Of several types of temples (heiau) the
luakini was the most elaborate and largest. Dedicated to Ku as patron of
politics and warfare, these were the heiau of the ruling chiefs. Gifts
of food were regularly offered to propitiate Ku at the luakini altar,
for it was believed that a spirit that was not fed would drift away. When
deemed necessary, the gift of a man's life was made ("sacrifice" is the
conventional term, but "gift" is descriptively more accurate). The act of
killing was not part of the ritual—an enemy slain in battle, a criminal or
slave knocked on the head and carried to the temple would do nicely—but it
had to be a healthy man, never a woman, child, or a man with a deformity or
wasted by age. Only the king could order it.
See also: "Kamehameha
Building Pu'ukohala Heiau"
Link to on-line publication of Ancient Hawai'i
