End Of The World
- Rosie Mae
- Jul 12, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 15, 2019
In Maihi Bay, in Keauhou, Hawai`i, is the Lekeleke Burial Grounds; also known as End of the World. Take Mamalahoa Bypass Road off Ali`i Hwy and park along the road. The road down to the coast is paved and for walking purposes only. Once the paved path ends, you can hike to the coast. The view is amazing.
When I was told about this location, I couldn't comprehend exactly what it was. End of the World? A movie location? No. It is a historical site where hundreds of Hawaiian warriors were killed in an epic battle.
I figured I would read more about it later, as my adventures and exploration have just begun. On either end of the path are walls made of lava rock; to preserve the burial site. Goats roam the area and stay clear from tourists.
The Hawai`i coastline is made up on lava rock. The waves crash against it with full force. Mini waterfalls appear as the waves descend off the rock. The smell of sweet salt water is left behind.
There is a splash zone for anyone who wishes to get wet. However, it is off the gravel path and dangerous. I hiked a tiny bit off the gravel path to get a closer picture of these massive crashing waves. The area is wet, so please be cautious everyone! I already fell and scraped by butt and leg from the rock. No joke!
For more information about the Burial Grounds and how to pronounce some of the Hawaiian words listed in this post, please read below. The plague dedicated to the historical site with brief description of the history is typed out.
Lekeleke Burial Grounds
Ancient Hawai`i sacred code of laws is collectively called the kapu system. Kapu directed religious practices, determined social order and organized political structure. Hawaiian life was highly defined under the kapu system.
King Kamehameha I ruled Hawai`i under the kapu system. Following his death in 1819, and before the Christian missionaries landed in 1820, sacred kapu practices were abandoned by the regent, Queen Ka`ahumanu, and her son Liholiho (King Kamehameha II) in a symbolic act of eating together. By breaking the ancient kapu system that had governed for centuries, social, and political systems were thrust into turmoil.
Some chiefs embraced the new social order, others rebelled.
Before his death, King Kamehameha I bequeathed the powerful war god Kūkā`ilimoku and his temples to his nephew Kekuaokalani. Kekuaokalani demanded that his cousin Liholiho reinstate the kapu; he did not. Traditionalists, those who defended the ancient ways, rallied with Kekuaokalani and set out overland in warrior regalia from Ka`awaloa to the south at Kealakekua Bay.
In support of Liholiho’s edict, High Chief Kalanimoku led the better armed king’s troops from Kailua in the north. These opposing forces collided here at the Battle of Kuamo`o in one of the Kingdom of Hawai`i’s final battles. It proved to be a battle that changed the course of their civilizations.
In a blaze of musket fire, sacred practices died along with more than 300 warriors. The dead, including Kekuaokalani and his wife Mānono (Kalanimoku’s sister and a former wife of Kamehameha I), were interred in the terraces visible on this lave field.
How to say...
Maihi Bay (Mah-ee-hee)
Keauhou (Kae-oo-hoh-oo)
Lekeleke (lay-kay-lay-kay
Mamalahoa (mah-mah-lah-hoh-ah)
Ali`i (Ah-lee ee)
Kapu (kah-poo)
King Kamehameha I (kah-mae-ha-mae-ha) – former Mānono’s husband
Queen Ka`ahumanu (kah! ah-hoo-ma-noo) – Liholiho’s mother
Liholiho (lee-ho-lee-hoh) – aka King Kamehameha II & Queen Ka`ahumanu’s son & Kekuaokalani’s cousin
Kūkā`ilimoku (kooo-kaaa ee-l-ee-moh-koo) – war god
Kekuaokalani (kae-koo-aoh-kah-lah-nee) – Mānono’s husband & Kūkā`ilimoku’s nephew
Ka`awaloa (kah! a-vah-loh-ah) – south at Kealakekua Bay
Kealakekua Bay (kae-ah-lah-kae-koo-ah)
Kalanimoku (Kah-lah-nee-moh-koo) – High Chief
Kailua (kah-ee-loh-ah)
Kuamo`o (koo-ah-moh oh)
Mānono (maaa- noh-noh) -- Kalanimoku’s sister, Kekuaokalani’s wife, former Kamehameha I wife
(* I google searched and read 2 pocket guides on how to speak Hawaiian. It may not be 100% accurate. No criticism please! I even spoke with 2 natives who helped me correct my speech *)
XO - R. Mae
78-7101 Mamalahoa Bypass Rd, Kailua, HI 96740 // http://www.kuamoo.org/
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