“In ancient times, Hawaiians lived under strict laws. Commoners could not get too close to the chief, nor were they allowed to touch any of his possessions, walk in his footsteps or even let their shadows touch the royal grounds. The penalty for violating a sacred kapu (taboo) was death.
Breaking a kapu was believed to incur the wrath of the gods. Hawaiians often chased down an offender and swiftly put him to death unless he could reach a puuhonua, or place of refuge. There he could be absolved by a kahuna (priest) in a purification ceremony, then return home with his transgression forgiven. Defeated warriors and non-combatants could also find refuge here during times of battle.”
And,
“While a fugitive was in the pu’uhonua, it was unlawful for that fugitive’s pursuers to harm him or her. During wartime, spears with white flags attached were set up at each end of the city of refuge. If warriors attempted to pursue fugitives into the puʻuhonua, they would be killed by sanctuary priests. Fugitives seeking sanctuary in a city of refuge were not forced to permanently live within the confines of its walls. Instead, they were given two choices: In some cases, after a certain length of time (ranging from a couple of weeks to several years), fugitives could enter the service of the priests and assist in the daily affairs of the puʻuhonua. A second option was that after a certain length of time the fugitives would be free to leave and re-enter the world unmolested. Traditional cities of refuge were abolished in 1819.”
I love this metaphor: If you can fight and struggle and make your way to a city of refuge, you were given a second chance and a fresh start. But you have to work to get there to be healed.
Columbia is rapidly becoming a city of refuge for me.
Thanks, Abby, for sharing this.
Starving Artistry 
that is so informative.i love to learn about other cultures,i had to dig 4 the spoken history from by mouth,not written,due to native bloodline to continent,love to learn from your practice @studio,thanks again,bon voyage ,gypsy,i have blog-gypsy&soupys harley adventures,my dachy,soupy tries to do bellyrolls&snake,it is so cute,later,gypsy
i really learned a lot, arms,movement combos,how i wish u lived n tucson az area,i can’t find any classes open,3 generations from 88-54(me),need classes,& i know we all dance,mom was prof.,but i got them coinbelts& wo stuff/old tapes,i don’t need anymore,and now we r hungry 4 live classes,we wish u could take us 2 plateaus..we may b older, but we have good figures&love to dance together,i was tryin 2 recover pics of all items 4 sale,can’t get it back yet on googlereader. i looked 4 a while-thought i put n favs,but fell asleep,@ least we have the copy of homework paper critique/videos,find out about paypal in am,i will have 2 reregister,since i had 2 lose a lot of downloads &start comp. over,but i will get 2 u,even if i have to speedily mail a mo,but i think we can work with paypal they accepted my app. b4,so, rest easy,i can help,after all, what r real friends 4 anyway?bon forte,gypsy