Lahaina - The head of the world archaeology Congress considers Moku'ula an ancient spiritual hub on par with Stonehenge and Macchu Pichu.

Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, holds Moku'ula in its oral history and mythology, and there is talk of one day transporting or carving one of its amazing statues (moai) at the Lahaina site. This is part of the growing bridge between Rapa Nui and Maui, which already share a formal "sister island" relationship established in May 1998.

Sacred sites International Foundation feels the Friends of Moku'ula's plans to unearth the former royal residence and tomb buried beneath Maluuluolele Park is "one of the most exciting developments in sacred site preservation."

And representatives of mega company Time Warner, conducting a conference on Maui in February, have offered to do volunteer work at Moku'ula. Their people will be put to work during a general site cleanup at Moku'ula and the Waiola Church graveyard, where ali'i are buried.

Moku'ula has gone global, said group board member Jerry Kunitomo.

"I don't who else will be knocking on my door, but I see the potential," said friends of Moku'ula executive director Akoni Akana.

Moku'ula was home to Maui high chiefs from the 16th to 18th centuries and the Kamehameha monarchy until the 1840's. It contained roils structures and a mausoleum.

Mokuhinia, a pond surrounding the island, included taro patches and fish ponds. Legend says the sacred goddess Kihawahine, a Mo'o Akua (large, lizard-like god), who lived in the pond and protected the alii.

The Friends of Moku'ula is pursuing a $5 million to $10 million project to excavate the 1 acre island and, if a myriad of state and federal permits can be secured, restore the wetlands around it.

As a fund-raiser, on Friday, Jan. 28th, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. at 889 Front St. is donating 50 percent of the entire day's sales to the Friends of Moku'ula. Call 661-3659 for information.

Moku'ula may, as Kunitomo described, earn recognition as a "wonder if the world" when the United Nations High Commissioner's Office for Human Rights convenes the World Conference on People's Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights in Honolulu and September 2001.

During the conference, to be attended by 10,000 + delegates from around the globe, the Friends of Moku'ula will host a symposium to discuss traditional and cultural sites.

Honolulu resident Leihinahina Sullivan, as a liaison for the commissioner's office, the event and native Hawaiian organizations, said, "one of the concerns of the United Nations is assisting in finding solutions to global issues that indigenous peoples throughout the world are experiencing, and currently it is environmental preservation and economic sustainability and liability."

In preparation for the conference, Sullivan and Lyndon Ormond-Parker of the World Archaeology Congress, and non-governmental group recognized by the U.N., visited Maui earlier this month to see Moku'ula; experience the cultural programs at the, Kaanapali Beach Hotel and Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua; and tour the Honokahua burial grounds.