Tribute to Todd 02 ... 2nd Ceremony at Place of Refuge

Just down the road from Kealakekua Bay is Pu'uhonua O Honaunau, (otherwise known as The Place of Refuge) -- one of the more sacred sites on the Big Island, and the site for our second tribute to Todd.Show more

Hundreds of years ago, indigenous Hawaiians who violated one or more of their culture's sacred laws (or Kapu) were sentenced to death, and that sentence was invariably carried out -- unless they could make it to one of the island's "Places of Refuge" (or Pu'uhonua) beforehand. There, the offender would be absolved by a Hawaiian priest and allowed to reenter society thereafter. Defeated warriors and noncombatants were also safe from harm at these locations during times of battle.

During the last years of Todd's life, he was often a "troubled Soul" who offended (mostly unintentionally) quite a few folks. He was also a warrior of sorts -- especially when it came to defending the sanctity of the Earth. As such, it seemed more than fitting that a portion of his ashes would be laid to rest here, one of the more powerful Hawaiian sanctuaries of atonement and forgiveness.

Peace ... S

P.S. The flowers near Todd's ashes in the video are plumeria blossoms; a spiritually serendipitous choice, as we later learned that some Hawaiians consider them to be the appropriate flower-of-choice for funerals.