Honokahua Preservation Site

Marker at Honokahua Burial site near Makaluapuna Point, Maui.  The Ritz-Carlton Hotel was under construction at this site in the late 1980s.  Builders began excavating the human remains of over 1000 native Hawaiians, with more still interred.  Many of the remains were dated back to AD 610.

The continued excavation of this burial site by the hotel led to native activism and eventually, a law prohibiting the disturbance of such sacred sites.  The Ritz-Carlton regained their sensitivity in 1990, reinterred the remains, moved the hotel location back up the slope, and the site is beautifully grassy and peaceful today.

The gecko, or mo'o, is regarded as a guardian or protective spirit.