I tried numerous times, but I never did say "Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau," correctly. This National Historical Park - also called The City of Refuge was a place where those in exile could run to and be purified and forgiven before returning home. If a soldier lost a battle, he could run here and be allowed to go home in honor, if you were too old to fight you hid here to stay safe. The place was sacred because of ancient rulers bones were buried under the small structure pictured here:
The structure was kept safe by the menacing wooden statues that were around the buildings. Of course, my children wanted to emulate them.
And then once the people inside were cleansed they went home. They weren't allowed at the royal temple to worship, but my kids caught a glimpse of a replica temple here.
Once they were done, I asked the lady at the front why so many kids had Jr. Ranger booklets. I found out that if we the girls had filled out a booklet at Volcano National Park, and the three other historical parks on the Big Island they could have gotten a Jr. Ranger embroidered backpack. We made it to three of the parks, and the girls got badges and Jr. Ranger pins for two of the three here.
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