Images of Old Hawaiʻi

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Keʻelikōlani – Princess Ruth

A great-granddaughter of Kamehameha, a grand-niece to Kamehameha II and III, and a half-sister of Kamehameha IV and V, Ruth Keʻelikōlani was born in Pohukaina, O‘ahu on February 9, 1826.

Ruth’s heritage was controversial.  She was the poʻolua (“two heads”) child of Kāhalaiʻa and Kekūanāoʻa.  (Johnson)

Her mother, Pauahi, was said to be carrying the child of Kāhalaiʻa when she married Kekūanāoʻa. Kekūanāoʻa claimed Keʻelikōlani as his own in court, and the matter was officially settled, though it would be debated again in later years, even by her own half-brother, Lot.  (Nogelmeier)

After Pauahi’s death, Kekūanāoʻa married Kīna‘u, and they became the parents of Lot Kapuāiwa, Alexander Liholiho, and Victoria Kamāmalu, making Keʻelikōlani a half-sister to these three.

Her mother, Pauahi, died while giving birth to Keʻelikōlani, who was then cared for by Kamehameha’s wife, Ka‘ahumanu, who herself died six years later. The Princess was then sent to live with her father, Kekūanāoʻa, and her stepmother, Kīnaʻu.

At the age of sixteen, Keʻelikōlani married William Pitt Leleiōhoku. While serving as governor of Hawai‘i Island, Leleiōhoku died, only twenty-two years old. They had two children, only one of whom – William Pitt Kīnaʻu – survived childhood. Tragically, he died at the age of seventeen in an accident on Hawai‘i.

Keʻelikōlani’s second husband was the part-Hawaiian Isaac Young Davis, grandson of Isaac Davis (a Welsh advisor to King Kamehameha I.)

In 1862, they had a son, Keolaokalani (‘The Life of the Heavenly One.’)  (No one knew then that Keolaokalani would be the last baby born into the Kamehameha line.)  Keʻelikōlani gave him as a hānai to Bernice Pauahi.

Lot (Kamehameha V,) forced Ruth to renounce all ties with Keolaokalani as her heir. (But six months was all the time Pauahi would have with her son. He died on August 29, 1862.)

Then Lot insisted that she adopt William Pitt Leleiōhoku II, King Kalākaua’s youngest brother and heir apparent.    She did; however, Leleiōhoku predeceased Ruth.

Determined to uphold the honor of her ancestors, she retained many traditional religious practices. Although she learned English among other subjects at the missionary-run Chief’s Children’s School, she was a staunch supporter of the Hawaiian language and traditional cultural practices.

Able to speak and write English, she chose not to. Trained in the Christian religion, she held fast to practices and beliefs that were considered pagan, including her patronage of chanters and hula dancers.  (Nogelmeier)

When Madame Pele threatened the town of Hilo with a lava flow in 1881, the people asked Keʻelikōlani to intercede. The Hawaiian-language newspaper Ko Hawai‘i Pae Aina published a letter with the heading “Ka Pele ai Honua ma Hilo” (Pele, devourer of land at Hilo) that describes the immediate danger, “Hapalua Mile ka Mamao mai ke Koana aku” (the distance from town being only one half mile). Ke‘elikōlani offered traditional oli (chants) and hoʻokupu (tribute) to Pele and later reportedly camped at the foot of the flow. The flow stopped just short of town.  (Bishop Museum)

She was a member of the Privy Council (1847,) the House of Nobles (1855-1857) and served as Governor of the island of Hawaiʻi (1855-1874.)

She was godmother to Princess Kaʻiulani. At Kaʻiulani’s baptism, Ruth gifted 10-acres of her land in Waikīkī where Kaʻiulani’s father Archibald Cleghorn built the ʻĀinahau Estate.

Keʻelikōlani was respected as one of considerable rank, and as time passed, she was said to be “Ka Pua Alii Kiekie pili ponoi o ko Kamehameha Hale – the highest-ranking descendant of Kamehameha’s line … ke Alii kahiko aku i ko na Alii e ae a pau – the chiefess with the most historic lineage of all”.  (Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, 1883 – Nogelmeier)

Throughout her life she was regularly addressed by all as Ka Mea Kiʻekiʻe – Highness. Foreigners knew her as “Princess Ruth.”

By the time King Kalākaua was elected, Keʻelikōlani was the richest woman in the kingdom, having inherited the estates of her parents and siblings.

Despite owning Huliheʻe Palace, a Western-style house in Kailua-Kona, she chose to live in a large, traditional grass home on the grounds of that oceanfront property.

She later chose to build Keōua Hale, a large, ornate mansion on her land in Honolulu.  Keōua Hale was a Victorian-style mansion, and the most expansive residence of the time; it was larger than ʻIolani Palace.

The house was completed in 1883; however, Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani never lived in the palace. She became ill immediately after the house warming and birthday luau.

Her doctors recommended that she return to Huliheʻe, her Kailua-Kona residence, where they believed she would more quickly regain her health.  She died in 1883 at Haleʻōlelo at her large native-style home (thatch house) on the grounds of Huliheʻe Palace in Kailua, Hawaiʻi.

At her death, Keʻelikōlani’s will stated that she “give and bequeath forever to my beloved younger sister (cousin), Bernice Pauahi Bishop, all of my property, the real property and personal property from Hawaiʻi to Kauaʻi, all of said property to be hers.” (about 353,000 acres)

This established the land-base endowment for Pauahi’s subsequent formation of Kamehameha Schools at her death.  Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop passed away a year later.

The image shows Keʻelikōlani in 1877; in addition, I have added related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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King Kalākaua

David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua was born in Honolulu to High Chief Kahana Kapaʻakea and the High Chiefess Analea Keohokālole, on November 16, 1836.

Per the custom of the times, he was hānai (adopted) by the chiefess Haʻaheo Kaniu, who took him to Maui, where the court of King Kamehameha III was located. When Kalākaua was four, he returned to Oʻahu to begin his education at the Royal School.

There, he became fluent in English and the Hawaiian language.  At 16, he began studying law (although his obligations and positions he held prevented him from fully completing his legal training.)

By 1856, Kalākaua was on the staff of King Kamehameha IV.  In addition to his military duties, Kalākaua served in the Department of the Interior; in 1863, he was appointed postmaster general.

In December 1872, King Kamehameha V died without designating an heir and per the law, an election was held to determine his successor.   Kalākaua made his first bid for Hawaiʻi’s throne in 1873.

The kingdom’s Constitution stated if the monarch dies before naming a successor “such vacancy, shall cause a meeting of the Legislative Assembly, who shall elect by ballot some native Alii of the Kingdom as Successor”.

They were presented with two choices: Kalākaua, who ran on a campaign slogan of “Hawaii for Hawaiians” and William C. Lunalilo.

Lunalilo won; but he died a year later, leaving no successor. On February 12, 1874, nine days after the passing of King Lunalilo, an election was held between the repeat candidate David Kalākaua and Queen Emma – widow of King Kamehameha IV.  Kalākaua won.

The triumphant Kalākaua toured the islands, stopping in every district to affirm his primary goals. “To the planters, he affirmed that his primary goal was the advance of commerce and agriculture, and that he was about to go in person to the United States to push for a reciprocity treaty. To his own people, he promised renewal of Hawaiian culture and the restoration of their franchise.” (Tabrah)

The Treaty of Reciprocity-1875 between the US and the Kingdom of Hawai‘i eliminated the major trade barrier to Hawai‘i’s closest and major market.  Through the treaty, the US gained Pearl Harbor and Hawai‘i’s sugar (and other) planters received duty-free entry into US markets.

Under Kalākaua’s direction, the cornerstone for ʻIolani Palace was laid on December 31, 1879.  Construction was completed in 1882; in December of that year Kalākaua moved into his palace with his wife, Queen Kapi’olani, the granddaughter of King Kaumuali’i of Kauaʻi.

Kalākaua was the first Hawaiʻi sovereign to visit the United States, as well as circumnavigate the globe (he did that twice.)   His travels were to study the matter of immigration and to improve foreign relations. He also wanted to study how other rulers ruled.

He sought closer ties with Japan, and in 1883, Kapena (selected for the diplomatic mission to Japan) delivered a speech in Tokyo in which he declared that “His Majesty [Kalākaua] believes that the Japanese and Hawaiian spring from one cognate race and this enhances his love for you.”  (Kuykendall)

” … Hawaii holds out her loving hand and heart to Japan and desires that your people may come and cast in their lots with ours and repeople our Island Home with a race which may blend with ours and produce a new and vigorous nation.”  (Kuykendall)

Kalākaua had a passion for music, dancing, parties and the finest food and drinks and he lived up to the title of Merrie Monarch (a reference some suggest is linked to the nickname given to Charles II of England, who ruled (and partied) in the mid-1600s.)

His friend, Robert Louis Stevenson described Kalākaua as “a cultured intellectual of unusual mental powers.” A poet and lyricist, athlete and consummate politician, he was responsible for initiating the resurgence of Hawaiian cultural arts, particularly hula.

Kalākaua was a staunch supporter of native Hawaiian civil rights.  In part, this led to a rebellion in 1887 forcing him to sign a new constitution relinquishing his powers as head of state and relegated him to a figurehead; it also imposed a fairly high property ownership qualification on those running for the new legislature.  This new constitution became known as the Bayonet Constitution.

Two years later, Kalākaua retired to Waikīkī.  His health began to fail by 1890 and under the advice of his physician he traveled to San Francisco, where he was given a warm welcome. “A title was a title, and (the Americans) enjoyed him as a personality.” (Tabrah))

He died on January 20, 1891, at the age 54, at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.  Kalākaua, Hawaiʻi’s last King, is said to have uttered his last words: “Tell my people I tried.”

Because he and his wife Queen Kapiʻolani did not have any children, his sister, Liliʻuokalani succeeded him to the Hawaiian throne.   (Kalākaua was known as a Renaissance Man and into technology – those are the subjects of future stories.)  I have added other images of Kalākaua in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook page.

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Liliʻuokalani

She was born Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamakaʻeha to High Chiefess Analeʻa Keohokālole and High Chief Caesar Kaluaiku Kapaʻakea on September 2, 1838.

At that time, children often were named in commemoration of an event.  Kuhina Nui Kīnaʻu had developed an eye infection at the time of Liliʻu’s birth.  She gave the child the names Liliʻu (smarting,) Loloku (tearful,) Walania (a burning pain) and Kamakaʻeha (sore eyes.)

In her youth she was called “Lydia” or “Liliʻu.” (She was also known as Lydia Kamakaʻeha Pākī, with the chosen royal name of Liliʻuokalani, and her married name was Lydia K. Dominis.)  As was the custom, she was hānai (adopted) to Abner Pākī and his wife Laura Kōnia.

The Pākīs reared her with their birth daughter, Bernice Pauahi. The two girls developed a close, loving relationship. They attended the Chief’s Children’s School (Royal School,) a boarding school, together, and were known for their studious demeanor. Liliʻu’s brother, David Kalākaua, also was among the royal students educated there.

There Liliʻu learned and became fluent in English and studied music and the arts. (Her talent for music blossomed and she eventually wrote more than 150 songs including, “Aloha Oe.”)

At 24, on September 16, 1862, Liliʻu married John O. Dominis. Dominis’ father, a ship’s captain, had built a New England style home, named Washington Place, for his family.  They lived with his widowed mother.  The home later served as the former official residence of Hawai‘i’s Governor and today serves as a museum.

On February 12, 1874, nine days after the passing of King Lunalilo, an election was held between the repeat candidate David Kalākaua (her brother) and Queen Emma – widow of King Kamehameha IV.  Kalākaua won.

At noon of the tenth day of April, 1877, the booming of the cannon was heard which announced that King Kalākaua had named Liliʻuokalani as heir apparent to the throne of Hawaiʻi. Liliʻu’s brother changed her name when he named her Crown Princess, calling her Liliʻuokalani, “the smarting of the royal one”.

From this point on she was referred to as Crown Princess with the name Liliʻuokalani. One of her first acts as Crown Princess was to tour the island of Oʻahu with her husband, sister and brother-in-law.

King Kalākaua died on January 20, 1891; because he and his wife Queen Kapiʻolani did not have any children, his sister, Liliʻuokalani succeeded him to the Hawaiian throne.

Kalākaua had been a staunch supporter of native Hawaiian civil rights.  In part, this led to a rebellion in 1887 forcing him to sign a new constitution relinquishing his powers as head of state and relegated him to a figurehead.

Queen Lili‘uokalani sought to amend the constitution to restore some of the power lost during the reign of her brother. Local sugar planters and businessmen feared a loss of revenue and influence and instigated an overthrow.

On the afternoon of January 16, 1893, 162 sailors and Marines aboard the USS Boston in Honolulu Harbor came ashore under orders of neutrality.

To avoid bloodshed, the Queen yielded her throne on January 17, 1893 and temporarily relinquished her throne to “the superior military forces of the United States”.  A provisional government was established.

The Queen issued a statement yielding her authority to the United States Government rather than to the Provisional Government:
“I Liliuokalani, by the Grace of God and under the Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen, do hereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against myself and the Constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom by certain persons claiming to have established a Provisional Government of and for this Kingdom.”

“That I yield to the superior force of the United States of America whose Minister Plenipotentiary, His Excellency John L. Stevens, has caused United States troops to be landed a Honolulu and declared that he would support the Provisional Government.”

“Now to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of life, I do this under protest and impelled by said force yield my authority until such time as the Government of the United States shall, upon facts being presented to it, undo the action of its representatives and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the Constitutional Sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands.”

In 1895, Lili‘uokalani was imprisoned for eight months in ʻIolani Palace for her alleged knowledge of a counterrevolutionary attempt by her supporters.

On May 18, 1896, at 6:30 am, Lili‘uokalani was baptized and confirmed by Bishop Willis into the Episcopal Church, although she had been a long-time member of Kawaiahaʻo Church.

In her Deed of Trust dated December 2, 1909, which was later amended in 1911, Liliʻuokalani entrusted her estate to provide for orphan and destitute children in the Hawaiian Islands, with preference for Hawaiian children. Her legacy is perpetuated through the Queen Liliʻuokalani Children’s Center.

Queen Lili‘uokalani died at Washington Place on November 11, 1917, at the age of 79.  After a state funeral, her remains were placed in the Royal Mausoleum at Mauna ʻAla.

The image shows Queen Liliʻuokalani in 1891.  I have added other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook page.

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© 2012 Hoʻokuleana LLC

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Keōpūolani

Keōpūolani (the gathering of the clouds of heaven) was the highest ranking chief of the ruling family in the kingdom during her lifetime.

Her name given at birth was Kalanikauikaalaneo (the heavens hanging cloudless;) she was often called by other names, as Kai (the sea,) and Makuahanaukama (the mother of many children.)

She was aliʻi kapu of nī‘aupi‘o (high-born – offspring of the marriage of a high-born brother and sister or half-brother and half-sister) rank, which she inherited from her mother, Keku‘iapoiwa Liliha and her father Kiwalaʻo.

Her ancestors on her mother’s side were ruling chiefs of Maui; her ancestors on her father’s side were the ruling chiefs of the island of Hawai‘i.  Keōpūolani’s genealogy traced back to Ulu, who descended from Hulihonua and Keakahulilani, the first man and woman created by the gods.

Keōpūolani was reared under strict kapu because she was sacred; her kapu were equal to those of the gods.  She possessed kapu moe, which meant that those who were in her presence had to prostrate themselves, face down, for it was forbidden to look at her.

At certain seasons, no person was allowed to see her.  In her childhood and early adulthood, she never walked out during daylight hours.  The sun was not permitted to shine upon her, so she chose to be among people at night.

Keōpūolani was with Kalola (her grandmother, Kiwala‘o’s mother) on the Island of Hawai‘i, when Kamehameha started his conquest to conquer the islands; victory at the battle of Moku‘ohai, there (with the death of Kiwalaʻo (Keōpūolani’s father,) was the start of Kamehameha’s rise to power.

Kalola, her daughters and her granddaughter (Keōpūolani) fled to Maui, to take refuge with Kalola’s brother, Kahekili, and his son, Kalanikūpule.

Then, Kamehameha stormed Maui with thousands of men, and after several battles Maui troops retreated to ʻIao Valley; Kamehameha was victorious there, too.  Kalola escaped through the Olowalu Pass and down to Olowalu, where she retreated to Moloka’i.  On the island of Molokaʻi Kalola became ill.

Kamehameha followed Kalola to Moloka‘i and made a “request that she (Kalola) should confide her daughters and granddaughter to his care and protection. To which Kalola is said to have replied, ‘When I am dead, my daughters and granddaughter shall be yours.’” (Fornander)

Kamehameha camped on Moloka‘i until Kalola died.  This “capture” of the women by Kamehameha, a conquering chief taking the widow and female relatives of his defeated rival, was politically important.

Keōpūolani usually resided with Kamehameha at Kailua-Kona.  This, however, was not their constant dwelling place, although it was a favorite one.

Aliʻi typically had multiple homes and divided their time between the different places of importance.  Keōpūolani spent part of her time at Hawai‘i, part at Maui, part at Oʻahu and part at Kaua‘i.

In 1797, she gave birth to a son, Liholiho.  Kamehameha wanted Keōpūolani to go to Oʻahu, to Kūkaniloko, a famous birthing site and heiau (temple,) however, she was too ill to travel, and gave birth to their first-born child in Hilo.

Kauikeaouli, her second son, was born in Keauhou, North Kona.  She named him after her father, Kalanikauikeaouli Kiwalaʻo.

The following year, her daughter, Nahi‘ena‘ena, was born.

Kamehameha allowed Keōpūolani to have other husbands after she gave birth to his children, a practice common among ali‘i women (except Ka‘ahumanu.)  Kalanimoku and Hoapili were her other husbands.

Kamehameha I died in 1819, his son, Liholiho became King.  Shortly after that, Ka‘ahumanu and Keōpūolani (wives of Kamehameha I) joined in convincing Liholiho to break the kapu system which had been the rigid code of Hawaiians for centuries.

Liholiho accomplished this simply by eating a meal with women.  When the Hawaiians saw that Liholiho was not struck down by angry gods, the entire kapu system was discarded.  Likewise, the kapu moe ended at this time, as well.

Missionaries then arrived in Hawai‘i in 1820.  The Christian religion really caught on when High Chiefess Keōpūolani became interested and impressed with the Missionaries and the message they brought.

Keōpūolani was spoken of “with admiration on account of her amiable temper and mild behavior,” said William Richards, a missionary in the islands.

Keōpūolani is said to have been the first convert of the missionaries in the islands, receiving baptism from Rev. William Ellis in Lāhainā on September 16, 1823.  She was ill and died shortly after her baptism.

She was granted her request to be buried in a royal tomb, and lays in the Waiola Cemetery in Lāhainā, Maui.

(Much of this information is from Mookini, “Keōpūolani, Sacred Wife, Queen Mother, 1778-1823.)  In addition to this image, I have included some other images related to Keōpuōlani in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook page.

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Chief’s Children’s School – (The Royal School)

Founded in 1839, O‘ahu’s first school was called the Chief’s Children’s School.  The cornerstone of the original school was laid on June 28, 1839 in the area of the old barracks of ‘Iolani Palace (at about the site of the present State Capitol of Hawaiʻi.)

The school was created by King Kamehameha III; the main goal of this school was to groom the next generation of the highest ranking chief’s children of the realm and secure their positions for Hawaii’s Kingdom.

Seven families were eligible under succession laws stated in the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i; Kamehameha III called on seven boys and seven girls of his family to board in the Chief’s Children’s School (two more students were added in 1842.)

The Chiefs’ Children’s School was unique because for the first time Aliʻi children would be brought together in a group to be taught, ostensibly, about the ways of governance.

The School also acted as another important unifying force among the ruling elite, instilling in their children common principles, attitudes and values, as well as a shared vision.

Amos Starr Cooke (1810–1871) and Juliette Montague Cooke (1812-1896), missionaries from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, were selected to teach the 16 royal children and run the school.

(After his experience running the school teaching and training Hawai‘i’s future monarchs, Amos Cooke then co-founded the firm Castle & Cooke which became one of the “Big Five” corporations that dominated the early Hawaiian economy.)

In this school were educated the Hawai‘i sovereigns who reigned over the Hawaiian people from 1855, namely, Alexander Liholiho (King Kamehameha IV,) Queen Emma, Lot Kamehameha (King Kamehameha V,) King William Lunalilo, King David Kalākaua and Queen Lydia Lili‘uokalani.

No school in Hawai‘i has ever produced so many Hawaiian leaders in one generation.

In addition, the following royal family members were taught there: Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, Princess Elizabeth Kekaaniau Pratt, Prince Moses Kekuaiwa, Princess Jane Loeau Jasper, Princess Victoria Kamāmalu, Prince Peter Young Kaeo, Prince William Pitt Kīnaʻu, Princess Abigail Maheha, Prince James Kaliokalani and Princess Mary Polly Paʻaʻāina.

They ranged upon entry from age two to eleven, and differed widely in their temperaments and abilities, goals and destinies.  But they all had one common bond: their genealogical sanctity and mana as Aliʻi-born.

The school building was square-shaped, about seventy-six square feet in area, with a courtyard in the center and a well.  The thirteen or so rooms included a large classroom, kitchen, dining room, sitting room and parlor, and living quarters for the students and the Cookes.

The entire complex was surrounded by a high wall, apparently intended as much to keep people out as to keep them in.

In 1846 the name was officially changed to Royal School; attendance was restricted to descendants of the royal line and heirs of the chiefs.

In 1850, a second school was built on the site of the present Royal School; it was opened to the general public in 1851.

In 1904, a two-story building was constructed and, in 1967, the present school was built.  A new administration/library building was erected in 2000.

Today, Royal School is centrally located at 1519 Queen Emma Street (you drive by it as you go down Punchbowl Street as you come off the freeway.)  The student body is made up of over 350 students.

Royal School truly has a proud past, as illustrated through the words of its school song: We are Na Ali’i of Royal School; We have a rich and royal past.