19th Century, the western romanticism movement of ancient things began with museums and the birth of modern historiography. The more old it looks or broken the more legitimate it is, even though not all structures from the contact and pre-contact period were as they were originally. Rebuilding with olden day technology of its time maybe different, but the case of a structure was its appearance, sectionary pride, prestige, and meaning.
Heiau were built with the idea that they should last forever, so it follows the same idea that it can be restored with original material and techniques. And when they do have differences only a specialist would be able to show those differences. But on the other hand they are also originally meant to be maintained by a family and nobody else, so once their was no one who wanted to maintain the Heiau it would simply exist. In some areas they are seemingly abandoned, but with the Hawaiian Kingdom moving toward european outlooks on structures the original building would evolve with the time with remodeling and slight changes. Hawaiians used stone, so buildings on the islands would last for a very long time. But structures made out of wood would slowly build decay overtime and need for constant maintenance and rebuilding. Building materials were essential in understanding the upkeep necessary of the structures. Keeping a structure up would also require a feel of the original with the original building techniques. Since written language wasn’t predominant back in those days it is hard to know how many of the buildings actually looked, except for some western drawings later on during the time of the missionaries. The controversy begins with the rebuilding of something historic and sacred for the purpose of history. The structure may not be as accurate, but it helps people have a visual idea of how the buildings from that time looked like. It makes history accessible to the people and give more meaning to why such structures should be respected for its historical value, disaster prevention, and constructional advantage of repairing and rebuilding. There should also be plans of a structures use to have its meaning of existence to be on the land at is connected to the use to represent the spirit and culture behind it. With the purpose of such structures being to recreate the past it is important that they serve to teach a history that is accurate to what happened to the Hawaiians (kanaka maoli). While someone may argue its authenticity it would be necessary that a historian be ethical and responsible to see something that is at least currently recorded. These go back to some western concepts of authenticity, but it does explain a point of view that shows a certain attitude and belief towards the structures themselves.
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