Images of Old Hawaiʻi

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Captain William Brown is Killed

A Post Script in a March 3, 1810 letter from Kamehameha to England’s King George III only starts to tell a story …

“PS. My removal from Owyhee to this Island was in consequence of their having put to death Mr. Brown & Mr. Gordon, Masters, (of the Jackall & Prince Le Boo, two of you [sic] merchant vessels.) I have sent by Mr. Jno. Gl Spence Commander of the Ship Duke of Portland, a feather’d cloak & beg your acceptance.”

Kamehameha had been on the Island of Hawai‘i and came to O‘ahu – what happened … ?

These were interesting and turbulent times.

At the time of Cook’s arrival (1778-1779), the Hawaiian Islands were divided into four kingdoms: (1) the island of Hawaiʻi under the rule of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, who also had possession of the Hāna district of east Maui; (2) Maui (except the Hāna district,) Molokai, Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe, ruled by Kahekili; (3) Oʻahu, under the rule of Kahahana; and at (4) Kauai and Niʻihau, Kamakahelei was ruler.

Following Kalaniʻōpuʻu’s death in 1782, the kingship was inherited by his son Kīwalaʻō; Kamehameha (Kīwalaʻō’s cousin) was given guardianship of the Hawaiian god of war, Kūkaʻilimoku.

Civil war broke out between Kīwalaʻō’s forces and the various chiefs under the leadership of Kamehameha. At the Battle of Mokuʻōhai (just south of Kealakekua) Kīwalaʻō was killed and Kamehameha gained control of half the Island of Hawaiʻi

On Maui, Kamehameha also battled Kahekili and Kalanikūpule’s forces at a battle at ʻIao (1790).  It was described, “They speak of the carnage as frightful, the din and uproar, the shouts of defiance among the fighters, the wailing of the women on the crests of the valley, as something to curdle the blood or madden the brain of the beholder.” (Fornander)

The Maui troops were completely annihilated and it is said that the corpses of the slain were so many as to choke up the waters of the stream of ʻlao, and that hence one of the names of this battle was “Kepaniwai” (the damming of the waters).  (Fornander)

Kamakahelei was the Queen of Kauai and Niʻihau, and her husband (Kāʻeokūlani (Kā‘eo) was a younger brother to Kahekili.  (With Kāʻeo, Kamakahelei had a son Kaumualiʻi.) Kahekili was plotting for the downfall of Kahahana and the seizure of Oʻahu and Molokai, and the queen of Kauai assisted him.

By 1791, Kahekili, King of Oahu, Molokai and Maui, was on Maui with his brother Kā‘eo, King of Kauai, preparing to resist the threatened invasion of Maui by Kamehameha of Hawai‘i.

Kahekili agreed with Kā‘eo that after his death Kā‘eo was to be regent of Maui and Molokai while Kalanikūpule, the son and heir of Kahekili, was to be King of Maui, Molokai, and Oahu, but was to reside on O‘ahu and allow Kā’eo to govern Maui and Molokai for him.

In 1793, Captain Brown was a British trader, “one of that numerous group of commercial adventurers who flocked into the north Pacific Ocean in the wake of Cook, drawn thither by the chance discovery, as one result of the last expedition led by that great navigator, of the possibilities of wealth in the fur trade between China and the coast of America.”  (Kuykendall)

Brown’s three-vessel trading squadron included the ‘Butterworth’ (under Captain Brown,) ‘Prince Lee Boo’ (under Captain Gordon) and the ‘Jackal’ (under the command of Captain Alexander Stewart.)

At Maui Captain Brown seems to have entered into some sort of a politico-commercial agreement with Kahekili. Brown “had left the Isld, only a fortnight before we arrived had given them a number of Muskets, a very large quantity of Powder, and two pieces of Cannon (4 pounders)”.  (Boit)

However, for these weapons, Boit says that Kahekili had “given to him the whole right & property of the Islands Woahoo (O‘ahu) & Atooi (Kauai)”.  Later, Kamakau notes Kalanikūpule bargained for Brown’s assistance for “four hundred hogs”.

In July 1794, Kahekili died and, according to the prior arrangement, Kalanikūpule took control of O‘ahu and Kā‘eo ruled over Maui and Kauai.

Kā‘eo, who was residing on Maui, decided to return to Kauai. On the way he stopped with a considerable force on the northeast coast of O‘ahu, across the mountains from Waikiki, the capitol of the island.

Some fighting took place between his followers and those of Kalanikūpule, but this trouble was settled by a personal conference between the two chiefs, and Kā‘eo continued on around the island to Waianae, the usual point of departure for Kauai.

While resting here Kā‘eo learned of a plot among his warriors directed against himself. In this emergency he resorted to a measure not infrequently used by more civilized generals. He proposed an immediate attack on Kalanikūpule and the conquest of O‘ahu.

The plot collapsed and his followers rallied about him with enthusiasm, augmented in numbers by several bands of disaffected Oahuans. The advance toward Waikiki was begun at once and within a few days the two armies were in contact west of Honolulu.  (Kuykendall)

Kalanikūpule at once engaged Captain Brown to aid him in this war (in return for four hundred hogs.) A battle was fought on the plains of Puʻunahawele in which some foreigners were killed by Mare Amara. Kalanikūpule was forced to retreat. Six days later, another battle was fought in which Kāʻeo was again victorious.

On December 12, 1794, a great battle was fought; Kalanikūpule himself with the main army held the middle ground between ʻAiea and the taro patches; Captain Brown’s men were in boats guarding the shoreline.

Thus surrounded, Kāʻeo with six of his men escaped into a ravine below ʻAiea and might have disappeared there had not the red of his feather cloak been seen from the boats at sea and their shots drawn the attention of those on land. Hemmed in from above, Kāʻeo was killed.  (Kamakau)

Toward the end of December a plot was formed among the natives for the seizure of the two vessels (Jackal and Prince Lee Boo.) On the first day of January, 1795, the plan was put in place.

The Englishmen being thus scattered and the vessels almost deserted, except for the two captains, who remained on board.

“Capt. Brown was walking the poop, by himself, when one of ye Savages gets up on the poop, & made a pass at the Good old Captain with an Iron dagger, which he fend’d of, & seizd a Swivell worm & drove the fellow of, he was soon followed by a number more which the captain likewise beat of …”

“… but at last he was overpower’d by numbers, & receiv’d a fatal stab in the back of the neck and was pitch’d from the poop on to the main deck where he soon expir’d, & so by there savage artfulness they got possession of both Vessells without the loss of a man on there side, in the mean time they had seiz’d the Boats & People that where on shore”.  (Boit; Kuykendall)

Being in possession of the two ships, with a large quantity of arms and ammunition, Kalanikūpule and his advisers conceived this to be an opportune moment for striking a decisive blow at Kamehameha.

The surviving members of the crews were compelled, under guard, to fit the vessels for sea, and when all was ready the king and his chiefs went on board and the ships were warped out of Fairhaven harbor and anchored in Waikiki bay.

The next day Mr. Bonallack, mate of the Prince Lee Boo, and Mr. Lamport, mate of the Jackal, agreed upon a plan for retaking the vessels that night. It was a desperate venture but the attempt was entirely successful, the natives on board being killed or driven off, with the exception of the king, queen, and three or four of their personal attendants.

The ships immediately put to sea, but at daybreak they again came near the shore and, after placing the king and queen in a canoe with one attendant, made all sail for the island of Hawaii, and from there, after procuring supplies, took their departure for Canton.

In 1795 Kamehameha sailed from his home island of Hawaiʻi with an army of thousands of warriors, including a handful of non-Hawaiian foreigners to battle Kalanikūpule.

The war apparently ends with some of Kalanikūpule’s warriors pushed/jumping off the Pali.  When the Pali Highway was being built, excavators counted approximately 800-skulls, believed to be the remains of the warriors who were defeated by Kamehameha.

Within less than five months after the death of Captain Brown, Kamehameha over-ran Maui and Molokai, defeated Kalanikūpule in the great battle of Nuʻuanu, and became ruler of all the islands except Kauai. (Kuykendall)

Kamehameha launched his first invasion attempt on Kauai in April of 1796, having already conquered the other Hawaiian Islands, and having fought his last major battle at Nuʻuanu on O‘ahu in 1795.

Kauai’s opposing factions (Kaumuali‘i versus Keawe) were extremely vulnerable as they had been weakened by fighting each other (Keawe died and Kaumuali‘i was, ultimately, ruler of Kauai and Ni‘ihau.)  Kamehameha’s two attempts at invading Kauai were foiled (by storm and sickness.)  The island was never conquered.

Then, on March 3, 1810, Kamehameha wrote his letter to King George – this summary explains how/why he moved to O‘ahu.

Then, in April of 1810, at Pākākā, Kamehameha’s compound at Honolulu Harbor, negotiations between King Kaumuali‘i and Kamehameha I took place; facing the threat of a further invasion, Kaumualiʻi yielded to Kamehameha.  The agreement marked the end of war and thoughts of war across the islands.

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Luahinewai

“Kekaha wai ‘ole na Kona” (“waterless Kekaha of the Kona district”) speaks of Kekaha, the portion of North Kona extending north of Kailua Bay from Honokōhau to ʻAnaehoʻomalu.  It is described as “a dry, sun-baked land.”

Here is Kīholo, situated within the ahupuaʻa of Puʻuwaʻawaʻa.  Kīholo (lit. the Fishhook) refers to the legend which describes how in 1859 the goddess Pele, hungry for the ‘awa and mullet, or ʻanae, which grew there in the great fishpond constructed by Kamehameha I, sent down a destructive lava flow, grasping at the fish she desired.  (DLNR)

This place name may have been selected as a word descriptive of the coastline along that part of the island where the east-west coast meets the north-south coast and forms a bend similar to the angle between the point and the shank of a large fishhook. There is no confirmation for this theory, except for our knowledge that Hawaiian place names have a strong tendency to be descriptive.  (Kelly)

While only a handful of houses are here today, in ancient times, there was a fishing village with many more that called Kīholo home.

Here, too, is Luahinewai, an anchialine pond/pool – (these are shoreline pools without surface connection to the sea, having waters of varying salinity and showing tidal rhythms (Brock.))  Luahinewai (old lady’s water) is said to refer to a water-formed supernatural moʻo (lizard) that lived there.

Of Luahinewai, JWHI Kihe writes (in Ka Hoku o Hawaiʻi; Maly:) “There is a large pond near Kīholo and Laemanō; it is a famous bathing place of the chiefs of ancient times. The water there is cold, and causes the skin to tingle. Because it is so cold, it is like ice water.”

“It is said that there is an opening in this pond by which an old woman (luahine) enters. And there below the pond, are said to be laid out the bones of the chiefs of ancient times.”

“This pond is about five fathoms deep at its deepest point near the center of the pond. That too, is where the water is coldest. And if you should dive in and pass this area, you will find the cold water and not be able to stay there long. You will quickly retreat and wrap yourself up with a cloth.”

“The one who dives into it at its deepest point, will also see that his/her skin will turn red like the red coral. There are also pebbles at the bottoms of this pond, and it is a good thing, as you will not strike your foot upon any rocks.”

“The chiefs and fearless warriors of ancient times have passed from this side of the dark waters of death, and the bathing pool of Luahine Wai remains with its beauty, playing in the ocean mist and the gentle blowing of the breezes. This generation too, shall pass, and the next generation that follows, but Luahinewai shall remain as was found in the beginning.”

Luahinewai was a famous rest stop during canoe voyages along the coast.  (Ulukau) “… the ship sailed, pausing at Luahinewai to bathe and visit with that strange water in the lava.  After an enjoyable stop at the water with the pretty pebbles, they again sailed.”  (ʻĪʻi)

In 1790, Kamehameha I and his chiefs were living at Kawaihae. Following advice of a priest from Kaua‘i, Kamehameha undertook the reconstruction of the heiau Pu‘u Koholā, to dedicate it as a house for his god Kūkaʻilimoku.  During this time, “thousands of people were encamped on the neighboring hillsides.”

According to Kamakau, Kamehameha “… summoned his counselors and younger brothers, chiefs of the family and chiefs of the guard, all the chiefs, lesser chiefs, and commoners of the whole district. Not one was allowed to be absent except for the women, because it was tabu to offer a woman upon the altar; a man alone could furnish such a sacrifice.”

“The building of the heiau of Pu‘u Koholā was, as in ancient times, directed by an expert—not in oratory, genealogy, or the prophetic art, but by a member of the class called hulihonua who knew the configuration of the earth (called kuhikuhi pu‘uone.)”

“Their knowledge was like that of the navigator who knows the latitude and longitude of each land, where the rocks are, the deep places, and the shallow, where it is cold and where warm, and can tell without mistake the degrees, east or west, north or south. Such knowledge, taught on Kauai, one could apply anywhere in the world; so Kapoukahi had instructed Ha‘alo‘u (a chiefess relative of Kamehameha’s) to the letter.”

“As soon as the heiau was completed, just before it was declared free, Kamehameha’s two counselors, Keaweaheulu and Kamanawa (who resided at Kīholo,) were sent to fetch Keōua, ruling chief of the eastern end of the island of Hawaiʻi”

“Keōua was living in Kaʻū mauka in Kahuku with his chiefs and warriors of his guard. Keaweaheulu and his companion landed at Ka‘iliki‘i and began the ascent to Kahehawahawa … Close to the extreme edge of the tabu enclosure of Keōua’s place the two … messengers rolled along in the dirt until they came to the place where Keōua was sitting, when they grasped his feet and wept.”

“We have come to fetch you, the son of our lord’s older brother, and to take you with us to Kona to meet your younger cousin, and you two to be our chiefs and we to be your uncles. So then let war cease between you.”

Keōua agreed to accompany his uncles. Some of the party traveled by foot overland, while Keōua and some of his trusted counselors and guards traveled with the messengers by canoe.

“They left Kailua and went as far as Luahinewai at Kekaha, where they landed the canoes. Keōua went to bathe, and after bathing he cut off the end of his penis (ʻomuʻo), an act which believers in sorcery call “the death of Uli,” and which was a certain sign that he knew he was about to die.

(“The death of Uli” refers to death caused by the vengeance of the sorcerer, since Uli is the goddess worshipped by Sorcerers. The part cut off is used for the purpose of sorcery so that those who do a man to death may themselves be discovered and punished.)  (DLNR)

They kept on their course until near Mailekini, when Keʻeaumoku and some others carrying spears, muskets, and other weapons broke through the formation of the fleet, surrounding the canoes of Keōua, separating them from those of Keaweaheulu and his followers and calling to Kamanawa to paddle ahead.

Keōua rose and called to Kamehameha, “Here I am!” Kamehameha called back, “Stand up and come forward that we may greet each other.”

Keōua rose again, intending to spring ashore, when Keʻeaumoku thrust a spear at him, which Keōua dodged, snatched, and thrust back at Keʻeaumoku, who snatched it away. Keōua and all those who were with him on the canoe were killed… By the death of Keōua, Kuʻahuʻula and his placing in the heiau of Pu‘u Kohola the whole island of Hawaii became Kamehameha’s.”

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Kekuaokalani and the Kapu

Pāʻao (ca 1300,) from Kahiki (Tahiti,) is reported to have introduced (or significantly expanded,) a religious and political code in old Hawaiʻi, collectively called the kapu system. This forbid many things and demanded many more, with many infractions being punishable by death.

Anything connected with the gods and their worship was considered sacred, such as idols, heiau and priests. Because chiefs were believed to be descendants of the gods, many kapu related to chiefs and their personal possessions.

Certain objects were also kapu, and to be avoided, either because they were sacred or because they were defiling.  Seasons and places could also be declared kapu.

Certain religious kapu were permanent and unchangeable, relating to customary rites, observances, ceremonies, and methods of worship, and to the maintenance of the gods and their priests.

The social order of old Hawaiʻi was defined by these very strict societal rules, do’s and don’ts.

Prior to his death on May 8, 1819, Kamehameha decreed that that his son, Liholiho, would succeed him in power; he also decreed that his nephew, Kekuaokalani, have control of the war god Kūkaʻilimoku.

(Kamehameha had experienced a similar transfer of powers; following Kalaniʻōpuʻu’s death in 1782, the kingship was inherited by his son Kīwalaʻō; Kamehameha (Kīwalaʻō’s cousin) was given guardianship of the Hawaiian god of war, Kūkaʻilimoku.)

Following the death of Kamehameha I in 1819, King Kamehameha II (Liholiho) declared an end to the kapu system.   “An extraordinary event marked the period of Liholiho’s rule, in the breaking down of the ancient tabus, the doing away with the power of the kahunas to declare tabus and to offer sacrifices, and the abolition of the tabu which forbade eating with women (ʻAi Noa, or free eating.)”  (Kamakau)

“The custom of the tabu upon free eating was kept up because in old days it was believed that the ruler who did not proclaim the tabu had not long to rule….The tabu eating was a fixed law for chiefs and commoners, not because they would die by eating tabu things, but in order to keep a distinction between things permissible to all people and those dedicated to the gods”. (Kamakau)

Kekuaokalani, Liholiho’s cousin, opposed the abolition of the kapu system and assumed the responsibility of leading those who opposed its abolition. These included priests, some courtiers, and the traditional territorial chiefs of the middle rank.
 
Kekuaokalani demanded that Liholiho withdraw his edict on abolition of the kapu system.  (If the kapu fell, the war god would lose its potency.)  (Daws)

Kamehameha II refused.  After attempts to settle peacefully, “Friendly means have failed; it is for you to act now,” and Keōpūolani then ordered Kalanimōku to prepare for war on Kekuaokalani. Arms and ammunition were given out that evening to everyone who was trained in warfare, and feather capes and helmets distributed.  (Kamakau)

The two powerful cousins engaged at the final Hawaiian battle of Kuamoʻo.

In December 1819, just seven months after the death of Kamehameha I, the allies of his two opposing heirs met in battle on the jagged lava fields south of Keauhou Bay.  Liholiho had more men, more weapons and more wealth to ensure his victory. He sent his prime minister, Kalanimōku, to defeat his stubborn cousin.

Kekuaokalani marched up the Kona Coast from Kaʻawaloa and met his enemies at Lekeleke, just south of Keauhou.  The first encounter went in favor of Kekuaokalani. At Lekeleke, the king’s army suffered a temporary defeat.

Regrouping his warriors, Kalanimōku fought back and trapped the rebels farther south along the shore in the ahupuaʻa of Kuamoʻo.    (Kona Historical Society)

Kekuaokalani showed conspicuous courage during the entire battle. He kept on advancing and even when shot in the leg he fought on bravely until afternoon, when he was surrounded and shot in the chest and died facing his enemies.  (Kamakau)

His wife Manono fought and died at his side.

Liholiho ordered the bodies of his men to be buried beneath the terraced graves at Lekeleke; Kekuaokalani’s dead warriors were buried there, as well, and Liholiho pardoned all surviving rebels. It was estimated that hundreds of people were killed in this battle, the last fought in Kona.

The burial ground of the fallen warriors of the battle of Kuamoʻo is at Lekeleke at the southern terminus of the present day Aliʻi Drive.

The battle of Kuamoʻo effectively crushed any hope of reviving traditional Hawaiian religion and its accompanying kapu system.  This changed the course of their civilization and ended the kapu system (and the ancient organized religion,) and made way for the transformation to Christianity and westernization.

Liholiho and the others did not know that at the time that the kapu was broken and battle was waged, the first of the Protestant missionaries were on the ocean on their way to the Islands.

 On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries from the northeast US set sail on the Thaddeus; after 164-days at sea, on April 4, 1820, the Thaddeus arrived and anchored at Kailua-Kona.

These included two Ordained Preachers, Hiram Bingham and his wife Sybil and Asa Thurston and his wife Lucy; two Teachers, Mr. Samuel Whitney and his wife Mercy and Samuel Ruggles and his wife Mary; a Doctor, Thomas Holman and his wife Lucia; a Printer, Elisha Loomis and his wife Maria; and a Farmer, Daniel Chamberlain, his wife and five children.

With the missionaries were four Hawaiian students from the Foreign Mission School, Thomas Hopu, William Kanui, John Honoliʻi and Prince Humehume (son of Kauaʻi’s King Kaumuali‘i.)

Within five years of the missionaries’ arrival, a dozen chiefs had sought Christian baptism and church membership, including the king’s regent Kaʻahumanu.  The Hawaiian people followed their native leaders, accepting the missionaries as their new priestly class.  The process culminated in Hawaiian King Kamehameha III’s adoption of Christianity and a Biblically-based constitution in 1840.  (Schulz)

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863) (the “Missionary Period”,) about 184-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the ABCFM in the Hawaiian Islands.

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Kaulana Nā Pua

The “King’s Band” (later known as the Royal Hawaiian Band) had its beginning in 1836; it continues today.  Founded by King Kamehameha III, it became a part of daily life by performing for the public, state occasions, funerals and marching in parades.

The band accompanied reigning monarchs of the time on frequent trips to the neighbor islands and brought their music to remote destinations of the kingdom, such as the Hansen’s Disease settlement at Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai.

“The King’s Band” members in 1848 signed contracts to serve in the band, noting they “agree to serve under the orders of William Merseburgh, the captain appointed by His Majesty … (and) to meet from time to time for the purpose of practicing and improvement in instrumental music.”

“We agree to play for the king and for the other officers of the government whenever called on by our captain for such reasonable compensation as he shall award, not less than one dollar nor more than three dollars per man for any time not to exceed one day.”  (Hawaiian Star, September 22, 1906)

In the 1880s, the Royal Hawaiian Band played concerts twice a week in Queen Emma Square.

“One of our pleasant diversions was to go to and hear Captain Berger’s band play at Emma Square every Saturday afternoon.  … we all went and sat in the carriage just outside the park.  There was usually a crowd there, as it was very popular.”  (Sutherland Journal)

After the 1893 overthrow of Queen Lili’uokalani, the Provisional Government under Sanford B Dole demanded a loyalty oath of all employees, including the musicians of the Royal Hawaiian Band.

Under a revised name, ‘Government Band,’ the musicians refused to do so; the striking bandsmen persuaded Ellen Kekoaohiwaikalani Wright Prendergast, a friend of Liliʻuokalani, to capture their feelings of anguish and pain in a song.  (Nordyke, HJH)

She composed Kaulana Na Pua o Hawaii, also known as Kaulana Na Pua (“Famous are the Flowers (Children.)”)

Click HERE for a rendition of Kaulana Nā Pua by Makaha Sons.

The band was told they would end up eating rocks if they didn’t swear allegiance, a threat that inspired one of the song’s verses: “Ua lawa makou i ka pōhaku, I ka ai kamahao o ka ʻāina,” which translates, “We are satisfied with the rocks, The wondrous food of the land” (also giving the song the name Mele Ai Pōhaku: The Stone Eating Song.)

The song is rich in kaona, hidden meanings, and its sweet melody belies the passions embedded in it. The band members then organized into the “Pana Lāhui Hawaiʻi”, “The Hawaiian National Band”, which under the leadership of José Liborno went to the United States to drum up support for the Queen and for Hawaiʻi’s continuing independence. (RoyalHawaiianBand)

The “Mele Aloha ʻĀina” song first appeared in Hawaiʻi Holomua on March 25, 1893, under the title “He Inoa No Na Keiki O Ka Bana Lahui” (A Namesong for the Children of the National Band).  (Stillman, HJH)

The credit line in the May 12, 1893 printing of the lyrics for “Kaulana Na Pua” also contains a date: February 10, 1893, barely one month after the overthrow of the monarchy.  (Stillman, HJH)

The song was sung on February 1, 1894, the royalist anniversary of the resignation of Royal Hawaiian Band members who had relinquished their jobs rather than sign an oath of loyalty to the Republic of Hawaiʻi. (Nordyke, HJH)

The lyrics mention four sacred chiefs that represent the major islands of the Hawaiian chain: Keawe of the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, Piʻilani of Maui, Mano of Kauaʻi and Kākuhihewa of Oʻahu. The words are treated with a spiritual tone of reverence and respect.  (Nordyke, HJH)

“Kaulana Na Pua” serves as a voice for the native Hawaiians in their protest against loss of self-determination and sovereignty. The powerful and reverent song symbolizes a pride of culture and a plea for understanding.  (Nordyke, HJH)

Today, the Royal Hawaiian Band is an agency of the City and County of Honolulu and is the only full-time municipal band in the United States.

The band performs and marches in concerts and parades each year including: city, state, and military functions; schools, community centers, shopping malls, retirement communities, graduations, and private events.

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Ka‘ahumanu’s Evolution Toward Christianity

On December 5, 1825, eight Hawaiians were received at Kawaiahaʻo Church. This was the beginning of formal admission into the Church (except, of course, Keōpūolani, who was baptized on her deathbed in Lāhainā in September, 1823.)

Ka‘ahumanu was born about the year 1768, near Hāna, Maui.  Her siblings include Governor John Adams Kuakini of Hawaiʻi Island, Queen Kalākua Kaheiheimālie (another wife of Kamehameha I) and Governor George Cox Keʻeaumoku II of Maui.

By birth, Kaʻahumanu ranked high among the Hawaiians. Her father was Keʻeaumoku, a distinguished warrior and counselor of Kamehameha the Great.   Her mother Namahana was a former wife of the king of Maui, and the daughter of Kekaulike (a great king of that island.)

Kaʻahumanu was one of the most powerful people in the Islands at the time of the arrival of the missionaries. There were those who were higher by birth, and there were those who were higher by title, but there was probably none who held greater influence.

Generally ambivalent through 1824, it is generally accepted that Kamehameha’s widowed Queen, from 1825 until her death in 1832, was one of the staunchest friends of the missionaries and one of the foremost supporters of their cause.

The Mission Journal noted (in 1820,) “Just at evening, Kaahumanu came into the presence of the king, and they at length listened to our propositions.  After many inquiries, respecting our design, and the number of arts which we could teach, they seemed to be satisfied that our intentions were good, and that we might be of service to them….”

“When we had finished our propositions and made all the statements, which we thought proper to make at this time, we left the king and his advisors, that they might have a general consultation among themselves.”

The following day, the missionaries were told they may settle in the islands for a probationary period of 1-year.

Soon after the first anniversary of their landing at Honolulu on April 19, 1821, Kaʻahumanu, Kalanimōku and Kalākua visited the mission and gave them supplies; this visit became important because during it Kaʻahumanu made her first request for prayer and showed her first interest in the teachings of the missionaries.

From that point on, Kaʻahumanu comes into more constant contact with the mission.

She was described to have a kindly and generous disposition and usually had as pleasant relations with foreigners who respected her royal rights. She was cautious and slow in deciding – more business-like in her decision-making – but once her mind was made up, she never wavered.

In 1822, she had a change of attitude toward education. Her brother, Keʻeaumoku (Governor Cox,) proposed that they should together follow the missionaries, encourage schools and allow all their people to be taught.  Hesitant, at first, she later went along, and on August 6, 1822, she started to learn to read.

On February 11, 1824, Kaʻahumanu made one of her first public speeches on religious questions, giving “plain, serious, close and faithful advice.”

At a meeting of the chiefs and school teachers, Kaʻahumanu and Kalanimōku declared their determination to “adhere to the instructions of the missionaries, to attend to learning, observe the Sabbath, Worship God, and obey his law, and have all their people instructed.”

She had requested baptism for Keōpūolani and Keʻeaumoku when they were dying, but she waited until April, 1824, before requesting the same for herself.

On December 5, 1825, Kaʻahumanu, six other chiefs, and one commoner were baptized and received holy communion.  The widowed queen took the Christian name of Elizabeth, which she added to her official signature.

Of her baptism, Kamakau said: “Kaahumanu was the first fruit of the Kawaiahaʻo church … for she was the first to accept the word of God, and she was the one who led her chiefly relations as the first disciples of God’s church.”

In December, 1827, laws against murder, stealing and adultery were adopted by the chiefs and proclaimed by Kaʻahumanu, who addressed the people, “demanding their attention to the laws of the land … and to others which were to be taught and explained more fully to the people, before their establishment.”  The ceremonies, planned by Kaʻahumanu, included hymns and prayers.

Then, in mid-1832, Kaʻahumanu became ill and was taken to her house in Mānoa, where a bed of maile and leaves of ginger was prepared.   “Her strength failed daily.  She was gentle as a lamb, and treated her attendants with great tenderness.  She would say to her waiting women, ‘Do sit down; you are very tired; I make you weary.’”

“Most of the missionaries visited her in those trying hours.” Her thoughts were continually on the future of her islands, and she was delighted a short time before her death when the first copy of the New Testament was hurried through the press, bound with her name embossed on the cover, and brought to her.

Hiram Bingham’s account of her last hours is, in part, as follows: “On the third instant, Sabbath night, about midnight, Dr. Judd sent down to me to say he thought her dying.  I hastened to Manoa and remained there until the fifth …”

“About the last words she used of a religious character were two lines of a hymn designed to express the feelings of a self-condemned penitent coining and submitting to Christ: ‘Here, here am I, O Jesus, oh – Grant me a gracious smile.’

“A little after this she called me to her and as I took her hand, she asked.  ‘Is this Bingham?’ I replied. ‘It is I’—She looked upon me & added ‘I am going now’ I replied: ’Ehele pu Jesu me oe, Ehele pomaikai aku.’ ‘May Jesus go with you, go in peace.’   She said no more.  Her last conflict was then soon over, – in 10 or 15 minutes she ceased to breathe.”

Her death took place at ten minutes past 3 o’clock on the morning of June 5, 1832, “after an illness of about 3 weeks in which she exhibited her unabated attachment to the Christian teachers and reliance on Christ, her Saviour.”

She was buried at Pohukaina at ʻIolani Place and later transferred to Mauna ‘Ala, the Royal Mausoleum in Nuʻuanu Valley.

The inspiration and information in this summary is from a three-part series in The Friend titled, ‘Kaahumanu – a Study’ in 1925 by Gwenfread E Allen.   It focused on Kaʻahumanu’s interests and activities related to the American Protestant missionaries who first came to Hawaiʻi in 1820.

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