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Certain pastimes were restricted to the chiefs, the most
spectacular being hōlua sledding. A
track of rock, layered with earth and made slippery with grass, was made for
tobogganing on a narrow sled.
Hōlua sledding was the most dangerous sport practiced in
Hawai‘i. The rider lies prone on a sled
the width of a ski and slides down a chute made of lava rock.
The sled or papa consisted of two narrow and highly polished
runners (three inches apart,)
from 7- to 18-feet in length, and from two to three inches deep. The
papa hōlua (canoe sled) is a reflection of the double-hulled canoe.
The two runners were fastened together by a number of short
pieces of woods varying in length from two to five inches, laid horizontally
across the runners.
“Coasting down
slopes... Sliding on specially constructed sleds was practiced only in Hawaii
and New Zealand,” wrote historian Kenneth Emory. “The Maori sled, however, was
quite different from the Hawaiian... One of the Hawaiian sleds, to be seen in
[the] Bishop Museum, is the only complete ancient sled in existence.”
“The narrowness and
the convergence of the runners toward the front should be noticed. Coasting on
these sleds was a pastime confined to the chiefs and chieftesses.”
The Reverend Hiram
Bingham provides a descriptive account of this sport: “In the presence of the
multitude, the player takes in both hands, his long, very narrow and light
built sled, made for this purpose alone, the curved ends of the runners being
upward and forward, as he holds it, to begin the race.”
“Standing erect, at
first, a little back from the head of the prepared slippery path, he runs a few
rods to it, to acquire the greatest momentum, carrying his sled, then pitches
himself, head foremost, down the declivity, dexterously throwing his body, full
length, upon his vehicle, as on a surf board.”
“The sled, keeping
its rail or grassway, courses with velocity down the steep, and passes off into
the plain, bearing its proud, but prone and headlong rider, who scarcely values
his neck more than the prize at stake.”
The primary archaeological feature of Keauhou was its
monumental Holua Slide, a stone ramp nearly one mile in length that culminated
at He‘eia Bay.
In 1913, H.W. Kinney published a visitor’s guide to the
island of Hawai‘i, including descriptions of the land at the time, historical
accounts of events, and descriptions of sites and practices that might be
observed by the visitor. At Keauhou, he notes, “Mauka of the village is seen
the most famous papa hōlua in the Islands, a wide road-like stretch, which was
laid with grass steeped in kukui-nut oil so as to allow the prince and his
friends to coast down in their sleighs constructed for the purpose.”
The Keauhou hōlua is the largest and best-preserved hōlua
course. The remains are about 1290 feet
long of the original that was over 4000 feet long. When in use, it was covered in dirt and wet
grass to make it slippery.
Contestants reached treacherous speeds on their narrow sleds
by adding thatching and mats to make the holua slippery. When the waves were large, crowds would gather
on a stone platform at He‘eia Bay to watch as hōlua contestants raced against
surfers to a shoreline finish.
A portion of the hōlua is visible on Alii Drive, directly
mauka (inland) of the golf clubhouse entrance.
Kekahuna, who mapped and studied the Keauhou Hōlua notes, “The
starting point is a narrow platform paved level, succeeded by a slightly
declined crosswise platform 36-feet long by 29-feet wide, and is followed by a
series of steep descents that gave high speed to the holua sleds.”
“Great care seems to have been exercised in the building of
this huge relic of the ancients.
Practically the whole slide is constructed of fairly large ‘a‘a rocks,
filled in with rocks of medium and small-sized ‘a‘a. The base walls on the north and south vary in
height according to the contour of the land.
The width of the runway varies considerably.”
“The length of the slide, measured through the middle from
the present lower end, is 3,682-feet. It
may have extended about 3,000-feet farther, as it is said that in ancient days
the now missing lower part extended along the point north of Keauhou Bay nearly
to the Protestant open chapel by beautiful He`eia Bay. On completion of their slides the chiefs
would have their close attendants (kahus) transport them and their surfboards by
canoe to a point about a mile offshore and a little to the north, from where
they would ride in He‘eia on the great waves of the noted surf of Kaulu.”
Kauikeauoli, born at Keauhou and later to become ruler of
the entire island chain (as Kamehameha III,) was reportedly a great athlete and
especially enjoyed hōlua sliding.
As Baker, in the 1916 Hawaiian Annual, wrote, “At Keauhou,
on a pretty little bay part way between the other bays, is a well-preserved
papa holua, a broad, well-built, undulating toboggan-like slide, built before
his reign for Kamehameha III to slide down on sleds, with his friends, over the
grass-covered slide made slippery with kukui-nut oil.”
“The slide used to pass out behind the chapel on the north
arm of the bay. There the prince and his friends would take surf-boards and
return by water to the head of the bay. After the prince had started the sport,
others might slide as well. Originally, the slide was over a mile long, about
three-quarters of a mile still being in good condition. It is fifty feet wide
for the entire distance, and across one it is raised ten feet.”
There are other hōlua in the islands. One, on Kaua‘i, has two slides crossing each
other on a pu‘u, northwest of Kōloa; another is a well-preserved 400- to
500-foot long hōlua near Kapua, South Kona.
The image shows the hōlua at Keauhou, in addition, I have added some other holua
images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook page.
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