uphill and you'll reach the heiau almost imm…
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Ulupo Heiau
The building of Ulupo Heiau, a sizable, open-platform temple of stones piled 30ft high and 140ft long, is attributed to menehune, the little people who legends say created much of Hawaii's stonework, finishing each project in one night. Fittingly, Ulupo means 'night inspiration.' It's thought to have been a luakini (place for human sacrifice). From the path across the top of the heiau, hikers get a view of Kawainui Marsh.
In front of the temple is an artist's rendition of the site as it probably looked in the 18th century.
Ulupo Heiau is a mile south of Kailua Rd, behind the YMCA. Coming up the Pali Hwy from Honolulu, take Uluoa St, the first left after passing the Hwy 72…
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St Benedict's church
John Berchmans Velghe was a Catholic priest who came to Hawai'i from Belgium in 1899. Upon taking responsibility for St Benedict's church, he moved it 2 miles from its original location near the pu'uhonua (place of refuge). It's not clear whether he did this as protection from tsunami or as an attempt to rise above - both literally and symbolically - a significant Hawaiian cultural site and what Christianity considered to be pagan ways.
Father John then painted the walls with a series of biblical scenes to aid in teaching the Bible. He designed the wall behind the altar to resemble the Gothic cathedral in Burgos, Spain. The painted palm leaves climbing the slender support…
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Kuan Yin Temple
Near the entrance of Foster Botanical Garden, the Kuan Yin Temple is a bright-red Buddhist temple with a green ceramic-tile roof. The ornate interior is richly carved and filled with the sweet, pervasive smell of burning incense.The temple is dedicated to Kuan Yin Bodhisattva, Goddess of Mercy, whose statue is the largest in the prayer hall.
Devotees burn paper 'money' for prosperity and good luck. Offerings of fresh flowers and fruit are placed at the altar. The large citrus fruit that is stacked pyramid-style is the pomelo, considered a symbol of fertility because of its many seeds.Honolulu's multiethnic Buddhist community worships at the temple, and respectful visitors…
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Ka'ahumanu Church
The oldest Congregational church in Maui, Ka'ahumanu Church dates to 1832 and takes its name from Queen Ka'ahumanu, who cast aside the old gods and burned temple idols, allowing Christianity to flourish. She visited Wailuku and in her ever-humble manner requested that the church bear her name.
Missionary Edward Bailey built the church atop a former heiau site and royal compound. The old clock in the steeple, brought around the Horn in the 19th century, still keeps accurate time. Hymns are sung in Hawaiian at Sunday morning services, but at other times it's a look-from-outside site, as the church is usually locked.
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Pi'ilanihale Heiau
The grounds of the amazing Kahanu Gardens are also the site of Pi'ilanihale Heiau, the largest temple in Hawaii, with a stone platform reaching 450ft in length. The history of this astounding heiau is shrouded in mystery, but there's no doubt that it was an important religious site for Hawaiians.
Archaeologists believe construction began as early as AD 1200 and the heiau was built in sequences. The final grand scale was the work of Pi'ilani (the heiau's name means House of Pi'ilani), the 14th-century Maui chief who is also credited with the construction of many of the coastal fishponds in the Hana area.
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Lili'uokalani Church
Although the current building was constructed in 1961, the Lili'uokalani Church congregation dates from 1832. A Protestant church, it's named for Queen Lili'uokalani, who spent summers on Anahulu River and attended services here, held entirely in Hawaiian until the 1940s.The church is open whenever the minister is in, usually mornings.
In 1892 Queen Lili'uokalani gave the church its seven-dial clock, which shows the hour, day, month and year, as well as the phases of the moon. The queen's 12-letter name replaces the numerals on the clock face.
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La'ie Hawaii Temple
In 1919 the Mormons constructed La'ie Hawaii Temple, a mini-version of the great Salt Lake temple, at the end of a wide promenade. It is formal and stately, like nothing else on this end of the Windward Coast. There is a visitor center where enthusiastic guides will show you pictures of the interior of the temple (off-limits to non-Mormons) and talk to you extensively about the wonders of their faith.
Nearby is the Hawaii branch of Brigham Young University, with scholarship programs attracting students from islands throughout the Pacific.
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Kalahikiola Church
Protestant missionaries Elias and Ellen Bond built Kalahikiola Church in 1855. The land and buildings on the drive in are part of the vast Bond estate, proving that missionary life wasn't one of total deprivation. Large portions of the church crumbled in the 2006 earthquake, and the congregation immediately began fundraising to rebuild. Towering banyan trees and peaceful macadamia-nut orchards surround the church, making it a worthwhile detour.
The church is 900yd up 'Iole Rd, between the 23- and 24-mile markers.
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Taoist Temple
Founded in 1889, the Lum Sai Ho Tong Society was one of more than 100 societies started by Chinese immigrants in Hawaii to help preserve their cultural identity. This one was for the Lum clan, which hails from west of the Yellow River. The society's Taoist temple honors the goddess Tin Hau, a Lum child who rescued her father from drowning and was later deified. Some claim to see her apparition when they travel by boat. The temple is not open to the general public, but you can still admire the colorful exterior.
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Holy Ghost Church
The octagonal Holy Ghost Church, a hillside landmark in Waiakoa, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1895 by Portuguese immigrants, the church features a beautifully ornate interior that looks like it came right out of the Old World, and indeed much of it did. The altar was carved by renowned Austrian woodcarver Ferdinand Stuflesser and shipped in pieces around the Cape of Good Hope.
Finding the church is easy, as the distinctive white building is readily visible from the highway.
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St John's Episcopal Church
Keokea village's green-and-white St John's Episcopal Church was built in 1907 to serve the Chinese community, and it still bears its name in Chinese characters. For a time Sun Yat-sen, father of the Chinese nationalist movement, lived on the outskirts of Keokea. A statue of Sun Yat-sen and a small park dedicated to him can be found along the Kula Hwy (Hwy 37) beyond Grandma's Coffee House.
The park has picnic tables and great views of west Maui and its hillside windmills.
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St Peter's Church
St Peter's Church, aka The 'Little Blue Church', is one of Hawai'i's most-photographed, and a favorite for weddings. Made of clapboard with a corrugated-tin roof, it sits practically in Kahalu'u Bay. Built in the 1880s, it was moved from White Sands Beach to this site in 1912. It now sits on an ancient Hawaiian religious site, Ku'emanu Heiau. Hawaiian royalty, who surfed Kahalu'u Bay, paid their respects at this temple before hitting the waves.
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Keawala'i Congregational Church
South on Makena Bay is the Keawala'i Congregational Church, one of Maui's earliest missionary churches. The current building was erected in 1855 with 3ft-thick walls made of burnt coral rock. Don't miss the adjacent graveyard, which has old tombstones adorned with cameo photographs, many of Hawaiian cowboys laid to rest in the 1920s.
Makena Rd ends shortly after the church at a cul-de-sac on the ocean side of Maui Prince Hotel.
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Wananalua Congregational Church
Erected in 1838 to replace the congregation's original grass church, the edifice of Wananalua Congregational Church with its hefty rock walls resembles an ancient Norman church. Take a close look and you'll notice that the rock is cut from lava. Also noteworthy is the little cemetery at the side, where the graves are randomly laid out rather than lined up in rows. Even at rest, Hana folks like things casual.
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Mo'okini Heiau
On the northernmost tip of the island, Mo'okini Heiau is one of the oldest and most historically significant temples in Hawaii. Charts date the temple back to AD 480, when human sacrifices were offered to the war god Ku. Because so few people come this way, chances are you'll be alone with the wind and the spirits.
A stone enclosure nearby marks the birth site of Kamehameha the Great.
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