Question: I have heard there are labyrinths in Hawaii, including at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. Can you tell me where they are and why they were built?

Answer: The Labyrinth Society lists 22 in Hawaii, including "portable" ones.

Go to labyrinthsociety.org, click on "labyrinth locator" and type in "Hawaii."

For lack of space, we’ll focus on the four listed for Oahu: at UH-Manoa’s Sustainability Court, St. Clement’s Episcopal Church in Makiki, Our Lady of Kea’au Retreat and Conference Centre in Waianae and Dole Plantation in Wahiawa.

The Dole maze is listed, although there are distinct differences between a maze — a complex, multibranch puzzle involving choices — and a labyrinth — a single path, often spiritual, leading to a center.

» The outdoor labyrinth at Our Lady of Kea’au, a ministry of St. Francis Healthcare System in Waianae, was built in 2006 by volunteer members of St. Andrew’s Cathedral. Designed by Kim Patterson, it is a medieval-style layout made of grass and lava rocks.

It is reserved for those participating in spiritual retreats and is not open to the general public.

» The labyrinth at UH-Manoa, 2500 Campus Road, was designed by School of Architecture students in 2006 and painted onto an open concrete courtyard. Described as classical in style, it has faded over the years.

We contacted UH but were not able to obtain more information.

» The labyrinth at St. Clement’s Episcopal Church, 1515 Wilder Ave., patterned after one at Chartres Cathedral in France, was installed in 2006 following major renovations to the church and parish hall.

"One of the things we were committed to was making St. Clement’s more accessible to the neighborhood," said the Rev. Liz Zivanov, church rector.

The large parking area fronting the church was viewed as a possible "spiritual activity place that would be easily accessible to the community," she said. "By putting a labyrinth in there, what we had was something that anybody could walk to and walk through."

Groups generally have reserved the area for the late afternoon or evening.

The public is welcome to visit any time, but after 5 p.m. the first Tuesday of the month is "when we promise no cars are (parked) there," Zivanov said.

The labyrinth, paid for by church members Rick and Kay James, was created by a specialist from the mainland, with a crew of four, and "every little brick and stone and every bit of painting was done by hand. Then it was sealed so we could park on it," Zivanov said.

It is more than 42 feet in diameter, and a complete circuit is one-third of a mile long.

The idea behind the labyrinth?

It can be an analogy to birth and walking through life, with all its "turns and snags," Zivanov said.

As you walk through the labyrinth, "you leave behind the distractions and chaos. … As you get to the center, you kind of just stand there and soak in the peace and maybe pray. On your way out, you think about what you may have gained while you’re doing this and try to take those insights with you. And then it’s transitioning back into the world we know every day."

» Dole’s Pineapple Garden Maze, 64-1550 Kamehameha Highway, is no longer the world’s largest outdoor maze, but is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest permanent hedge maze, featuring more than 14,000 Hawaiian plants.

It opened in 1998 and was expanded in 2008. Open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except Christmas Day. There are admission fees.

The maze sits on more than 3 acres, with a total path nearly 2.5 miles long and a pineapple design in the center.

It grew out of the vision of an executive with Castle & Cooke, who had come across mazes during his travels, explained Mike Moon, operations director for Dole Plantation.

"Dole Plantation is really trying to promote ag tourism" so the idea was to "mesh" agriculture and tourism together "as a fun way to promote Hawaii," he said. Visitors "come through (the maze) and see the Hawaii fauna and be entertained through this maze experience."

The maze was designed by the local landscape design firm Brownlie & Lee and took about 18 months to create.

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