A group of volunteers gathered this past weekend at the Hi’i Agricultural Heiau as part of Lānaʻi Culture & Heritage Center’s efforts to restore the area. Photo courtesy Lānaʻi Culture & Heritage Center

This past weekend the Lānaʻi Culture & Heritage Center brought together a group of volunteers to a sacred and remote heiau, where restoration efforts have been underway for the past nine years.

On Saturday morning, a stewardship day took place at Hi’i Agricultural Heiau, located about two miles from Koele, an area that Lāna’i Culture & Heritage Center Executive Director Shelly Kaiaokamalie says holds an important historical structure.

According to an article from the Manoa Heritage Center, the cultural definition of heiau is a location of worship, where mana, or divine energy, is transferred through ritual and prayer. There are heiau all throughout the Hawaiian archipelago, some of which have been restored or restoration efforts are underway.

“The heiau was built in traditional times and is a significant cultural and ceremonial site,” she explained.

While the center is not rebuilding the heiau, it does bring together community volunteers during scheduled workdays like the one on Saturday to help eliminate introduced trees and clear invasive plants from the area, helping to open the canopy so that the native understory can thrive.

“We are working to restore health to ʻāina, as that is a major part of Lānaʻi CHC’s ultimate vision – Ola ka ʻāina, ola ke kānaka, ola ke kaiāulu; thriving land, thriving people, thriving community,” she said.

The agriculture heiau was first documented during a 1920s archaeology study by visiting archaeologist Kenneth Emory. In summer 2016, student participants in the center’s cultural literacy program began to remap the area. Hiʻi is located on a terrace about 1,100 feet above sea level on agricultural lands that were stewarded in traditional times by native tenants.

Kaiaokamalie said the effort helps people today connect with the area.

“Lānaʻi CHC has created educational and stewardship opportunities for students, community and visitors to learn about Hiʻi and the importance of restoring health to our bio-cultural landscape,” she said.

Along with Hiʻi, the center also brings together community stewardship opportunities at the Waiaʻōpae fishpond and Kānepuʻu native dryland forest, as well as other sites.

“Connecting people back to our culture, history, and ʻāina is the core of what we do, and these stewardship volunteer days are integral to this,” she said.

Lānaʻi Culture & Heritage Center is a community-based nonprofit that was founded in 2007. It aims to provide information and stewardship in the legacy of Lānaʻi and focuses on preserving, interpreting and celebrating the island’s natural, social and cultural histories. The center includes a climate-controlled display area of artifacts and archives and runs educational programs, such as the one that occurred Saturday.

For more information about Lānaʻi CHC and its programs, visit LanaiCHC.org or follow Lānaʻi CHC on Instagram (@lanaichc) or at Facebook.com/lanaichc.