Pu’u Loa means Long Hill or Hill of Long Life and is considered to be a sacred place, especially to the people of Kalapana. Kalapana has been overflowed by lava from Kilauea in 1990. In this event the nearby town of Kaimu and Kaimu Bay were also covered. There are now only a handful of people who live out in Kalapana and the Royal Gardens subdivision. Every couple of years another flow goes this way and threatens or destroys another home.
The majority of the petroglyphs at this site are similar to the following:
These holes (some like those above within circles) are used to place the umbilical cord (piko) at the birth of a child. The hole is carved in and the cord is placed in the hole with a stone above it. This tradition is thought to insure the long life for the child.
According to the National Parks website on this site: (here)
A dot was “ the hole for a child”
A dot in a circle “the hole for the first born”
A dot with two circles “the first born of an ali`i [a ruling chief]”
A plain circle was a “calabash”
A jagged line was a “mo`o [a lizard]”
A circle with a long line was a “puloulou [ a tapa covered ball on a stick carried by an ali`i as a symbol of taboo]”
A cross with a dot at each end was “ a cross before a chief at night in travelling.”
There are also other theories about other petroglyphs at the site and more information can be found at the national aprk website. I Just wanted to share some of these amazing features!
The board walk is a nice addition and a safe place to view the petrogphys from without disturbing them!
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