Keliimaikai
Encyclopedia
Kalanimālokuloku-i-Kepookalani Keliimaikai (c. 1765-1809) was a High Chief and the most popular brother of Kamehameha the Great, who founded the Kingdom of Hawaii
. He was generally credited as an ancestor of Queen Emma of Hawaii
, the consort of Kamehameha IV
, a candidate for the Royal Election of 1872. His name Keliimaikai in the Hawaiian language
means "The Good Chief". Sometimes his name is spelled Kealiimaikai. or by visiting Europeans as Tidi Miti. He is sometimes called a Prince
due his relation to Kamehameha. He was also the Chief Priest of Io and Kāne
of the Kona district
and father was High Chief Keōua
of the Kohala district
. His only full brother was Kamehameha I
, although he had many half-siblings through his parents' other marriages. His father Keōua was the grandson of King Keaweikekahialiiokamoku, who had once ruled a large portion of the island of Hawaii. After his death the island erupted into civil war and Alapainui, a chief of Kona, gained the upper hand and dispossessed his father of his lands in Kohala. Kekuiapoiwa II was daughter of Haae-a-Mahi, and niece of King Alapainui.
When he grew up and King Alapai was long dead, he assisted his brother in unifying the Big Island of Hawaii. Keliimaikai was known for his kindness, compassion, and mercy to his enemies. For this reason he was Kamehameha's most popular brother. The story of how he came to be known as Keliimaikai ("the Good Chief") shows the mercy he showed to his foes. Around 1775, he was sent on an expedition to conquer the lands and confiscate properties in the Kipahulu and Hana districts of the Island of Maui
, under the rule of the Maui king Kahekili II
. The two districts had been formerly owned by their deceased half-brother, Kalokuokamaile
. Kamehameha requested that their widow sister-in-law, Kaloiokalani
, give the guardianship of the land and her daughter Kaohelelani
to Keliimaikai. Although there may have been some resistance, Keliimaikai was victorious. Instead of punishing the people who had opposed him, he respected their rights and property. As stated by Hawaiian historian Samuel Kamakau
: "There was no sugar cane broken off, no potatoes dug up, no pigs roasted." The makaāinana (common people) loved him and called him "the Good Chief" by which he was ever after known."
He was so highly thought of that he was the only chief that was not allowed to work on the construction of the Puukohola Heiau lest it defile his sacred status. The historian, John Papa Īī, Keliimaikai's mana
(spiritual power) was so great that "whatever he dedicated became very kapu", two examples were the bathing pools in Kawaihae
, called Keliialalahoolaawai and Alawai.
Keliimaikai died November 14, 1809, months before the final unification of Hawaiian Islands. Reportedly the only person allowed to see him on his deathbed was his daughter.
. By Kiilaweau he had Kekuaokalani (d. 1819), who would one day lead a revolt against the Kingdom.
He also married the High Chiefess Kalikookalani, daughter of High Chief Kekuaalaimoku and High Chiefess Kanenuiakalani. Her father was the son of Kalaninuiamamao
and half brother of both King Kalaniopuu and High Chief Keawemauhili
. By Kalikookalani, he had Kaōanaeha
(1780–1850) who married John Young Olohana, a former British sailor and trusted advisor of Kamehameha, and mother a dynasty of Hapa-Haole
nobility. Some sources claim that George Naea (1797–1859) and Benjamin Namakeha (1799–1860) were his sons, when they were more probably descendants of a line of lesser chiefs from the island of Kauai
.
During the 1880s, King Kalākaua
had his own genealogist publish an article denouncing Samuel M. Kamakau's genealogy linking Queen Emma
to Keliimaikai. The genealogist argued that Keliimaikai "himself denied publicly that he had a child named Kaoanaeha" and "that it was accepted by the chiefs of that time...[So] how can SMK [Samuel M. Kamakau] turn the truth into a lie, when he knows the true genealogy of the Queen?" Even ten years after the accession of Kalākaua, the genealogy battle continued because there were still threats that Queen Emma's supporters, called Queenites or Emmaites, would place her on the throne. Queen Emma's supporters contradicted Kalākaua's claims and said instead that Keliimaikai had recognized Kaōanaeha as his daughter. Queen Emma was never quoted on her opinion in these arguments. Neither were the views of Queen Liliuokalani known until the publication of her autobiography
. Liliuokalani claimed that Keliimaikai had no children, that Kiilaweau, Keliimaikai's first wife, was a man, and that Kaōanaeha was the daughter of High Chief Kaleipaihala, instead. This and other claims may have intended to belittle Queen Emma because the House of Kalākaua
lacked the lineage and support of the Hawaiian people that she possessed.
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
. He was generally credited as an ancestor of Queen Emma of Hawaii
Queen Emma of Hawaii
Queen Consort Emma Kalanikaumakaamano Kaleleonālani Naea Rooke of Hawaii was queen consort of King Kamehameha IV from 1856 to his death in 1863. She ran for ruling monarch against King David Kalākaua but was defeated....
, the consort of Kamehameha IV
Kamehameha IV
Kamehameha IV, born Alexander Iolani Liholiho Keawenui , reigned as the fourth king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from January 11, 1855 to November 30, 1863.-Early life:...
, a candidate for the Royal Election of 1872. His name Keliimaikai in the Hawaiian language
Hawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
means "The Good Chief". Sometimes his name is spelled Kealiimaikai. or by visiting Europeans as Tidi Miti. He is sometimes called a Prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
due his relation to Kamehameha. He was also the Chief Priest of Io and Kāne
Kāne
In Hawaiian mythology, Kāne is considered the highest of the four major Hawaiian deities, along with Kanaloa, Kū, and Lono. He represented the god of procreation and was worshipped as ancestor of chiefs and commoners. Kāne is the creator and gives life associated with dawn, sun and sky...
Life
Keliimaikai was born in around the year 1765. His mother was the High Chiefess Kekuiapoiwa IIKekuiapoiwa II
Kekuiapoiwa II was a Hawaiian chiefess and the mother of the king Kamehameha I.- Biography :She was named after her aunt Kekuiapoiwa Nui , the wife of King Kekaulike of Maui....
of the Kona district
Kona District, Hawaii
Kona is the name of a moku or district on the Big Island of Hawaii in the State of Hawaii. In the current system of administration of Hawaii County, the moku of Kona is divided into North Kona District and South Kona District . The term "Kona" is sometimes used to refer to its largest town,...
and father was High Chief Keōua
Keoua
Keōua Kalanikupuapaikalaninui Ahilapalapa, sometimes called Keōua Nui , was an Ancient Hawaiian noble and the father of Kamehameha I, the first King of united Hawaii...
of the Kohala district
Kohala, Hawaii
thumb|right|300px|The districts of the [[Hawaii |Big Island]]. From Northernmost, clockwise; Kohala , [[Hamakua|Hāmākua]], [[Hilo, Hawaii|Hilo]], [[Puna, Hawaii|Puna]], [[Kau, Hawaii|Kaū]], [[Kona District, Hawaii|Kona]]...
. His only full brother was Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I , also known as Kamehameha the Great, conquered the Hawaiian Islands and formally established the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawaii's independence under his rule...
, although he had many half-siblings through his parents' other marriages. His father Keōua was the grandson of King Keaweikekahialiiokamoku, who had once ruled a large portion of the island of Hawaii. After his death the island erupted into civil war and Alapainui, a chief of Kona, gained the upper hand and dispossessed his father of his lands in Kohala. Kekuiapoiwa II was daughter of Haae-a-Mahi, and niece of King Alapainui.
When he grew up and King Alapai was long dead, he assisted his brother in unifying the Big Island of Hawaii. Keliimaikai was known for his kindness, compassion, and mercy to his enemies. For this reason he was Kamehameha's most popular brother. The story of how he came to be known as Keliimaikai ("the Good Chief") shows the mercy he showed to his foes. Around 1775, he was sent on an expedition to conquer the lands and confiscate properties in the Kipahulu and Hana districts of the Island of Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
, under the rule of the Maui king Kahekili II
Kahekili II
Kahekili II, full name Kahekilinuiahumanu, was the twenty fifth King of Maui. His name was short for Kāne-Hekili after the Hawaiian god of thunder. Because Kāne-Hekili was believed to be black on one side, Kahekili tattooed one side of his body from head to foot.-Family:He was born about...
. The two districts had been formerly owned by their deceased half-brother, Kalokuokamaile
Kalokuokamaile
Kalokuokamaile , was a Hawaiian chief and first-born son of Keoua Kalanikupuapaikalaninui and half-brother of Kamehameha the Great who unified the Hawaiian Islands in 1810. He was the progenitor of the House of Kalokuokamaile.- Biography :He was born on the island of Maui...
. Kamehameha requested that their widow sister-in-law, Kaloiokalani
Kaloiokalani
Kaloiokalani, a Hawaiian chiefess of Maui descent, was the only known wife of Prince Kalokuokamaile and therefore the matriarch of the still-surviving House of Kalokuokamaile. Her great-great-great-great-granddaughter, Princess Myrtle Kaloiokalani Kinau Wilcox , was her namesake...
, give the guardianship of the land and her daughter Kaohelelani
Kaohelelani
-Life:She was born in the District of Hāna on the island of Maui in the mid to late 18th century. Her mother was High Chiefess Kaloiokalani of the royal family of Kahikinui and Honuaula...
to Keliimaikai. Although there may have been some resistance, Keliimaikai was victorious. Instead of punishing the people who had opposed him, he respected their rights and property. As stated by Hawaiian historian Samuel Kamakau
Samuel Kamakau
Samuel Manaiākalani Kamakau was a Hawaiian historian and scholar. His work appeared in local newspapers and was later compiled into books, becoming an invaluable resource on the Hawaiian people, Hawaiian culture, and Hawaiian language during a time when they were disappearing.Along with David Malo...
: "There was no sugar cane broken off, no potatoes dug up, no pigs roasted." The makaāinana (common people) loved him and called him "the Good Chief" by which he was ever after known."
He was so highly thought of that he was the only chief that was not allowed to work on the construction of the Puukohola Heiau lest it defile his sacred status. The historian, John Papa Īī, Keliimaikai's mana
Mana
Mana is an indigenous Pacific islander concept of an impersonal force or quality that resides in people, animals, and inanimate objects. The word is a cognate in many Oceanic languages, including Melanesian, Polynesian, and Micronesian....
(spiritual power) was so great that "whatever he dedicated became very kapu", two examples were the bathing pools in Kawaihae
Kawaihae
Kawaihae is an unincorporated community on the west side of the island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii, north of Kailua-Kona. Its harbor includes a fuel depot, shipping terminal and military landing site. Outside of the man-made breakwall of the harbor is a popular surf spot and the Pua...
, called Keliialalahoolaawai and Alawai.
Keliimaikai died November 14, 1809, months before the final unification of Hawaiian Islands. Reportedly the only person allowed to see him on his deathbed was his daughter.
Marriage and children
He married his half sister Kiilaweau. She was the daughter of Keōua and his own half sister High Chiefess Manono I, daughter of Alapainui and KamakaimokuKamakaimoku
Kamakaimoku was a chiefess in ancient Hawaii in the early 18th century. She married three powerful men of the time, was mother of the King who would unite the island of Hawaii and meet the first known visitors from Europe, and grandmother of the founder of the Kingdom that united all of the...
. By Kiilaweau he had Kekuaokalani (d. 1819), who would one day lead a revolt against the Kingdom.
He also married the High Chiefess Kalikookalani, daughter of High Chief Kekuaalaimoku and High Chiefess Kanenuiakalani. Her father was the son of Kalaninuiamamao
Kalaninuiamamao
Kalaninuiamamao was a Prince of the Big Island of Hawaii, or 1st Alii Nui of Kau, an ancestor of the Queen Liliuokalani. He is probably the Hawaiian chief with the most varied spelling of his name.- Biography :...
and half brother of both King Kalaniopuu and High Chief Keawemauhili
Keawemauhili
Keawemauhili, spelled in old texts as Keawe-mau-hili, was an important member of the Hawaiian nobility at the time of the founding of the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Life:...
. By Kalikookalani, he had Kaōanaeha
Kaoanaeha
Kaōanaeha Mele or Mary Kuamoo Kaōanaeha was a Hawaiian high chiefess during the formation of the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Parentage:She was born circa 1780...
(1780–1850) who married John Young Olohana, a former British sailor and trusted advisor of Kamehameha, and mother a dynasty of Hapa-Haole
Hapa
Hapa is a Hawaiian language term used to describe a person of mixed Asian or Pacific Islander racial or ethnic heritage.-Etymology:In the Hawaiian language, hapa is defined as: portion, fragment, part, fraction, installment; to be partial, less. It is a loan from the English word half...
nobility. Some sources claim that George Naea (1797–1859) and Benjamin Namakeha (1799–1860) were his sons, when they were more probably descendants of a line of lesser chiefs from the island of Kauai
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
.
During the 1880s, King Kalākaua
Kalakaua
Kalākaua, born David Laamea Kamanakapuu Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua and sometimes called The Merrie Monarch , was the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaii...
had his own genealogist publish an article denouncing Samuel M. Kamakau's genealogy linking Queen Emma
Queen Emma of Hawaii
Queen Consort Emma Kalanikaumakaamano Kaleleonālani Naea Rooke of Hawaii was queen consort of King Kamehameha IV from 1856 to his death in 1863. She ran for ruling monarch against King David Kalākaua but was defeated....
to Keliimaikai. The genealogist argued that Keliimaikai "himself denied publicly that he had a child named Kaoanaeha" and "that it was accepted by the chiefs of that time...[So] how can SMK [Samuel M. Kamakau] turn the truth into a lie, when he knows the true genealogy of the Queen?" Even ten years after the accession of Kalākaua, the genealogy battle continued because there were still threats that Queen Emma's supporters, called Queenites or Emmaites, would place her on the throne. Queen Emma's supporters contradicted Kalākaua's claims and said instead that Keliimaikai had recognized Kaōanaeha as his daughter. Queen Emma was never quoted on her opinion in these arguments. Neither were the views of Queen Liliuokalani known until the publication of her autobiography
Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen
Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen is a book written by Queen Liliuokalani, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. It was published in 1898, five years after the overthrow of the Kingdom...
. Liliuokalani claimed that Keliimaikai had no children, that Kiilaweau, Keliimaikai's first wife, was a man, and that Kaōanaeha was the daughter of High Chief Kaleipaihala, instead. This and other claims may have intended to belittle Queen Emma because the House of Kalākaua
House of Kalakaua
The House of Kalākaua, or the Kalākaua Dynasty, was the reigning family of the Kingdom of Hawaii between the assumption of King David Kalākaua to the throne in 1874 and the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani in 1893. Liliuokalani died in 1917, leaving only cousins as heirs...
lacked the lineage and support of the Hawaiian people that she possessed.