Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 6, 1 Iune 2022 — A Few Thoughts About Kamehameha I [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A Few Thoughts About Kamehameha I

Na Anakala Hinano Brumaghim The State of Hawai'i celebrates Kamehameha I Day on June 11, an event whieh began on Dec. 11, 1871, as a day to eelebrate the birthday of Kamehameha V with horseback riding and other sporting events. At the time, it was agreed to make it an annual event but not on December 11 because of uncertain weather. Henee, a change was made to June 11 to honor Kamehameha I as well (Kamakau, Ruling Chiefs, p. 68). Kamehameha I was born in 1736 during the Hawaiian month of Ikuwa, a month whieh coincides with February/March and a month whieh brings thunder and lightning (Kamakau, Ruling Chiefs, p. 210; Kamakau, Ke Kumu Aupuni, p. 2). At his conception, his mother, Keku'iapoiwa, was intimate with two chiefs, Kalanikupuapaikalaninui Keoua and Kahekili'ahumanu, making Kamehameha I "po'olua," and a descendant of two chiefly lines. In life, Kamehameha I had 21 wives and when he died on May 8, 1819, he left behind four widows: Ka'ahumanu, Keōpūolani, Kalākua and Namahana. As his final kauoha (testament, decree), Kamehameha divided his legacy between his son Kalanikua Liholiho (Kamehameha II) who inherited the kingdom, and his nephew Ka'oa Kekuaokalani, who inherited the war god Kuka'ilimoku. Kamehameha further directed that Ka'ahumanu rule alongside his son as Kuhina Nui (Prime Minister), giving wāhine a plaee in government in 1819. In comparison, the U.S. did not pass the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, whieh gave women a plaee in government, until 1920. Kamehameha I is famous for uniting the Hawaiian archipelago, but he was not the first to attempt it. In the year 1270, Hawai'i Island Chief Kalaunuiohua conquered Maui, Moloka'i and

O'ahu before he was defeated at Po'ipū by Chief Kukona of Kaua'i. Ihen, five centuries later, Kamehameha I defeated Hawai'i chiefs Kalani Kauikeaouli Kīwalao and Keōua Kūahu'ula, and Chief Kalanikūpule of O'ahu. Subsequently, the chief of Maui, Kahekili'ahumanu, died of old age and Chief Kaumuali'i ceded Kaua'i and Ni'ihau to Kamehameha. At his passing in 1819, Kamehameha was buried in North Kohala by his two closest friends, the high chiefs Ho'olulu (1794-1865) and Hoapili (1776-1840). Ihen, at the passing of Queen Ka'ahumanu on June 5, 1832, the two high chiefs buried the queen in the secret plaee beside her mōl as Kamehameha had directed. No laila, Kamehameha I ruled justly, absolutely, and was a student of history, taking a lesson from Kalaunuiohua's failure to unite the archipelago and following the wisdom of Līloa's who divided his legacy between his sons, Hakau and 'Umi. For the record, the late curator of Mauna 'Ala, William Kaihe'ekai Maioho, a descendant of Ho'olulu, was a humhle man. He took my breath away when he told me that it was his family's duty to "mālama i nā ali'i." Also, I wish to share that my tūtū wahine, Minnie Bailey Brede of Wailuku, was my first Hawaiian history teacher. ■

Wayne Hinano Brumaghim is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and the University of Maine where he earned a BA in mathematics/engineering. He served in the U.S.AirForce and lived on the continent until 1984 when he

returned to O'ahu to carefor his mother. He retired from the Sheraton Waikīkī in 2005 and returned to school at UH Mānoa, earning both BA and MA degrees in Hawaiian studies in his 60s. He resides in Papakōlea.

Hinano Brumaghim - Photo: Courtesy