A Furious Journey of Life or Death was Determined by the Gods. Imagine you had just broken the sacred laws, the kapu, and the only punishment was death. Your only chance of survival is to elude your pursuers and reach the Pu?uhonua, a place of refuge. The Pu'uhonua protected the kapu breaker, defeated warriors, as well as civilians during the time of battle. No physical harm could come to those who reached the boundaries of the Pu'uhonua.

...Excerpt from NPS website