The Legends and Myths of Hawaii: The fables and folk-lore of a strange people

by King of Hawaii David Kalakaua

By some the defection of Kaiana has been attributed to cold-blooded and unprovoked treachery; by others to an assumption by Kaiana that by blood Kamehameha was not entitled to the sovereignty of the group, and that his defeat in Oahu would dispose of his pretensions in that direction, and possibly open to himself a way to supreme power; and by still others to the jealousies of Kamehameha, which rendered the life of Kaiana no longer safe in his service. By these it is claimed that Kamehameha was jealous, not only of the growing military fame of Kaiana, but of a suspected regard of his favorite wife, Kaahumanu, for the handsome and distinguished chief. And this, indeed, as shown by native and other testimony, seems to have been the leading if not sole cause of the estrangement between Kamehameha and his great captain.

In the council of chiefs on the island of Molokai, to which Kaiana was not invited, and which he had reason to believe had decreed his death, ambition was the crime which Kamehameha imputed to him, when in truth the real and unmentioned offence was his suspected intimacy with Kaahumanu. And so it will appear that women’s eyes in Hawaii, as elsewhere, have in all ages swayed the hearts and nerved the arms of the greatest, and not unfrequently changed the current of vital political events.

But, before bringing Kaiana full into the light, it is proper that some reference should be made to the great chief under whose banners he so stubbornly fought, and against whose authority he finally rebelled; and in doing so it will be interesting, perhaps, to glance briefly at certain prominent events connected with the rediscovery of the islands by Captain Cook, the assumption of the sovereign authority of Hawaii by Kamehameha, and the final consolidation of the several islands of the group under one central government.

Kamehameha was a man of tremendous physical and intellectual strength. In any land and in any age he would have been a leader. The impress of his mind remains with his crude and vigorous laws, and wherever he stepped is seen an imperishable track. He was so strong of limb that ordinary men were but children in his grasp, and in council the wisest yielded to his judgment. He seems to have been born a man and to have had no boyhood. He was always sedate and thoughtful, and from his earliest years cared for no sport or pastime that was not manly. He had a harsh and rugged face, less given to smiles than frowns, but strongly marked with lines indicative of self-reliance and changeless purpose. He was barbarous, unforgiving and merciless to his enemies, but just, sagacious and considerate in dealing with his subjects. He was more feared and admired than loved and respected; but his strength of arm and force of character well fitted him for the supreme chieftaincy of the group, and he accomplished what no one else could have done in his day.

Kamehameha was born at Kohala, Hawaii, in November, 1740. His father was Keoua, half-brother of Kalaniopuu, and nephew of Alapainui, who was at that time king of Hawaii. His mother was Kekuiapoiwa, a granddaughter of Kalanikauleleiaiwi, who was a sister of Keawe, the previous moi of the island. This sister was the mother of Alapainui by a chief of the Mahi family of Kohala. With another husband—Lonoikahaupu, a tabu chief of Kauai—she became the mother of Keawepoepoe, who was the father of Keeaumoku, Kameeiamoku and Kamanawa, who, with Keawe-a-Heulu, were the principal chiefs and supporters of Kamehameha in his conquest of the group. By a Kauai wife Lonoikahaupu became the grandfather of Kaumualii, the last independent sovereign of Kauai, and grandfather of Kapiolani, the present queen of the islands.

Keawe, the previous king of Hawaii, had four recognized wives, and two others whose names have not been preserved by tradition. One of them was the mother of Ahaula, who was the father of Kaiana. On the death of Keawe his two elder sons lost their lives in a struggle for the mastery, and Alapainui, the son of the sister of Keawe, and who through his father was chief of Kohala, assumed the moiship, and, after a few battles, peacefully maintained his claim to it. Having secured the sovereignty of the island, he invited to court the elder sons of his two deceased half-brothers, and there maintained them until one of them died and the other rose in rebellion against him. These two sons were Kalaniopuu, who was king of the island at the time of the arrival of Captain Cook in 1778, and Keoua, the father of Kamehameha. The mother of these wards of Alapainui was Kamakaimoku, a chiefess of Oahu. Their fathers having been brothers, and Kamakaimoku being the mother of both, they bore to each other the mixed relationship of half-brother and cousin. She also became the wife of Alapainui, and by him the mother of Manoua, who was the grandmother of Kekuaokalani, the last distinguished champion of idolatry in 1819.

To this record of the tangled relationships of the chiefly families of the group at that period may be added the intimations of tradition that Peleioholani, a chief of Kauai, was the actual father of Kalaniopuu, and that Kahekili, the moi of Maui, was the real father of Kamehameha; and in proof of the latter the acts and admissions of Kahekili are cited. But these scandals may very properly be dismissed as the offspring of the hatred and jealousies of later years.

Kamehameha was born at Kohala while Alapainui was there with his court, superintending the collection of a mighty fleet for the invasion of Maui. It was a stormy night, and the first sounds that greeted the ears of the infant chief were the howling of the winds and the din of warlike preparations. On the night of its birth the child was stolen from its mother’s side and carried away by Naeole, the chief of Halawa, and for some days nothing was heard of it. The father searched and the mother wailed, but the infant could not be found. It was finally discovered, however, and Naeole, instead of being punished for the theft, was allowed to keep possession of the child until it was five years old, when it was taken to the court of Alapainui and there reared as became a prince. Tradition assigns no reason for the theft of the child, or for the retention of it for five years by the kidnapper; but, whatever may have been the reason, it is manifest that Naeole’s offence was considered neither flagrant nor unusual.

When Kamehameha reached the age of twelve or fourteen years, his father, Keoua, suddenly died, and a suspicion became current that he had been either poisoned or prayed to death through the instrumentality of Alapainui. This suspicion seems to have been shared by Kalaniopuu, and believing, or assuming to believe, that his own life was in danger, he withdrew from the court and attempted to take with him Kamehameha; but in this he was frustrated. A fight occurred at Piopio while the body of Keoua was lying there in state, and Kalaniopuu was driven to his war-canoe, in which he escaped. This act placed him in open revolt against his royal uncle, and he prepared to sustain it. Forces were hastily gathered on both sides, and after a few battles, in which Kalaniopuu was generally unsuccessful, he retired to the district of Kau, and declared himself the independent sovereign of the southern portion of the island. For some reason Alapainui did not disturb his rebellious nephew farther, but spent the two remaining years of his life in Hilo and Waipio, the residence of many of the ancient mois.

When Alapainui died he was succeeded by his son Keaweopala. Dissatisfied with his allotment of lands, Keeaumoku, a nephew of the dead king, rebelled against the new moi, but was defeated and compelled to seek safety with Kalaniopuu, whom he found already in the field, intent upon contesting the sovereignty of the island with Keaweopala. The two joined forces, and met and defeated the royal army in Kona. Keaweopala was slain in battle, and Kalaniopuu was declared moi of Hawaii. Young Kamehameha was taken to the court of his royal uncle, and educated in all the princely accomplishments of the period.