After uniting the Hawaiian Islands in 1810, Kamehameha the Great established the kingdom's royal court in Lahaina on Maui, but he continued to return to the Big Island. After a couple of years, he restored this sacred site as his personal retreat and temple. Notice the towering carved kiʻi (deity) image with a golden plover atop its helmet: these long-distance flying birds may have helped guide the first Polynesians to Hawaii.
When Kamehameha I died at Ahuʻena Heiau on May 8, 1819, his body was prepared for burial here. In keeping with ancient Hawaiian tradition, the king's bones were secreted elsewhere, hidden so securely no one has ever found them (though some theorists point to a cave near Kaloko Fishpond).
Step inside King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel nearby to view historical paintings and a mural by legendary artist and Hawaiian historian Herb Kawainui Kane. Also on display are a rare feathered helmet and cloak once worn by aliʻi (royalty), ancient Hawaiian war weapons and musical instruments, and a whale's-tooth pendant strung on a braided cord made of human hair.
