Keopuolani

Keōpūolani
Queen Consort of Hawaii
Spouse	Kamehameha I (as Queen) Ulumaheihei Hoapili
Issue
Liholiho, King Kamehameha II Kauikeaouli, King Kamehameha III Princess Harrieta Nāhiʻenaʻena
Full name
Kalanikauikaʻalaneo Kai Keōpūolani-Ahu-i-Kekai-Makuahine-a-Kama-Kalani-Kau-i-Kealaneo
House	House of Kamehameha
Father	King Kiwalaʻo of Hawaiʻi island
Mother	Queen Kekuʻiapoiwa Liliha
Born	c. 1778 Wailuku, Maui
Died	September 16, 1823 Lahaina, Maui
Burial	Mokuʻula then Waiola Church

Kalanikauikaʻalaneo Kai Keōpūolani-Ahu-i-Kekai-Makuahine-a-Kama-Kalani-Kau-i-Kealaneo (1778–1823) was a queen consort of Hawaiʻi and the highest ranking wife of King Kamehameha I.

Early life

She was born around 1778 at an area known as Pahoehoe of Pāpōhaku, near present-day Wailuku, on the island of Maui.^[1] Her father was Kiwalaʻo, future King of Hawaiʻi island. Her paternal grandfather was King Kalaniʻōpuʻu of Hawaiʻi island who was meeting Captain James Cook about this time at Kealakekua Bay, and paternal grandmother was High Chiefess Kalola-Pupuka-Honokawahilani of Maui. Kalola was a daughter of King Kekaulike of Maui and full-blooded sister of King Kahekili II of Maui (1706–1793).

Her mother was Queen Kekuʻiapoiwa Liliha. She was a granddaughter of Keōua KalanikupuapaʻIkalaninui and High Chiefess Kalola-Pupuka-Honokawahilani of Maui through her mother, making her a niece of Kamehameha I. She would live for a while in Hāna (the eastern tip of Maui island), and then move back to the Wailuku area.^[2]

Battle of Kepaniwai

In 1790, while Keōpūolani was 11, Kamehameha attacked the island Maui at the Battle of Kepaniwai while her great-uncle King Kahekili II was away on the island Oʻahu. When the Maui forces under Kalanikupule lost to Kamehameha, Kalola along with her two daughters, many Maui chiefesses and Keōpūolani tried to flee to Oʻahu. They stopped in Molokaʻi as sickness overcame the elderly Kalola, and were caught by Kamehameha's forces. Kalola offered her granddaughter as a future bride and the recognition of Kamehameha as the ruler of Maui in exchange for peace. Other Maui chiefesses also joined Kamehameha's court. She was given her name Keōpūolani meaning "gathering of the clouds of heaven" about this time.

Rank

Keōpūolani was among the highest aliʻi of all the islands of Hawaiʻi in her days, a ranking called naha. This meant she was the product of a royal half-sister and brother marriage. Her grandmother was of the highest pio rank, a product of a full blood sibling marriage. She possessed the kapu moe (prostrating taboo) which required commoners to fall to their face on the ground at her presence. When chanters mentioned her name, listeners removed their kapa (bark cloth) garments above the waist in deference. Even the touching of her shadow by commoners was punishable by death. She was kindhearted and never enforced those punishments. Even Kamehameha had to remove his malo (loincloth) in the presence of her. She was amiable and affectionate, while her husband was not. Keōpūolani was strict in the observance of the kapu, but mild in her treatment of those who had broken it, so they often fled to her protection.

Keōpūolani's lineage gave her unquestioned social and political influence. Such an exalted birthright made her a coveted marriage partner, and a wise chief would seek to join with an equal or a higher-ranking chiefess to ensure a line of successors who would inherit the combined ranks and birthrights of both parents. Any chief who was unable to find a wife of suitable ancestry would travel to the central plain of Oʻahu. There, surrounding the sacred birthing site for high chiefesses-Kukaniloko-were the lands of Wahiawa, Lihu'e and Halemano, where a class of chiefs known as the Lo had settled. The outsider would seek a wife among the Lo, who were known to strictly maintain their royal status. It is said that many of Hawaiʻi's great rulers were descended from a Lo mother or father.

Although Keōpūolani was not Lo-Aliʻi she was still a chiefess of the greatest rank. She married Kamehameha in 1795 and their marriage linked the House of Kamehameha to the ruling house of Maui and the old ruling house of Hawaii.

Children

She mothered at least three of Kamehameha's children: Liholiho in 1797 (later King Kamehameha II), Kauikeaouli in 1814 (later King Kamehameha III), and Nāhiʻenaʻena in 1815. Perhaps up to 11 more children were born but died young. Because of the large age difference, Kamehameha called his sons and daughter born to Keōpūolani his grandchildren. The children of nieces and nephews were collectively grandchildren among the older generations of true grandparents and their siblings. His children by Keōpūolani were considered so sacred that the Great Warrior would lie on his back and allow these keiki (children) to sit on his chest as a sign of subservience and his acknowledgment of their superior status. It was an offense punishable by death for a child of unacceptable bloodlines to sit on a royal lap, so allowing a child to sit on a chief's chest was the ultimate gesture of respect toward one of higher birth. She would break the Hawaiian tradition of hānai and keep her daughter Nāhiʻenaʻena by her side.^[1]

King Kamehameha's death

Upon the death of Kamehameha I, Keōpūolani's eldest son, Liholiho, ascended the throne as Kamehameha II. For the most part, Keōpūolani stayed out of politics, but generally supported Kamehameha I's favorite wife Kaʻahumanu, who served as Kuhina Nui (Regent) during the short reign of Liholiho. After the death of Kamehameha I, Keōpūolani married High Chief Ulumaheihei Hoapili a close friend of Kamehameha who is the son of Kame'eiamoku one of the royal twins. Hoapili would secretly carry the remains of Kamehameha by canoe and bury it in a secret site on the coast of Kona, which to this day is unknown. This burial mystery has inspired the epitaph: "Only the stars of the heavens know the resting place of Kamehameha."

ʻAi Noa and Christianity

She played an instrumental role in the 'Ai Noa, the overthrow of the Hawaiian kapu system. She collobrated with Queen Kaʻahumanu and shared a meal of forbidden foods. At the time, men were forbidden to eat with women according to the kapu. Since they were not punished by the gods, the kapu was broken.^[1]

The breaking of the kapu came at an instrumental time for the missionaries who came in 1820. She was among the first of the aliʻi to convert to Christianity. She adopted western clothing and learned to read and write.

In March, 1823, Hoapili, now royal governor of Maui, asked to be supplied with books for Keōpūolani to pursue her studies. For a domestic chaplain they used Pu-aa-i-ki, also known as "Blind Bartimeus", who was known as "a spiritual light". At this time, Keōpūolani made the public declaration that the custom of taking multiple spouses by royalty would be ending, to be consistent with Christian practice. Hoapili became her only husband.^[3]:38

Illness

The illness of Keōpūolani worsened the last week of August, 1823. Many chiefs began to assemble to pay their respects to the Queen. Vessels were dispatched for them to different parts of the Islands, and one was sent by the king to Honolulu for Dr. Blatchley. In the evening of September 8, sensing that she was dying, a messenger summoned the mission families to her house.

She extended her hand to them with a smile, and said "Maikai! — "Good," — and added, "Great is my love to God." In the morning she was a little better, and conversed with her husband, Hoapili.

To the prime minister, Kalanimoku, on his arrival, she is quoted by the missionaries:

"I love Jesus Christ. I have given myself to him to be his. When I die, let none of the evil customs of this country be practiced. Let not my body be disturbed. Let it be put in a coffin. Let the teachers attend, and speak to the people at my interment. Let me be buried, and let my burial be after the manner of Christ's people. I think very much of my grandfather, Kalaniopuʻu, and my father Kiwalaʻo, and my husband Kamehameha, and all my deceased relatives. They lived not to see these good times, and to hear of Jesus Christ. They died depending on false gods. I exceedingly mourn and lament on account of them, for they saw not these good times."^[3]:41

Baptism and death

She wanted to receive Christian baptism, and the missionaries in Lahaina, Charles Stewart and William Richards, agreed it would be appropriate. However, they wanted a spokesman fluent in the Hawaiian language so the implications of the public ceremony would be clearly understood.

English missionary William Ellis arrived at this time, and the dying woman was acknowledged as a member of the church. The king and all the assembled leaders listened to Ellis's statement of the grounds on which baptism was administered to the queen; and when they saw that water was sprinkled on her in the name of God, they said, "Surely she is no longer ours. She has given herself to Jesus Christ. We believe she is his, and will go to dwell with him." She wanted her daughter Nāhiʻenaʻena to be raised as a Christian. Keōpūolani took her Christian name from Charles Stewart's wife Harriet Stewart, and her daughter would take the same name. An hour afterwards, in the early evening of September 16, 1823, she died.

Sketch by Ellis of the funeral

The next day, the ships in port fired their guns in salute, and a large public funeral was held on September 18, 1823. She was buried on the sacred island of Mokuʻula in Lahaina, Maui. Later her remains were reburied at the cemetery at Waiola Church, along with her daughter and many others in the royal family.^[4] Keōpūolani Park at 700 Halia Nakoa Street in Wailuku 20°53′37″N 156°29′4″W / 20.89361°N 156.48444°W / 20.89361; -156.48444 ("Keōpūolani Park")^[5] and Keōpūolani Dormitory on the Kapalama Campus of Kamehameha Schools were named after her.

References

External links

• Painting of Keōpūolani at Kamehameha Schools
• Mary S. Lawrence (1912). "Keopuolani “the Gathering of the Clouds of Heaven"". Old Time Haaiians and their Work. Ginn and Company. http://www.luckyulivehawaii.com/oldtime.htm#Keopuolani. Retrieved 2009-12-03.