The Hawaiian Kūkaʻilimoku Image and the Death of Cook

Record summary

At Kealakekua Bay, Cook’s expedition encountered the major Hawaiian temple complex at Hikiau and ritual images associated with the war god Kūkaʻilimoku. Later interpretations connected the ceremonial treatment of Cook and his remains with Hawaiian concepts of chiefly or divine status, producing a long-running debate over whether he was literally regarded as a god. The episode is important for comparing material religion, mortuary practice, and cross-cultural misunderstanding. Expedition journals, Hawaiian traditions, and modern historical analyses do not yield a single uncontested explanation.