"This is Not a Stone, He is a Man."

Click here to see the other side of Pohaku-Loa of Punahou

The late Glen Grant, Hawaiian historian, author, and folklorist, wrote the Obake Files, Ghostly Encounters in Supernatural Hawaii. In it he tells a story of Pohaku-Loa of Punahou, a "tall, sacred rock nearly five feet tall that stands at the corner of Punahou and Wilder Avenues." When Punahou lands was first given to the missionaries for a school an overseer and his men attempted to dislodge Pohaku-Loa of Punahou to move it to it's proper area but the harder they worked the more it planted itself into the ground. A kahuna was consulted and it was believed that there was a demigod that was living in the stone. The kahuna stated, "This is not a stone, it is a man. He is not to be forced, but coax him and he will go." They prepared an elaborate luau feast for him and everyone was invited. The next day it was asked to move and a very large and powerful chief Paki, wrapped his arms around the stone and lifted it, and to everyone's amazement, the rock moved itself to it's current location. Some years later, Pohaku-Loa was split into two and the other half was taken to Kapi'olani Maternity Home then located on Beratania Street. It then became the property of the Japanese consulate for a few years when the maternity home left. When the Japanese consulate left Beratania Street, that other half was missing." What is left is the above image of the stone with the plaque of Punahou School embedded in it.