Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Victoria Kamāmalu

There were four children of Kīnaʻu, daughter of Kamehameha I, the highest in rank of any of the women chiefs of her day; these were Moses, Lot (afterwards Kamehameha V,) Alexander Liholiho (afterwards Kamehameha IV) and Victoria. (Liliʻuokalani)

“When I was taken from my own parents and adopted by Paki and Konia, or about two months thereafter, a child was born to Kīnaʻu. That little babe was the Princess Victoria, two of whose brothers became sovereigns of the Hawaiian people.”

“While the infant was at its mother’s breast, Kīnaʻu always preferred to take me into her arms to nurse, and would hand her own child to the woman attendant who was there for that purpose.”

“So she frequently declared in the presence of my adopted mother, Konia, that a bond of the closest friendship must always exist between her own baby girl and myself as aikane or foster-children of the same mother, and that all she had would also appertain to me just as if I had been her own child”. (Liliʻuokalani)

Victoria Kamāmalu, the only daughter of Kīnaʻu, Kaʻahumanu II and her third husband Mataio Kekūanāoʻa, was born at the Honolulu Fort, on November 1, 1838.

Through her mother she was granddaughter of King Kamehameha I; she was named after her maternal aunt Queen Kamāmalu, the wife of Kamehameha II, who died in London from the measles.

Kīnaʻu died on April 4, 1839, not long after the birth of her youngest child, Victoria; her father Kekūanāoʻa then raised Victoria. He was the royal governor of Oʻahu. She was educated at Royal School along with all her cousins and brothers.

At the age of 17, Victoria Kamāmalu was appointed Kuhina Nui by her brother Kamehameha IV soon after he ascended the throne in December 1854.

The Kuhina Nui was a unique position in the administration of Hawaiian government and had no specific equivalent in western governments of the day. It has been described in general terms as “Prime Minister,” “Premier” and “Regent.”

The Kuhina Nui held equal authority to the king in all matters of government, including the distribution of land, negotiating treaties and other agreements, and dispensing justice.

Since 1845, by legislative act, the office of Kuhina Nui had been joined with that of the Minister of Interior. Given her young age, it would have been clear to the King, Privy Council and Legislative Council that Victoria was not suited to be Minister of Interior.

Therefore, on January 6, 1855, an act was passed to repeal the earlier legislation. She received her appointment ten days later. (Hawaii State Archives)

Article 45 of the 1852 Constitution of Hawaiian Kingdom stated: “Art. 45. All important business of the kingdom which the King chooses to transact in person, he may do, but not without the approbation of the Kuhina Nui. The King and Kuhina Nui shall have a negative on each other’s public acts.”

The Constitution of 1852 further clarified some of the office’s responsibilities, including its authority in the event of the King’s death or minority of the heir to the throne. The office of Kuhina Nui functioned from 1819 to 1864, through the reigns of Kamehameha II, III, IV and V.

Kaʻahumanu was such a powerful person and Kuhina Nui that subsequent female Kuhina Nui adopted her name, Kīna‘u (Kaʻahumanu II) (1832-1839,) Kekāuluohi (Kaʻahumanu III) (1839-1845) and Victoria Kamāmalu (Kaʻahumanu IV) (1855-1863.) (Keoni Ana (1845-1855) and Mataio Kekūanāo‘a (1863-1864) were the male Kuhina Nui.)

The Constitution (1852 – Article 47) further stated that the Kuhina Nui (Premier), in absence of a Monarch, would fill the vacant office. “Whenever the throne shall become vacant by reason of the King’s death, or otherwise, and during the minority of any heir to the throne, the Kuhina Nui, for the time being, shall, during such vacancy or minority, perform all the duties incumbent on the King, and shall have and exercise all the powers, which by this Constitution are vested in the King.”

This situation occurred once, when Kuhina Nui Victoria Kamāmalu (Kaʻahumanu IV) assumed the powers of the monarchy – and, was conceptually “Queen” for a day (November 30, 1863) – the first sole-ruling female of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.

‘Prince Bill’ (later King Lunalilo) and Victoria Kamāmalu were betrothed to each other in their childhood at the behest of Kamāmalu’s mother Kīna‘u.

The seemingly inevitable marriage was thwarted by Kamehameha IV – Kamāmalu’s brother Alexander Liholiho. The king feared that his own line of succession would be jeopardized by the ardor of prince and princess.

Because he would be outranked by the offspring of their union (as would any children of his own marriage to Emma Rooke), he forced his sister into breaking off her relationship with Lunalilo. (de Silva)

“Kamāmalu died at 10 am on May 29, 1866, at Papakanene house at Mokuʻaikaua… She was in bed for three weeks before she was taken.”

“On Sunday evenings the members of her two churches pleaded with the Lord, but the trouble was too grave for their petitions. The doctors, too, were unable to make her well. The length of her life was 27 years and seven months.” (ʻIʻi; de Silva)

She died without a written will, so her vast landholdings, including much of the original private lands of her mother and Queen Kaʻahumanu, were inherited by her father and eventually passed to her half-sister Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani who willed them to Bernice Pauahi Bishop and where they became part of the Kamehameha Schools.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Lot Kapuāiwa

December 11, 1830, Lot Kapuāiwa was born. His mother was Kīnaʻu, the daughter of Kamehameha I (she became the Kuhina nui, in 1832.) His father was Mataio Kekūanāoʻa, a descendent of the Chiefs of the Island of Oʻahu (he was governor of Oʻahu, as well as a member of the House of Nobles and the Privy Council.)

Lot Kapuāiwa was hānai to Chief Hoapili of Lāhainā and Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena.  (Kapuāiwa means mysterious kapu (taboo) or sacred one protected by supernatural powers.)

He was 9-years-old when he entered the Chiefs’ Children’s School. The aliʻi wanted their children trained in Western, as well as Hawaiian traditions and Kamehameha III asked missionaries Amos and Juliette Cooke to teach the young royals.

In 1849, Lot and Alexander Liholiho (his brother) began their year-long trip to the United States and Europe. When he returned he was appointed a member of the House of Nobles and began government service.

He ascended to the throne as Kamehameha V on November 30, 1863, on the death of his brother.  “He was a master in the beginning, & at the middle, & to the end.  The Parliament was the “figure-head,” & it never was much else in his time. … He hated Parliaments, as being a rasping & useless incumbrance upon a king, but he allowed them to exist because as an obstruction they were more ornamental than rival.”  (Twain)

“He surrounded himself with an obsequious royal Cabinet of American & other foreigners, & he dictated his measures to them &, through them, to his Parliament; & the latter institution opposed them respectfully, not to say apologetically, & passed them.”  (Twain)

Kamehameha V modeled his leadership after that of his grandfather, Kamehameha I, believing that it was the right and duty of the chiefs to lead the common people. He refused to support the Constitution of 1852. By supporting the controversial Constitution of 1864, he expected to regain some of the powers lost by previous kings.  (ksbe)

“He was not a fool.  He was a wise sovereign; he had seen something of the world; he was educated & accomplished, & he tried hard to do well for his people, & succeeded.  There was no rival nonsense about him; he dressed plainly, poked about Honolulu, night or day, on his old horse, unattended; he was popular, greatly respected, & even beloved.”  (Twain)

In 1865, a bill to repeal the law making it a penal offense to sell or give intoxicating liquor to native Hawaiians was brought before the legislature.  Strongly supported by some, Kamehameha surprised the supporters saying, “I will never sign the death warrant of my people.” The measure was defeated in the second reading.  (Alexander)

Kamehameha V founded the Royal Order of Kamehameha on April 11, 1865 in commemoration of his grandfather, Kamehameha I. The stated purpose of the order was “to cultivate and develop, among our subjects, the feelings of honour and loyalty to our dynasty and its institutions and … to confer honorary distinctions upon such of our subjects and foreigners as have rendered, or may hereafter render to our dynasty and people, important services.”  (Royal Order)

Hansen’s Disease was rapidly spreading on Oʻahu.  In response, the legislature passed “An Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy” in 1865, which King Kamehameha V approved. This law provided for setting apart land for an establishment for the isolation and seclusion of leprous persons who were thought capable of spreading the disease.  The first shipment of lepers landed at Kalaupapa January 6, 1866, the beginning of segregation and banishment of lepers to the leper settlement.

By 1866, the need for a new courthouse government building in the Hawaiian Kingdom was apparent.  The legislature appropriated funds towards a new palace and a new government building. Delays ensued.  Plans for a new palace were postponed, but the new courthouse moved forward.  On February 19, 1872, Kamehameha V laid the cornerstone for Aliʻiolani Hale (now home to the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court.)

King Kamehameha V encouraged the revival of native practices. On Maui, a group of eight Hawaiians founded the ʻAhahui Laʻau Lapaʻau.  In 1868, the Legislature established a Hawaiian Board of Health to license kahuna laʻau lapaʻau. Kahuna practices including lomilomi massage and laʻau kahea healing remained legal for the next twenty years.  (princeton-edu)

Later, his summer home in Moanalua Gardens became the home of the annual Prince Lot Hula Festival, the largest non-competitive hula event in Hawai‘i.  It honors Lot Kapuāiwa who helped to revive hula by staging pāʻina (parties) at his summer home.  (Save the date, July 19, 2014, for the 37th annual event at Moanalua Gardens.)

The Kamehameha V Post Office (built in 1871, one of the oldest remaining public buildings in Hawaiʻi, and so named because it was built at the direction of Kamehameha V) was the first post office building in Hawaiʻi. For many years, it also housed the publishing and printing office of the Hawaiian Gazette and other small companies and organizations needing office space.  (NPS)

December 11, Lot Kapuāiwa celebrated the first Kamehameha Day in 1871 as a day to honor his grandfather; the first celebration fell on Lot’s birthday.  Because the weather was better in the summer, the decision was made to move the Kamehameha I celebration six months from the King Kamehameha V’s birthday (so it was moved to June 11 – the date has no direct significance to Kamehameha I.)  The 1896 legislature declared it a national holiday.  (Kamehameha Day continues to be celebrated on June 11.)

He had a law passed by the Legislative Assembly in 1872 that funded and authorized the acquisition of the hotel on the corner of Hotel Street and Richards Street by the Hawaiian government, which he named the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.  (The “Pink Palace” in Waikīkī was a different/subsequent Royal Hawaiian, built in 1927.)

Bernice Pauahi was betrothed to Lot Kapuāiwa; but when Mr Charles R Bishop pressed his suit, Pauahi “smiled on him, and they were married. It was a happy marriage.”  (Liliʻuokalani)  Lot Kapuāiwa never married.

“On the 10th (of December, 1872,) (Liliʻuokalani and her husband) were summoned to the palace to attend the dying monarch; one by one other chiefs of the Hawaiian people, with a few of their trusted retainers, also arrived to be present at the final scene; we spent that night watching in silence near the king’s bedside. The disease was pronounced by the medical men to be dropsy on the chest (hydrothorax, accumulation of fluid in the chest.”)  (Liliʻuokalani)

“Although nearing the end, the mind of the king was still clear; and his thoughts, like our own, were evidently on the selection of a future ruler for the island kingdom, for, turning to Mrs. Bishop, he asked her to assume the reins of government and become queen at his death.”  She declined. “… he relapsed into unconsciousness, and passed away without having named his successor to the throne.”  (Liliʻuokalani) (Lunalilo was shortly after elected King of Hawaiʻi.)

December 11, 1872, Lot Kapuāiwa died; it was his 42 birthday.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Moses Kekūāiwa

Mataio Kekūanāoʻa (1793–1868) and Kīnaʻu (1805-1839) each served as Kuhina Nui, a position generally described as “Prime Minister,” “Premier” and “Regent.”  They were each born of chiefs; in Kīnaʻu’s case, she was the daughter of Kamehameha I.

They were also husband and wife.

They had five children: four boys, David Kamehameha (1828–1835), Moses Kekūāiwa (1829-1848,) Lot Kapuāiwa (1830–1872,) Alexander Liholiho (1834–1863,) and a girl, Victoria Kamāmalu (1838–1866.)

Consistent with custom, each of the sons were hānai (adopted) to other families – David by Kaʻahumanu, Moses by Kaikioʻewa, Lot (later Kamehameha V) by Nahiʻenaʻena, and Alexander (later Kamehameha IV) by Kauikeaouli.  (Luomala)

When Kīna‘u’s last child, Victoria Kamāmalu, was born she refused her maternal uncle Kuakini’s request to take the child to the island of Hawaii to rear. Defying custom, she herself nursed her and her adopted daughter Pauahi (but made John Papa ʻĪ‘ī and his wife Sarai her child’s kahu.)  (Luomala)

Moses Kekūāiwa was born July 20, 1829.  His hānai father, Kaikioʻewa, was a trusted and loyal advisor and warrior to Moses’ grandfather, Kamehameha I.  When Kamehameha died, Kaikioʻewa was one of the few there with him.

“After lying there three days, his wives, children and chiefs, perceiving that he was very low, returned him to his own house. … The chiefs requested him to give them his counsel … Then Kaikioʻewa addressed him thus:  ‘Here we all are, your younger brethren, your son Liholiho and your foreigner; impart to us your dying charge, that Liholiho and Kaʻahumanu may hear.’”

“Then Kamehameha inquired, ‘What do you say?’ Kaikioʻewa repeated, ‘Your counsels for us.’ He then said, ‘Move on in my good way and–.’ He could proceed no further. … The sick king was once more taken to his house, when he expired; this was at two o’clock.” (Jarves)  (Kaikioʻewa later became governor of Kauai. Moses Kekūāiwa was also known as Moses Kaikioʻewa.)

As a child, Prince Moses Kekūāiwa, apparently “developed a violent and uncontrollable nature. … (while) embarking for Kauai early in 1839 in company with Mr. and Mrs. Amos Cooke and the old governor of Kauai, Kaikioʻewa, who was the official Kahu, or guardian of little Prince Moses. The youngster had made up his mind to go with his guardian.”

“He came down to Robinsons’ wharf where we were about to set sail, and laid hold of the side of the brig, yelling and howling. His guardian all the time continued to dissuade and expostulate. No one dared to use force upon the furious child. This continued for more than two hours, until nearly night. Finally his father, the governor Kekūanāoʻa, sent down a file of soldiers with orders to arrest and convey the little prince home to the palace near by.”  (Sereno Edwards Bishop)

Moses Kekūāiwa was educated at Chiefs’ Children’s School (Royal School.)  Founded in 1839, the original school was located on the grounds of the present Hawaiʻi State Capitol.  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.)

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

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

In addition, the following royal family members were taught there: Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, Princess Elizabeth Kekaʻaniau Pratt, Prince Moses Kekūāiwa, 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.

At times, all was not smooth at the school.  Cooke writes in his diary, “Yesterday I became a little more stern with my scholars, & had to strike Moses to make him mind. To day I struck Alexander on his head & Moses replied “he keiki a ke alii oia nei” (He is the son of the chief.) I replied I was king of the school.”

However, Cooke also notes, “Moses received quite a number of letters from Kauai, in which they call him their chief.” (Cooke Diary, August 26, 1840)

Some people say that the Kamehamehas won the kingdom through successful warfare. Kamehameha made the daughters of his war counselors, who gave him the kingdom, his wives; and their descendants thus became heirs to the kingdom for which Kamehameha had striven. …  Kekūāiwa was considered in the succession of ruler. (Kamakau)

“Moses Kaikioʻewa … (was) by far (one of) the most important young chiefs of the country. (He was heir) to existing chiefs’ rights in very large and numerous estates or lands.”  (McCully, Supreme Court Decision, Hawaiian Gazette, January 22, 1889)

At the Māhele, among other properties, the ahupua‘a of Kapālama was awarded to Moses Kekūāiwa. The land passed down in turn to his sister Victoria Kamāmalu, to her brother Lot Kamehameha, to his half-sister Ruth Keʻelikōlani, and then to her first cousin, Bernice Pauahi Bishop. The will of Mrs. Bishop established a trust founding Kamehameha Schools.  (Cultural Surveys)

Moses Kekūāiwa, the eldest male of his generation and a lineal descendant of Kamehameha I, was expected to marry a high chiefess of rank to continue the royal line.

He was engaged to the Tahitian Princess Ninito Teraʻiapo.  “Ninito was a member of the royal family of Tahiti.  She came here … betrothed to Prince Moses…”  (Hawaiian Gazette, July 22, 1898)

However, she arrived too late to be wed Moses.  In September, 1848, someone infected with measles on an American warship arrived. It spread and killed about a third of the population.

A notice in the newspaper noted the sad news, “DIED – In this town, on Friday, the 24th, inst., Moses Kaikioʻewa, son of Kekūanāoʻa and Kīnaʻu, aged 19 years and 6 months.  The deceased was the expectant governor of Kauai, and was educated at the Royal School.”  (Polynesian, November 25, 1848)  Moses Kekūāiwa is buried at Mauna ʻAla.

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David Kamehameha

Mataio Kekūanāoʻa (1793–1868) and Kīnaʻu (1805-1839) each served as Kuhina Nui, a position generally described as “Prime Minister,” “Premier” and “Regent.”  They were each born of chiefs; Kekūanāoʻa was son of an Oʻahu chief; Kīnaʻu was the daughter of Kamehameha I.

They were also husband and wife.

They had five children: four boys, David Kamehameha (1828–1835), Moses Kekūāiwa (1829-1848,) Lot Kapuāiwa (1830–1872,) Alexander Liholiho (1834–1863,) and a girl, Victoria Kamāmalu (1838–1866.)

Consistent with custom, each of the sons were hānai (adopted) to other families – David by Kaʻahumanu, Moses by Kaikioʻewa, Lot by Nahiʻenaʻena, and Alexander by Kauikeaouli.  (Luomala)

When Kīna‘u’s last child, Victoria Kamāmalu, was born she refused her maternal uncle Kuakini’s request to take the child to the island of Hawaiʻi to rear. Defying custom, she herself nursed her and her adopted daughter Pauahi (but made John Papa ʻĪ‘ī and his wife Sarai her child’s kahu.)  (Luomala)

We hear a lot about two of Kekūanāo’a and Kīnaʻu’s sons – Alexander Liholiho became Kamehameha IV and Lot Kapuāiwa became Kamehameha V (daughter Victoria Kamāmalu became Kuhina Nui, like her parents.)

We do not often hear about David Kamehameha.

Some suggest David’s birth had helped reconcile differences between Ka‘ahumanu and Kīnaʻu.

It was the wish of Kamehameha the Great that Kīnaʻu and Kamāmalu, his daughters by Kaheiheimalie, marry his sons by Keōpūolani, the highest ranking chief of the ruling family in the kingdom during her lifetime, to continue his line.

Kamāmalu became the wife of Liholiho (Kamehameha II.)  Kīnaʻu had refused to marry Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III.)  (Luomala)

When Kīnaʻu and Kekūanāoʻa were married, Kaʻahumanu was furious; “she ground her teeth and spit fire. … It was not until Kīnaʻu became pregnant with her first child that Kaʻahumanu became reconciled to what had taken place.” (Kamakau)

As was the custom, the child was hānai (adopted) by others.  Pukui, emphasizing the permanency of the hānai relationship, has stated that a child “is the hānai of his permanent, adoptive parents” and the relationship is as permanent as that in modern legal adoption.  (Luomala)

At his birth (May 20, 1828,) Kīnaʻu presented her first-born, Prince David Kamehameha, to Kaʻahumanu, “a boy fine enough for any mother not of the seed royal to glory in.”  (Judd)

A second grandchild whom Kaʻahumanu had charge of at this time was Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani. (Kamakau)

Kaʻahumanu clashed with Boki (Governor of Oʻahu.)

“He (Boki) accused Kaʻahumanu of appropriating to herself the private estate of the young king (Kauikeaouli – Kamehameha III) so that he could have no land, and of reviling him by calling him a servant of David Kamehameha and of Ruth, the daughter of Kekūanāoʻa and Pauahi, who had been one of the wives of Liholiho. But these slanders recoiled on the governor, whose folly and wickedness contrasted strongly with the prudence and inoffensiveness of the queen regent.”  (Bingham)

When Kaʻahumanu received word that Boki may try to kill her, Kaʻahumanu said, “I do not fear death planned by this son of ours, but he will have to (come) himself to kill me and these grandchildren of mine who will stay by me.” (These were David Kamehameha and Ruth Keʻelikōlani.)  (Boki later gave up the idea of killing Kaʻahumanu.) (Kamakau)

When David was four, in 1832, Kaʻahumanu died at her house in Mānoa Valley, and afterwards, David was raised by Kekāuluohi (Kīnaʻu’s half sister, who became Kuhina Nui of Hawaiʻi on April, 5, 1839 and took the name Kaʻahumanu III.)

Hiram Bingham noted David Kamehameha was “the favorite little son of Kekāuluohi;” although it is likely Kīnaʻu still had a hand in his upbringing.

Kekāuluohi joined Kawaiahaʻo Church on March 2, 1828 the third occasion in the history of the church on which members were received into it, and Kīnaʻu on March 7, 1830. These chiefesses were of the same firmness of character as Kaʻahumanu, and their husbands took a similar stand. They too were like parents to the people.  (Kamakau)

Prince David Kamehameha died of unknown causes at the age of seven, December 15, 1835.  He was buried at Pohukaina on what is now the ʻIolani Palace grounds and was later transported and buried at the Mauna ʻAla Royal Mausoleum.

On November 16, 1836, High Chief Kahana Kapaʻahea and the High Chiefess Analeʻa Keohokālole had their third son, David Kalākaua; it has been suggested that he was named in honor of David Kamehameha.

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Hawaiian Woods – Hawaiian Royal Residences

Most houses at the time of Cook’s contact consisted of a framework of posts, poles and slender rods – often set on a paving or low platform foundation – lashed together with a coarse twine made of beaten and twisted bark, vines, or grassy fibers.  This was then covered with ti, pandanus or sugarcane leaves, or a thatch of pili grass or other appropriate material.

When covered with small bundles of grass laid side by side in overlapping tiers, these structures were described as resembling haystacks.  One door and frequently an additional small “air hole” provided ventilation and light, while air also passed through the thatching.  Grass or palm leaves covered the raised earth floors of these houses.

When a chief needed a house, his retainers assembled the materials and erected the structure under the direction of an individual (kahuna) expert in the art of erecting a framework and applying thatch.

Many of these more modern royal residences were named – some were named after the material they were made from.  Here are three such royal residences.

Hale Kauila (Downtown Honolulu – Queen Kīna‘u)

Hale Kauila (house built of kauila wood) once stood on the street in downtown Honolulu that still bears the name of this large council chamber or reception room (some refer to it as Kina‘u’s house.)

While the thatch is attached in the usual way, the posts are much higher than usual and have squared timber; but the most foreign touch, apart from the windows, are the cross braces at the top and between the posts and the plate (they were never used in genuine native work.)

The description by Captain du Petit-Thouars of this house (which he calls the house of the Queen Kīna‘u:) “This house, built in wood and covered with dry grasses, is placed in the middle of a fortification closed with a fence.”

“The platform on which it rests is high above the ground in the yard about 30 centimeters and it is surrounded, externally, a covered gallery which makes it more pleasant.”

“Its shape inside, is that of a rectangle lengthens; in one end, there is a flat shape by a wooden partition which does not rise to the roof.”

“This piece serves as a bedroom, in the remaining of the area, box, and at the other end, there is a portion of the high ground from 28 to 30 centimeters, which is covered with several mats: it is this kind of big couch that was placed the ladies and they are held lying on one side or stomach, or they stand to receive and to make room.”

Hale Lama (Waikīkī – King Kamehameha V)

King Kamehameha V’s Waikīkī home was built in 1866.  It was called Hale Lama.  As described by George Kanahele, the residence “was quite modest with only one bedroom, but was notable for its neo-Hawaiian architecture – a low, rectangular-shaped structure, with a high-pitched, hipped roof that was thatched and descended to the poles of the lanai that sounded three of the four exterior walls.”

“The design suited Waikiki’s climate perfectly.  The high pitched roof allowed for the upward expansion of warm air, thus cooling the inside of the house, and the wide overhanging eaves kept out both sun and rain, while inviting the serenity and beauty of the natural setting.”

“It has been mentioned that the lama wood was especially used for building houses of the gods, that is, the thatched houses within the enclosures of the heiau or luakini, and its use in building the house for King lot, Kamehameha V, gave an excuse for its reported use by an old kahuna in the King’s establishment, for a house of prayer, and I am assured by an old resident that prayers to the gods were frequently offered therein”.

After the Kamehameha V’s death in 1872, the house and property went to went to Princess Ruth who bequeathed the property to Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop.  The Princess and her husband Charles Bishop renovated and enlarged the house with servant quarters.

Hale Kamani (Lāhainā – Princess Nahiʻenaʻena)

When Keōpūolani returned to Maui to live her final years, she had a house on the beach in Lāhainā; her daughter, Nahiʻenaʻena, lived in her own home next door – Nahiʻenaʻena called her house Hale Kamani.

It had an early and convenient addition to the common grass house in a land where the people lived so generally in the open air, was the lanai, with extensions of the rafters at the same or a slightly reduced slope.

This verandah was, generally speaking, the most comfortable part of the house.  This lanai was often detached as in the Hale Kamani and was sometimes large with walls of coconut leaves intertwined, and a nearly flat roof of similar substance which was intended to furnish shade rather than shelter from heavy rain.

At least one other Royal Residence was named after a native wood ‘Āinahau (Princess Kapi‘olani’s home in Waikīkī;) however, it was named such because it was situated in a hau grove, not that its wood was used in the structure.

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