Dawn of the Night Vigil – Puʻukoholā Heiau by Paul Buklarewicz
“This image of Puʻukoholā Heiau was made at dawn on August 17, 1991, on the 200th Anniversary Commemoration of Kamehameha’s Temple of State, following an all-night vigil within the temple grounds by descendants of King Kamehameha and his cousin, High Chief Keoua Kuahuʻula of Kaʻu who was ritually sacrificed upon the consecration of the temple on this date in 1791.
The vigil was held as a look back with compassion, forgiveness, and conciliation marking the passing of seven generations since Puʻukoholā Heiau was built and consecrated 200 years earlier by Kamehameha.
The temple stands on Puʻukoholā (Hill of the Whale) in Kawaihae as the greatest edifice memorializing the most famous Hawaiian who ever lived–Kamehameha the Great.” – Paul
