Charles Montague Cooke, Jr., House and Kūkaʻōʻō Heiau, National Register site in Manoa Valley, Honolulu, United States
The Charles Montague Cooke Jr. House is a residential property built in Tudor Revival style with basalt lava rock walls and half-timber details located in Manoa Valley. The structures sit on a hillside with stone chimneys and stand beside the restored walls of the Kūkaʻōʻō Heiau.
The residence was built between 1911 and 1912 for a wealthy businessman and reflects the architectural tastes of that era. The heiau beside it was constructed in earlier times and underwent restoration work to preserve it for future generations.
The Kūkaʻōʻō Heiau embodies ancient Hawaiian spiritual practices and remains meaningful to the local community today. The site demonstrates how Hawaiians integrated their beliefs into the landscape and used this place for ceremonies.
The Mānoa Heritage Center, established in 1996, manages the site and runs educational tours of the house and heiau. The heiau stands about 6 meters above a flat, rocky clearing, reached on foot through hilly garden grounds, so allow time and wear sturdy shoes.
Kenneth Emory of the Bishop Museum estimated the heiau to be 1,000 years old. Its name breaks down as kū 'stand', ka 'the' and ʻōʻō 'digging stick', and one reading links it to the chief Kawelo, said to have thrown a digging stick from the valley's highest mountain onto Puʻu Pueo, the hill where the temple stands.
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