A new exhibit at The Bishop Museum reveals a long-hidden history of the mysterious stones on Waikīkī Beach, a storied site that few of the millions who pass it by know anything about. The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu explores the past and contemporary means of the four large stones and the legendary male and female healing spirits within them.

The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu were placed long ago on Waikīkī Beach to honor four māhū, extraordinary individuals of dual male and female spirit, who brought healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaiʻi. Although the stones have survived for centuries, the story behind them has been suppressed and the respected role of māhū erased.

Guests begin in the Castle Memorial Building with the life-size rendering of the stones and  spirits in the main gallery, then watch their story unfold in a captivating animated film. Guests then continue from the theater to an enormous room lined with projection screens and are immersed in the long history of the site and its story.

“Our source for the definition of the term ‘Kapaemahu’ is Mary Kawena Pukui, the leading Hawaiian scholar of the 20th century who worked at Bishop Museum for much of her life. She gives this definition in the book she co-wrote, ‘Hawaiian Place Names,’” said DeSoto Brown, Bishop Museum historian, curator of archives, and exhibition lead curator. “In presenting the original moʻolelo from 500 or more years ago, and examining the ways in which it, and the monument erected to honor its heroes, were altered in the 20th century, The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu challenges visitors to ponder how other aspects of Hawaiian history and culture might have been suppressed, changed, or lost. More importantly, visitors will understand that these aspects of Hawaiian culture now have the opportunity to be restored and elevated.”