Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pohukaina

ʻIolani Palace State Monument consists of ʻIolani Palace, Barracks, Coronation Pavilion, Kanaina Building (Old Archives Building), Kekauluohi Building (State Archives Building) and Grounds consisting of 11 acres of land, including the perimeter wall and wrought iron fence bordered by King Street, Likelike Street, Hotel Street Mall and Richards Street.

ʻIolani Monument is one of the most important historical and cultural resources in Hawaiʻi. Before the arrival of the missionaries in the 1820s, a Hawaiian temple or heiau, known as “Kaahimauili,” was in this area.

Also on the grounds of ʻIolani Palace is a Burial Mound, a former Royal Mausoleum.

The Sacred Mound (previously a stone mausoleum) – Pohukaina – was constructed in 1825 to house the remains of Kamehameha II (Liholiho) and his consort, Queen Kamāmalu. Both had died of measles while on a journey to England the year before.

It is believed they probably contracted the disease on their visit to the Royal Military Asylum (now the Duke of York’s Royal Military School;) virtually the entire royal party developed measles within weeks of arrival.

Kamāmalu (aged 22) died on July 8, 1824.  The grief-stricken Kamehameha II (age 27) died six days later on July 14, 1824.  Prior to his death he asked to return and buried in Hawai‘i.

Then upon their arrival in Hawai‘i, in consultation between the Kuhina Nui, Ka‘ahumanu, and other high chiefs, and telling them about Westminster Abbey and the underground burial crypts they had seen there, it was decided to build a mausoleum building on the grounds of ʻIolani Palace.

The mausoleum was a small eighteen-by-twenty-four foot Western style structure made of white-washed coral blocks with a thatched roof; it had no windows.

Kamehameha II (Liholiho) and Queen Kamāmalu were buried on August 23, 1825.  The name ‘Pohukaina’ begins to be used to reference the site at the time of their burial.  (Pohukaina – is translated as “Pohu-ka-ʻāina” (the land is quiet and calm.))

For the next forty years, this royal tomb and the land immediately surrounding it became the final resting place for the kings of Hawai‘i, their consorts and important chiefs of the kingdom

Reportedly, in 1858, Kamehameha IV brings over the ancestral remains of other Aliʻi – coffins and even earlier grave material – out of their original burial caves, and they are buried in Pohukaina.

In 1865, the remains of 21 Ali‘i were removed from this site and transferred in a torchlight procession at night to Mauna ‘Ala, a new Royal Mausoleum in Nu‘uanu Valley.

In a speech delivered on the occasion of the laying of the Cornerstone of The Royal Palace (ʻIolani Palace,) Honolulu, in 1879, JH Kapena, Minister of Foreign Relations, said:

“Doubtless the memory is yet green of that never-to-be-forgotten night when the remains of the departed chiefs were removed to the Royal Mausoleum in the valley.”

“Perhaps the world had never witnessed a procession more weird and solemn than that which conveyed the bodies of the chiefs through our streets, accompanied on each side by thousands of people until the mausoleum was reached …”

“… the entire scene and procession being lighted by large kukui torches, while the midnight darkness brought in striking relief the coffins on their biers.”

“Earth has not seen a more solemn procession what when, in the darkness of the night, the bodies of these chieftains were carried through the streets”. (Hawaiian Gazette, January 14, 1880)

The March 10, 1899 issue of the Hawaiian Gazette noted that Liloa (1500s,) Lonoikamakahiki (late-1500s) and Alapaʻi (1700s) are among the buried at Mauna ʻAla.

After being overgrown for many years, the Hawaiian Historical Society passed a resolution in 1930 requesting Governor Lawrence Judd to memorialize the site with the construction of a metal fence enclosure and a plaque. (Tradition holds that the tomb was on the site of a former cave.)

In order that the spot may not be forgotten where that tomb once stood, the king has caused a mound to be raised.

The State designated the area a Monument in recognition of its historic importance, and to utilize these unique resources to educate and promote awareness of the historic and cultural character of the era of the Hawaiian monarchy.

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Million Pounds Of Sandalwood

The barge she sat in, like a burnish’d throne,
Burn’d on the water: the poop was beaten gold;
Purple the sails, and so perfumed that
The winds were love-sick with them; the oars were silver,
Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and made
The water which they beat to follow faster,
As amorous of their strokes.
(Antony and Cleopatra, Act II, Scene II, William Shakespeare)

Built at Salem, Massachusetts in 1816 for George Crowninshield Jr., the brig ‘Cleopatra’s Barge’ was America’s first oceangoing private yacht.

At the time, the concept of a ship built for pleasure was unknown on the western side of the Atlantic, where ships were built only for trade or war.

“Without any other model than his own mind supplied, he produced the celebrated ‘Cleopatra’s Barge,’ which has been admired in both hemispheres, and accomplished in her all he wished”. (Salem Gazette)

The yacht was built of solid oak as a schooner and had all the qualities of a good sea-going vessel. She was armed simply and well, and beautifully fitted out on the exterior, with fine carving on bow and stern. She had fourteen gun ports.

Her lavish furnishings included custom silver, glass and china services, and her interior decor rivaled that of the wealthiest homes.

Her exterior was distinguished by a herringbone paint scheme on the port side and multicolored horizontal stripes to starboard, a life-sized painted wooden Indian on deck, velvet-served quarter-deck lines, considerable gilding, and the latest patent windlass, pump and rudder technology.

At her stern were a salon finished with pink and deep blue mountings and gilt, a bedroom, a buffet, and a stairway leading up to her deck.

Mid-ship was a captain’s cabin and, forward, quarters for a crew, a storage area for tackle and so forth, a galley above and, finally, a spacious lounge containing tables of the finest workmanship, inlaid with palm and lacquered redwood.

She had five staterooms off the cabin, while the forecastle had accommodations for ten men and three boys.

Her registered tonnage was 191½-tons; she was 83-feet long on the water line, 23-feet beam and 11½- feet deep.

The owner, Captain George Crowninshield died suddenly on November 26, 1817. In settling the estate, the yacht was sold at auction.

She made one voyage to Rio Janeiro, after which she was sold again, and run as a packet between Boston and Charleston, SC.
In 1820, in fulfillment of a previous agreement with Kamehameha, she sailed from Salem or Boston on June 18, 1820.

“Although she bore a general cargo of “Axes, Brandy, Cottons, Gin, Hats, Hard Ware, Lead, Looking Glasses, Molasses, Muskets, Swords, Rum, Dry Goods, Sugar, Tea, Wine, Boots,” copper, umbrellas and a wagon, she left New England with a far different purpose in mind than general trade.”

“In their letter of instruction to their partner Captain Suter dated two days before he departed, Bryant & Sturgis wrote: ‘The Cleopatra’s Barge of which you have the immediate command is intended to be Sold Vessel & Cargo at the Sandwich Islands …’”

“‘… in this case you must endeavor to make your agreement with the King in the clearest manner — Stating how many Pikels of wood you are to Receive what the quality is to be & when it is to be delivered to your agent.’”

“The partners intended from the outset to sell the famous yacht to Hawaiian King Kamehameha II, son of Kamehameha the Great, who had united the Sandwich Islands and only recently died, leaving his son in power.” (Johnson)

The Logbook for the Barge’s outbound voyage from Boston to the Sandwich Islands tell the tale of an uneventful voyage whose monotony was broken only by frequent sail changes and an occasional squall.

After 138-days at sea, Cleopatra’s Barge arrived at Lāhainā, Maui, on November 6, 1820; the very next day Liholiho (Kamehameha II) was welcomed aboard along with some family members and attendants.

Liholiho’s father Kamehameha had loved foreign ships; over time he had collected a sizable fleet of Western vessels, which, with guns and training by the foreigners, were a major asset in unifying and maintaining his kingdom across the islands.

Liholiho inherited his father’s love of ships; one of his childhood companions remembered seeing Liholiho frequently sailing a boat model “like a real man-of-war” on a pond and also recalled that their favorite boyhood pastime was drawing ships in the sand at the beach.

Just ten days after his first visit to the ship, Liholiho purchased Cleopatra’s Barge and her cargo for 1.07-million pounds of sandalwood, worth $80,000 at the time.

On January 4, 1821, King Liholiho took formal possession of Cleopatra’s Barge, appointing his personal secretary, Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Rives, as temporary captain.

Liholiho then renamed the yacht ‘Ha‘aheo O Hawai‘i’ (Pride of Hawaiʻi.)

Kamehameha II was quite proud of his ship; in the words of Charles Bullard, the agent for the ship-owner: “If you want to know how Religion stands at the Islands I can tell you; all sects are tolerated but the King worships the Barge.”

During the next three years she made frequent voyages between the islands.

On one of those trips in July 1821, Liholiho sailed to Kaua‘i, intent on confirming allegiance from Kaumuali‘i (whom his father had negotiated peace and, ultimately, united the islands under Kamehameha’s rule.)

When Kaumuali‘i unwittingly boarded and was seated in the cabin, orders were secretly given to make sail for Honolulu – Kaumuali‘i was taken prisoner.

In November 1823, Liholiho traveled to England, he died of measles in London on July 14, 1824.

According to a passage from Hiram Bingham, in April 1824, “Cleopatra’s Barge was wrecked in the bay of Hanalei, Kaua‘i, and lay not far from the beach dismantled and ruined … and was given up as unrecoverable.”

“(S)he ended her career as she had commenced it – a yacht.” (Salem Gazette; Crowninshield))

Whaling soon replaced the sandalwood trade of ʻiliahi wood in economic importance. It lasted about fifty years, from 1820 to 1870. During this time Hawaiʻi provided support services to the whaling ships; people grew crops and sold fresh fruits, vegetables and salted-meat to the ships. (Lots here from Johnson and Alexander.)

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The only image of Cleopatra’s Barge in Hawaii - here at Lahaina, Maui
The only image of Cleopatra’s Barge in Hawaii – here at Lahaina, Maui
Cleopatra's_Barge,_undated
Cleopatra’s_Barge,_undated
Cleopatra's-Barge
Cleopatra’s-Barge
Cleopatra's_Barge,_undated
Cleopatra’s_Barge,_undated
Cleopatra's_Barge
Cleopatra’s_Barge
Cleopatra's_Barge,_undated
Cleopatra’s_Barge,_undated
Cleopatra's Barge-Hanalei-MSN
Cleopatra’s Barge-Hanalei-MSN
Cleopatra's Barge-Hanalei_MSN
Cleopatra’s Barge-Hanalei_MSN

by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Hawaiian Dynasties

The Kamehameha Dynasty ruled for nearly a century from the late-1700s to the late-1800s, while the Kalākaua Dynasty ruled from 1874 to 1893.

Kamehameha Dynasty

Kamehameha I, Paiʻea, Kamehameha the Great (1758-1819)
Born in North Kohala on the Big Island, Kamehameha united all the major islands under one rule in 1810.

The king traded with foreign ships arriving in the islands and enlisted some of the foreigners into his service. During his reign, the export of sandalwood to the Orient brought about the ability for island chiefs to purchase merchandise from abroad.

Kamehameha II, Liholiho – (1796-1824)
The son of Kamehameha and his sacred wife Keōpūolani, Liholiho overthrew the ancient kapu system by allowing men and women of the court to eat at the same table. At the same time, he announced that the heiau (temples) should be destroyed with all the old idols.

Believing like his father that the islands were under the protection of Great Britain, Liholiho and his favorite wife Kamamalu traveled to England in May of 1824, where they were received by the government of King George IV. However, measles afflicted the royal party and Kamāmalu died on July 8 followed by Liholiho on July 14, 1824.

Kamehameha III, Kauikeaouli (1813-1854)
The younger brother of Liholiho had the longest reign in Hawaiian history. He was 10 years old when he was proclaimed king in 1825 under a regency with Ka‘ahumanu, his father’s favorite queen, as joint ruler.

Realizing the need for written laws to control growing problems brought about by increasing numbers of foreigners settling in the kingdom, the declaration of rights, called the Hawaiian Magna Charta, was issued on June 7, 1839. The rights of residents were repeated in the Constitution of 1840.

The Great Mahele (division), the first legal basis for land ownership in the kingdom, was enacted and divided the land between the king, his chiefs and others.

Kamehameha IV, Alexander Liholiho (1834-1863)
The nephew of Kauikeaouli, Alexander Liholiho was the son of Kekūanāoʻa and his wife Kīna‘u, the grandson of Kamehameha I, younger brother of Lot Kapuāiwa and elder brother of Victoria Kamāmalu.

He ascended to the throne after the death of his uncle in December of 1854. On June 19, 1856, he married Emma Rooke.

Concerned about the toll that foreign diseases were taking on his subjects, the king signed a law on April 20, 1859 that established a hospital in Honolulu for sick and destitute Hawaiians. He and Emma personally solicited funds to erect Queen’s Hospital, named in honor of Emma.

Kamehameha V, Lot Kapuāiwa (1830-1872)
Four years older than his brother Kamehameha IV, Lot would also rule for just nine years. In 1864, when it appeared that a new constitution could not be agreed upon, he declared that the Constitution of 1852 be replaced by one he had written himself.

Known as “the bachelor king,” Lot Kamehameha did not name a successor, which led to the invoking of the constitutional provision for electing kings of Hawai`i.

William Charles Lunalilo (1835-1874)
The grandson of a half-brother of Kamehameha I, Lunalilo was the son of Charles Kanaina and Kekauluohi, a sister of Kīnaʻu.

He defeated David Kalākaua in 1873 to become the first king to be elected (therefore, technically, not a part of the Kamehameha Dynasty, although he was related.) He offered many amendments to the Constitution of 1864, such as abolishing the property qualifications for voting.

Lunalilo died of tuberculosis on February 3, 1874, a little more than a year after his election. He became the first Hawaiian to leave his property to a work of charity, creating the Lunalilo Home, which accommodates elderly Hawaiians who are poor, destitute and infirm.

Kalākaua Dynasty

David Kalākaua (1836-1891)
After the death of Lunalilo, Kalākaua (married to Kapiʻolani) ran against and defeated the queen dowager, Emma. Kalākaua was the first king in history to visit the United States.

“The Merry Monarch” was fond of old Hawaiian customs, and he attempted to restore the people’s lost heritage – such actions gave rise to anti-monarchy movements, such as the Reform Party.

In 1887, Kalākaua signed the “Bayonet Constitution,” (signed under threat of an armed uprising) that stripped the king of most of his power and gave foreigners the right to vote. Kalākaua died while on a trip to San Francisco on January 20, 1891, leaving his younger sister Liliuokalani to ascend the throne.

Queen Lili‘uokalani, Lydia Kamakaʻeha Pākī (1839-1917)
Liliʻuokalani (married to John Owen Dominis and living at his mother’s home, Washington Place) inherited the throne from her brother, King Kalākaua, on January 29, 1891.

Two years later, a group composed of Hawaiian Nationals, Americans and Europeans formed a Committee of Safety seeking to overthrow the Hawaiian Kingdom, depose the Queen and seek annexation to the United States; the Queen was deposed on January 17, 1893.

Queen Lili‘uokalani flew the US flag over her personal residence, Washington Place, in 1917 to mourn and honor Hawaiians killed in World War I.

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Collage of Kamehameha and Kalakaua dynasties-HSA
Collage of Kamehameha and Kalakaua dynasties-HSA
Collage of images of Kamehameha and Kalakaua dynasties-HSA
Collage of images of Kamehameha and Kalakaua dynasties-HSA

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Liholiho and the Missionaries

“March 30th, 1820. – Memorable day – a day which brings us in full view of that dark pagan land so long the object of our most interested thoughts. Between twelve and one this morning, the word was from Thomas who was up watching, ‘land appears.’” (Sybil Bingham Journal)

“On the morning of the 4th of April, 163-day from Boston, we came to anchor, abreast of the village of Kailua. Between our mooring and the shore, a great number of the natives-men, women and children, from the highest to the lowest rank, including the king and his mother, were amusing themselves in the water.”

“Among the hundreds on the beach, where we landed, was the tall, portly, gigantic figure of a native chieftain, in his prime, Kuakini, the brother of Kaahumanu, and subsequently, the governor of Hawaii, who invited us to his house.”

“After a short call there, and another at Mr. John Young’s, we eagerly sought the king, at his dingy, unfurnished, thatched habitation, where we found him returned from his sea-bathing. On our being introduced to him, he, with a smile, gave us the customary ‘Aloha.’” (Hiram Bingham)

“We made known to him the kind wishes of the American Board, and its friends, and asked permission to settle in his country, for the purpose of teaching the nation Christianity, literature and the arts. He was slow to consent, as might have been expected.”

“The king and his four mothers, and five wives, and little brother and sister, constituted the royal family, if such a group can properly be called a family. Two of his wives, Kamamalu, and Kīna‘u, were his father’s daughters; and a third, Kekauluohi, a half-sister of theirs, had been his father’s wife.”

“Being a polygamist, as many of the chiefs were, the king doubtless felt what he expressed as an objection to our settlement; ‘If I receive and patronize these missionaries, I shall not be allowed but one wife.’ As our observed practice had probably suggested the objection, we allowed our practice for the time being to give the true answer.” (Hiram Bingham)

“While the question of our settlement was pending, we invited and received the royal family on board the brig to dine. They came off in their double canoe, with waving kahilis and a retinue of attendants. His majesty, according to the taste of the time, having a malo or narrow girdle around his waist, a green silken scarf over his shoulder”.

“Happy to show civilities to this company, at our own table, we placed the king at the head of it, and implored the blessing of the King of kings, upon our food, and on the interview. All assembled on the quarter-deck of the Thaddeus; and the mission family with the aid of a bass-viol, played by George P Kaumuali‘i, and of the voices of the captain and officers, sang hymns of praise.”

“On the 7th, several of the brethren and sisters visited the king and chiefs, endeavoring to make their acquaintance and secure their confidence. On the 8th, we felt it necessary to ask of the king that a part of our mission might disembark at Kailua, and the rest at Honolulu, believing that it would be far better than for us all to leave the king, and go to Oahu, or for all to remain with
him at Kailua, which he was proposing to leave ere long.” (Hiram Bingham)

“On Monday morning, the 10th of April, all the brethren repaired to the shore, to do what was practicable to get the royal permission to station part of the mission at Kailua, and the rest at Oahu. On renewing our application, the king said he should wait till the return of Kaahumanu. She had gone out on a fishing excursion.”

“Just at sunset, Kaahumanu and the king gave us the opportunity of freely stating to them our wishes. The whole subject of our location was reconsidered. The reasons for our coming to the country were recapitulated, the useful arts with which the missionaries were acquainted, were at the king’s request enumerated.”

“The considerations in favor of entering on our labors both at Hawaii and Oahu, were presented; the inquiries of their majesties, respecting our business, and our qualifications to promote their temporal good, frankly answered, and our hopes and wishes expressed. that they would give our proposal due consideration, and early grant us a favorable answer.”

“This done, we gave them our aloha, and left them to hold a consultation among themselves by night.” (Hiram Bingham)

“April 11th. Still on board the Thaddeus. It is now the thirteenth day since we made the land. There is not the least hostility on the part of the natives; on the contrary, all appear friendly. It is difficult to say why we are so delayed.” (Sybil Bingham Journal)

“1 o’clock. The important decision is made.” (Sybil Bingham Journal)

“(We sought) permission to take such situations for a year, a very short probation for such an experiment. This the king granted, not only permitting us to reside and labor at different islands, but offering us such a shelter as the grassy huts of the country afforded, and such protection as in their rude and degraded state he could give. This was as much as it was prudent to ask at the time.” (Hiram Bingham)

“We are to proceed to Hoahoo (O‘ahu) to make the principal establishment, leaving two of our brethren and sisters in this place.” (Sybil Bingham Journal)

While the initial approval of allowing the missionaries to stay in the Islands was an extensive process, within a couple of years, after the missionaries developed an initial vocabulary of the previously only-oral language and teaching reading and writing to the Hawaiians, Liholiho wrote a letter to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Commissions:

“Oahu March 18, 1823, To those of the American Board”

“Deep regards to all of you dwelling there in America. Here is my bit of message to all of you. We have recently learned literacy, we have seen and heard the good word of Jehovah.”

“We really desire the good teachings of Jesus Christ. What he has taught all of us is excellent indeed and we have finally become learned.”

“We were shown compassion by Jehovah, who sent Mr Bingham and Mr Thurston and all the teachers. And they dwelled with us here and our lands have become enlightened.”

“Our hearts rejoice for their good teaching to us. Our hearts are joyful at Jehovah’s words to us. That bit of message is finished. Here is another message: you may have already heard.”

“I will clarify so that you all hear. We had wooden deities before, during my father’s time. In my time, I have abandoned wooden deities. It turns out my abandoning of them beforehand was appropriate, for Mr. Bingham, Mr. Thurston and all the teachers were arriving.”

“It is through our father that I may greet all of you. Jesus Christ was good in speaking to you, saying to you all, “Go and teach throughout the islands, and preach the good word of salvation.”

“The ministers sailed here to do good things for us, we were overjoyed. And later on we may well be fully virtuous. We observe the sacred day of Almighty God in heaven, savior of us all.”

“Greatly beloved are all of you for thinking of us, for sending them here. Thankfully you sent teachers or our lands would be completely ignorant. But no, you showed us compassion. Our lands have become enlightened.”

“Deep regards to all of you. May we have salvation through Jehovah and Jesus Christ our Lord. Tamehameha, King of Hawai‘i” (The Liholiho Letter is part of the Ali‘i Letters Collection at Mission Houses; a recent project where Puakea Nogelmeier and his students translated the Ali’i Letters.)

You may find it and other letters written by Hawaiian Chiefs at the Missions Houses’ website:

http://hmha.missionhouses.org/collections/show/178

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Tamehameha_2d,_His_Majesty_the_King_of_the_Sandwich_Islands,_drawn_on_stone_from_life_by_John_Hayter-1824
Liholiho Letter to ABCFM - March 18, 1823-1
Liholiho Letter to ABCFM – March 18, 1823-1
Liholiho Letter to ABCFM - March 18, 1823-2
Liholiho Letter to ABCFM – March 18, 1823-2

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kalākua

“Kalākua, a widow of Kamehameha … asked (the missionary women) to make a gown for her in fashion like their own.” (Bingham) “(She) was told that it was the Lord’s day, and that they would make it tomorrow.” (April 2, 1820, Thaddeus Journal)

The next day, the first Hawaiian sewing circle was held on the decks of the Thaddeus, “Kalākua brought a web of white cambric to have a dress made for herself in the fashion of our ladies, and was very particular in her wish to have it finished while sailing along the western side of the island, before reaching the king.”

“Monday morning April 3d (1820,) the first sewing circle was formed that the sun ever looked down upon in the Hawaiian realm. Kalākua was directress. She requested all the seven white ladies to take seats with them on mats, on the deck of the Thaddeus.”

“The dress was made in the fashion of 1819. The length of the skirt accorded with Brigham Young’s rule to his Mormon damsels, – have it come down to the tops of the shoes. But in the queen’s case, where the shoes were wanting, the bare feet cropped out very prominently.” (Lucy Thurston, part of the Pioneer Company)

Kalākua (also Kaheiheimālie) (c. 1778–1842) was daughter of Keʻeaumoku, a chief from Hawaiʻi Island and Namahana, from the royal family on Maui. She was described as physically being ‘tall and gigantic,’ like her siblings. (Bingham)

“(Kalākua) was never a woman to indulge in flirtations, and her name was never coupled with gossip. She may have had her longings, but she remained true to her husband; and her children were never rumored to have been born of a double paternity like so many of the chiefs.”

“Double paternity was considered an honor because it gave a double or triple line of chiefly descent, thick and intermingled, and formed an honorable ancestry doubly blessed in such riches and knowledge as chiefs desire.”

“Not so (Kalākua,) who considered herself sufficiently honored with the root already established. Kamehameha was her uncle, and both he and Keʻeaumoku were directly descended from Haʻae.” (Kamakau)

Kalākua’s siblings included Queen Kaʻahumanu, Hawaiʻi Island Governor John Adams Kuakini, Maui Governor George Cox Kahekili Keʻeaumoku II and Lydia Namahana Piʻia. She first married Kalaʻimamahu, the younger brother of Kamehameha I.

They had a daughter, Kekāuluohi; Kekāuluohi became Kamehameha’s youngest wife. Liholiho (Kamehameha II) later took her as one of his wives and around 1821 Kamehameha II gave Kekāuluohi to his friend Charles Kanaʻina. By Kanaʻina, Kekāuluohi had a son William Charles Lunalilo (future king of the Islands.)

Kekāuluohi succeeded her half-sister Kīnaʻu as Kuhina Nui. Initially, she was considered something of a “place-holder” for Kīnaʻu’s infant daughter Victoria Kamāmalu, who would later assume the office. (Archives)

With Kamehameha I, Kalākua had four children: their two sons died as infants; the oldest daughter, Kamāmalu, became wife of Liholiho (Kamehameha II,) and the youngest daughter, Kīnaʻu, later became Kuhina Nui.

Kīnaʻu later married Mataio Kekūanāoʻa; they had several children, including Lot Kapuāiwa (afterwards Kamehameha V,) Alexander Liholiho (afterwards Kamehameha IV) and Victoria. (Liliʻuokalani) That made Kalākua mother of another Queen consort, and grandmother of three future Kings.

“The death of Kamehameha made the first separation from the man she had lived with for twenty years. There was no woman of his household whom Kamehameha loved so much as (Kalākua.)”

“Kamehameha is never known to have deserted (Kalākua,) but it has often been said that she did not love him so much as her first husband Kalaʻimamahu from whom Kamehameha took her away.” (Kamakau)

“In September, 1823, she heard in Hawaii of Keōpūolani’s death and sailed at once for Lāhainā to attend the burial ceremonies. The chiefs had all assembled at Lāhainā, the body of the chiefess had been concealed, and (Hoapili) was in mourning.”

“After the days of mourning were ended (Kalākua) became the wife of (Hoapili) (October 19, 1823,) they became converted, were married under Christian vows, and took the names of Hoapili-kāne and Mary Hoapili-wahine [the Hawaiian form of Mr. and Mrs.]”

“At this time she had not thought much about religion. The chiefs took to drinking and sensual indulgence after the death of the chiefess [Keōpūolani], but (Kalākua) listened to the word of God as taught by the missionaries although in her heart she still enjoyed life and fun.”

“Hoapili had accepted the word of God because of Keōpūolani. (Kalākua) turned to Christianity first, and Kaʻahumanu followed.” (Kamakau)

In 1823, Kalākua (Kaheiheimālie and Hoapili-wahine) offered the American missionaries a tract of land on the slopes surrounding Puʻu Paʻupaʻu for the creation of a school.

Betsey Stockton founded a school for makaʻāinana (common people) including the women and children. The site of the school is now Lahainaluna School.

A good work for which Hoapili-kāne is celebrated was the building of the church at Waineʻe; the cornerstone was laid on September 14, 1828, for this ‘first stone meeting-house built at the Islands.’

It was dedicated on March 4, 1832 and served as the church for Hawaiian royalty during the time when Lāhainā was effectively the Kingdom’s capital, from the 1820s through the mid-1840s (it was destroyed by fire in 1894.) In addition, he erected the Lāhainā fort to guard the village against rioting from the whalers off foreign ships and from law breakers. (Kamakau)

When Lot Kapuāiwa was born to Mataio Kekūanāoʻa and Kīnaʻu, he was hānai by his grandmother Kalākua (Kaheiheimālie and Hoapili-wahine) and step-grandfather Hoapili-kāne. (Lot Kapuāiwa later became King Kamehameha V.) Kalākua died January 16, 1842 and is buried at Waine‘e (now Waiola) Cemetery.

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Hoapiliwahine_by_C._C._Armstrong
Hoapiliwahine_by_C._C._Armstrong