Laie (Hawaiian: Lāʻie, pronounced [laːˈʔie]) is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the Koolauloa District on the island of Oahu (Oʻahu) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States.

Fugitives seeking sanctuary in a city of refuge were not forced to permanently live within the confines of its walls.

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.

The name Lāʻie is said to derive from two Hawaiian words: lau meaning "leaf", and ʻie referring to the ʻieʻie (red-spiked climbing screwpine, Freycinetia arborea), which wreaths forest trees of the uplands or mauka regions of the mountains of the Koʻolau Range behind the community of Lāʻie.

In this history, the term ikawai, which means "in the water", also belongs to the food-producing tree called kalalaikawa.

The kalalaikawa tree was planted in a place called Paliula's garden, which is closely associated with the spiritual home, after her birth and relocation of Laieikawai.

According to Hawaiian oral traditions, the planting of the kalalaikawa tree in the garden of Paliula is symbolic of the reproductive energy of male and female, which union in turns fills the land with offspring.

The earliest information about Lāʻie states that it was a small, sparsely populated village with a major distinction: "it was a city of refuge".

The aliʻi nui at the time was Kauikeaouli King Kamehameha III, and his konohiki (leading chief) for Lāʻie was Peni Kealiʻiwaiwaiole (which means "The Chief without Riches"); the wife to this konohiki descended directly from the aliʻi nui of Oʻahu named Kakuiewa, making his wife of higher rank than he.

Each parcel was shaped roughly like a piece of pie with the tip in the mountains, the middle section in the foothills and coastal plain, and the broad base along the ocean front and the sea.

Their names were Kahooleinapea, Kaluakauila, Kahawainui, Kaihihi, Kawaipapa, Kawauwai, Wailele, Koloa, Akakii, and Kokololio.

A new phase of development for Lāʻie began when the plantation of that name was purchased by George Nebeker, the president of the LDS Church's Hawaiian Mission.

Their dedication to growing kalo included their insistence that Saturday not be a work day on the plantation so that they could make poi for their families.

Samuel E. Woolley, who served as the LDS Church's mission president for 24 years, pushed the expansion of the operations at Laie.

The Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC), the state's largest living museum, draws millions of visitors annually.

[9][10] The PCC houses 42 acres of lush garden and water features with 6 miniature "villages" that display various cultures and traditions of the pacific islands.

[13] The marketplace is a vintage throwback to 1950s Hawaii offering nostalgic food, local goods and everyone-is-family hospitality.

[12] Also in 2015, the community welcomed a new "Laie Courtyard by Marriott", a three-story hotel housing 144 standard rooms which feature local island-style furnishing.

[14] Though small, Lāʻie has had a significant impact on Hawaiian culture, despite many of its residents' tracing their lineages from various Pacific Island countries such as Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, and New Zealand.

Fundraisers and feasts on the beach in the late 1940s inspired "The Hukilau Song",[16] written, composed and originally recorded by Jack Owens, The Cruising Crooner, and made famous by Alfred Apaka.