×

Queen Ka‘ahumanu at 250: March 17, 1768 – June 5, 1832

Favorite wife of Kamehameha I was a ‘rebel’ and a catalyst for change

The bronze statue of Queen Ka‘ahumanu at the Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center in Kahului was made as a commissioned piece by Maui artist Tom Faught. This photo was taken Thursday. The queen was a favorite wife of King Kamehameha I. -- The Maui News MATTHEW THAYER photo
German-Ukranian painter-explorer Louis Choris rendered this painting of Queen Ka‘ahumanu in 1816. He was one of the first Western sketch artists that journeyed to the Hawaiian Islands during a research expedition. He visited the Pacific in 1816 aboard the Russian expeditionary ship Ruric. -- Louis Choris painting / U.S. — Public Domain
Choris did this portrait of Ka‘ahumanu in pen, ink wash and watercolor. Ka‘ahumanu was born March 17, 1768, reportedly in an oceanside cave at Pu‘u Ka‘uiki adjacent to Hana Bay. Events are planned this month to celebrate the 250th anniversary of her birth. -- Louis Choris painting / U.S. — Public Domain
When King Kamehameha I died in 1819, his widowed queens urged Kamehameha II to do something considered kapu up to that point -- allowing women to eat forbidden foods in the presence of men. One day at a feast in November 1819, Liholiho sat down to eat with his mother, Keopuolani, and Queen Regent Ka'ahumanu, breaking the 'ai kapu system, ending worship of the old gods and marking Ka'ahumanu's legacy as one of societal shake-up and cultural change. "A lot of people look at her as being the rebel, and she was to some extent, but also in a good way," said Carol Lee Kamekona, president of the Wailuku chapter of 'Ahahui Ka'ahumanu, the royal society that honors the queen's legacy. March 17 will mark what many consider to be the 250th anniversary of Ka'ahumanu's birth. While some debate whether she was born in 1768 or sometime during the 1770s, most agree that the future queen entered the world during a pivotal time in Hawaiian history -- shortly before the arrival of Capt. James Cook and Kamehameha I's quest to conquer the islands. Ka'ahumanu was born in a cave at Pu'u Ka'uiki, a hill in Hana that her father, Ke'eaumoku, was holding for King Kalani'opu'u of Hawaii island, according to Maui County historian Inez Ashdown in records preserved by the Maui Historical Society. Her mother, Namahana, had ties to Maui royalty, including Maui King Kamehamehanui. War was a recurring theme of Ka'ahumanu's young life. Her father, a high chief from Kona, was a loyal supporter and warrior of Kamehameha I, and while Ka'ahumanu was still a child, Ke'eaumoku promised his daughter in marriage to Kamehameha I once she grew older. "It was a tempestuous marriage between two obstinate, fiery-tempered individuals, but there seems to have been genuine love between them, and she was recognized as his favorite wife," Gwenfread E. Allen wrote in "Notable Women of Hawaii." Historians describe Ka'ahumanu as 6 feet tall, a skilled surfer, and someone who possessed an intelligence that both impressed and influenced Kamehameha. He made her a pu'uhonua, where those condemned to die could find refuge and pardon. The king had multiple wives, most sacred amongst them Keopuolani, who gave birth to the sons who would become the next rulers of the Hawaiian Kingdom. After Kamehameha died on May 8, 1819, his firstborn, Liholiho, prepared to take the throne. In his early 20s at the time, Liholiho was inexperienced and less decisive than his father, so Ka'ahumanu approached the young ruler and the high chiefs and told them that Kamehameha I had wished for Ka'ahumanu to rule alongside his son. Liholiho assented, and Ka'ahumanu became the kuhina nui, a position similar to premier or regent. "She was like an adviser, but . . . she was equivalent as far as powers and authority go with regards to Liholiho," Kame-kona said. End of the old laws The queen used her influence early on to end the 'ai kapu system. Under the strict set of taboos, women were not allowed to eat with men and were forbidden from eating certain foods, such as bananas, coconuts and pork. After Kamehameha I's death, Ka'ahumanu and Keopuolani encouraged Liholiho to abolish the practice. Both had apparently eaten prohibited foods before; Liholiho himself did not stop Keopuolani from calling on her younger son, Kauikeaouli, to come share a meal, according to historian Ralph Kuykendall in "The Hawaiian Kingdom, Vol. 1, 1778-1854." Under pressure from the more traditional ali'i, Liholiho was reluctant. Finally, at a feast during the makahiki season in November 1819, Liholiho -- with all eyes on him -- walked over to the women's side and sat down to eat. Guests clapped and cried out, "Ai noa (free eating) -- the eating tabu is broken," Kuykendall wrote. The gods did not retaliate against Liholiho, and a royal decree declared the end of the kapu system. "Politically, it was in Ka'ahumanu's interest to defy the kapu system because one of the rules had prohibited women from taking part in the decision-making councils of the kingdom," Allen wrote. "With the overthrow of the kapu system, Ka'ahumanu freely exercised her political authority." For Ka'ahumanu, it reaffirmed what she'd seen time and again -- how breaking the kapu had not resulted in retaliation from the gods, as the priests had promised. She and Liholiho called for the heiau and statues of the ancient gods to be destroyed. In 1820, missionaries arrived from Boston, prepared to fill the void left by the destruction of the Hawaiian gods. Ka'ahumanu was cordial but kept her distance at first. Eventually, the missionaries taught her to read, write and study the gospel, and in December 1825, she was baptized. "She soon displayed such zeal that she became known as 'the new Kaahumanu,' " Allen wrote. "Her aid to the missions increased, and she not only continued generous gifts of food but provided material assistance for the construction of churches, schools and homes for the missionaries." Ka'ahumanu's grandmother owned the ahupua'a of Waihee, and in one of her stays on Maui, Ka'ahumanu heard of a church being built nearby, Kamekona said. The queen attended a service held by the Rev. Jonathan Smith Green and asked that a future sanctuary be named after her. In 1876, more than 40 years after her death, the church on South High Street in Wailuku was completed and given her name. Kuhina nui in charge Strong-willed and politically savvy, Ka'ahumanu made several moves that would solidify her power, stabilize the kingdom and benefit her people during her 13 years as kuhina nui. In 1821, she married Kaumuali'i, king of Kauai, and his son, Keali'iahonui (whom she later left at the urging of the missionaries). The marriage was "a master stroke" that combined Kauai, Maui and Hawaii island bloodlines, secured the allegiance of Kauai and "enhanced Ka'ahumanu's place at the center of power," according to author Jane Silverman in "Ka'ahumanu: Molder of Change." When Liholiho and his wife, Kamamalu, traveled to London in 1823, the queen regent created what was effectively Hawaii's first code of laws, prohibiting "murder, theft, fighting and breaking the Sabbath in an effort to restrain social chaos caused by the foreign seamen hell-bent on pleasure and drink," Allan Seiden wrote in "The Hawaiian Monarchy." Liholiho's brief reign ended suddenly when he and Kamamalu died of measles while in London in 1824. Ka'ahumanu became "the real power behind the throne" in the early years of Kamehameha III, Liholiho's younger brother Kauikeaouli -- who was not yet a teenager at the time. Traditionalist ali'i resented Ka'ahumanu for her "acceptance of foreign values and her heavy-handed use of royal authority," Seiden wrote. However, many of her decisions would endear her to the Hawaiian people. She called for schools to be built across the islands and encouraged literacy among both the high-born and common people. She lifted restrictions on fishing that had allowed the chiefs to take most of the fish as taxes, leaving the populace hungry, according to Ashdown. Change wasn't universally accepted, but "there were enough people that loved Ka'ahumanu and honored her for who she was, and had faith that she wasn't going to lead them astray," said Sissy Lake-Farm, executive director of Hale Ho'ike'ike at the Bailey House Museum. They thought, "If our mo'i wahine believes in it, then we have to paipai her efforts. We have to support her." By the late 1820s, Ka'ahumanu's health had started to fail. The mission press hurried to print its first copy of the New Testament in Hawaiian -- bound in leather and printed with her name -- to give to Ka'ahumanu before her death. On June 5, 1832, one the kingdom's most powerful women died in her Manoa Valley home. Following in the queen's footsteps Lake-Farm sees Ka'ahumanu as "the ultimate Hawaiian figure, especially for women." "Even though there was a lot of change and restructuring, she had confidence in her decision-making," Lake-Farm said. "I think what just resonates for me personally as a Hawaiian woman is her confidence level and her ability to make change." Today, the 'Ahahui Ka'ahumanu honors the queen by giving back to the community. Founded by Princess Victoria Kamamalu in 1864, the society has nine chapters -- including one in Wailuku and another in Hana -- and still follows the original mission of visiting the sick and providing a dignified burial for members. The society also feeds kupuna and the homeless, raises money for local nonprofits and gives out scholarships. "We help to perpetuate the legacy of our queen and love our lahui," Kamekona said. "She tried to do for them as much as possible. That's what we try to do." Ka'ahumanu crossed two eras, from pre-contact Hawaiian society to a kingdom struggling against a growing wave of foreign influence. "By birth, marriage, circumstances and personality, Ka'ahumanu was one of the most powerful persons in Hawaii during a transitional period that saw the visits of many explorers and the residence in the islands of the first foreigners," Allen wrote. The monarchs who came after her would experience this clash of Hawaiian and Western culture like never before. When Ka'ahumanu died, Seiden wrote, "she left behind a kingdom unprepared for the changes already underway." * Colleen Uechi can be reached at cuechi@mauinews.com. [gallery ids="689479,689480,689481"]

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today