Heiau of the Island of Hawai‘i: A Historic Survey of Native Hawaiian Temple Sites
This book presents the results of the first major archaeological survey of Hawaiian heiau, carried out by John F.G. Stokes in 1906-1907 with the guidance of William Brigham, Bishop Museum's first director. Stokes work has long been valued by scholars for its descriptions, and these are augmented here with redrawn copies of the original maps and numerous historical photographs.
A new introduction, pieced together from typed and handwritten notes at Bishop Museum, shows that Stokes wanted to add detail and precision to traditional accounts of a migration of Tahitian chiefs to Hawai‘i some seven hundred years ago. Scholars at the turn of the century (1900) were convinced that this migration was responsible for the division of Hawaiian society into classes and the introduction of strict kapu, including human sacrifice.
An introductory essay by Tom Dye recreates the historical and intellectual context within which Stokes worked, and makes the point that archaeologists still haven't come to grips with the questions that Brigham and Stokes culled from Hawaiian traditions.
$29.95
isbn 978-0-930897-39-0
softcover, 7x10. 196pp.
Available at Bishop Museum's Shop Pacifica (phone 808-848-4158, email at shop@bishopmuseum.org ) and other fine bookstores throughout the islands.
Tags: Bishop Museum Press, Hawai‘i Island, heiau
