There is more significance to the recent accidental discovery of traditionally carved images at Kohanaiki on the Big Island than what had been reported.

The fact that those objects have survived nearly 200 years, the prospect of information that they may give to Native Hawaiian artists and carvers, and the immense cultural and historical value they may add to a very difficult period of our history does overshadow the other obvious fact: Caves and other natural shelters were used for other purposes than the burial of human remains.

The implications of that physical "discovery" at Kohanaiki reinforces the persistent claims of Native Hawaiian traditionalists that questions the arbitrary theory of caves and other natural shelters being used only for permanent burials. It also challenges present laws that seek Native Hawaiian community input toward the disposition of such cultural objects because those laws were based only upon the reparation of burial sites and practices found in the United States.

The depository function of such caves was described by the 19th-century Native Hawaiian historian Samuel Manaiakalani Kamakau in an article written for the Hawaiian newspaper Ku'oko'a in November 1865. He wrote in Hawaiian concerning Hi'ilawe Falls in the back of Waipi'o Valley on the island of Hawai'i: "A ma kona kumu e haule ai ilalo, he ana huna, malaila i waiho ai na auhau o na'Lii Kaulana ... " and I translate: "And at its base where it falls is a hidden cave, there the treasures or tribute of the famous chiefs were deposited/placed or left."

Kamakau does not use the word "kanu" or "to bury," and my first choice is "deposit" because "waiho" is used in such words as "hale waihona puke" as when one deposits a check in a bank. Any of the other choices also indicate a temporary or transitory nature of the action to "waiho" and do not imply a state of permanence.

This seriously questions the theory that the Forbes or Kanupa cave in Kohala had only a single purpose rather than being multi-purposed.

It also points out to the state of the moment starting in late 1819 when the chief priest Hewahewa torched his own luakini or temple at 'Ahu'ena, Kailua, Kona, signaling the end of traditional temple-image worship in the Islands with the consent of the king, Liholiho, and later continued by the regent Ka'ahumanu.

Many, not all, religious objects were burned or given away, but it appears the smaller ones were quickly sequestered away in secure hidden places such as caves and other natural shelters in the hopes that the traditional religion would be restored.

That dream ended at the battle of Kuamo'o and the defeat of Liholiho's cousin Kekua-okalani. The priest-led temple worship of images was not restored and completely ended as spoken by the highest-ranking chiefess of the Islands, Keopuolani, when she said to Kekuaokalani, "Mo ka piko!" ("The umbilical cord [our relationship] is severed!"). There is finality in those words.

The hidden treasures of the chiefs were left with the intent for future use from being destroyed by the fires of religious zealots, and today that intent is still endangered by zealotry and ignorance. In this regard, the find at Kohanaiki has tremendous significance and the voice of our ancestors.

Malcolm Naea Chun is a cultural specialist for the University of Hawai'i's College of Education and lives in East Honolulu.