Case file · Folklore / legend
Puʻukoholā prophecy
A kahuna, Kapoukahi, prophesied that Kamehameha would rule all Hawaiʻi if he built a great temple to the war god Kūkāʻilimoku at Puʻukoholā; at its dedication in 1791 Keōua was killed and offered there.
1791 CE · 20.03, -155.82 · status: official
The account
The heiau was built with stones passed hand to hand. Within two decades Kamehameha had united the islands, which many Hawaiians saw as fulfilment of the prophecy.
The sceptical view
The 'fulfilment' followed from military power, foreign weapons and diplomacy; the prophecy is known from later Hawaiian historians.