Kahoukapu was an ancient Hawaiian nobleman and High Chief of the Big Island —

Hawaiʻi Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. He was a member of the

Pili line Pili line (House of Pili, Pili dynasty; Hawaiian language: ''Hale o Pili'') was a royal house in ancient Hawaii that ruled over the island of Hawaiʻi with deep roots in the history of Samoa and possibly beyond further to the west, Ao-Po ("gathe ...

—as a descendant of

Pilikaʻaiea Pilikaʻaiea (or Pili-auau; the short form: Pili) was ''Aliʻi Nui'' of Hawaiʻi. He was a sovereign chief, who deposed the indigenous chief, Kapawa. Name The Hawaiian word ''pili'' is the native Hawaiian name of ''Heteropogon contortus''. Bi ...

—and an ancestor of

King Kamehameha I Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiikui Kamehameha o Iolani i Kaiwikapu kaui Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; – May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii. T ...

the Great of Hawai‘i, the first ruler of the

Kingdom of Hawai‘i The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the independent islan ...

Biography

Chief Kahoukapu was born in

ancient Hawaii Ancient Hawaii is the period of Hawaiian history preceding the unification in 1810 of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great. Traditionally, researchers estimated the first settlement of the Hawaiian islands as having occurred sporadicall ...

as a son of High Chief

Kuaiwa Kuaiwa was a High Chief of Hawaii from 1345 to 1375. Kuaiwa was son of Kalaunuiohua and his wife, Kaheka. Kuaiwa followed his father as sovereign of Hawaii. Kuaiwa had two wives, Kumuleilani and Kamanawa. The former descended from Luaehu; the l ...

and his half-sister Kamuleilani (Kainuleilani),

David Malo David Malo or Davida Malo (1795–1853) was a chiefly counselor, a Hawaiian intellectual, educator, politician and minister. He is remembered by subsequent generations of Hawaiian people and scholars primarily as a Native Hawaiian historian of the ...

, ''Hawaiian Antiquities''. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1951. and was thus a half-brother to

ʻEhu ʻEhu was an ancient Hawaiian nobleman (''Aliʻi'') and the Chief of Kona (a place on the island of Hawaiʻi). Life ʻEhu was most likely born on the island of Hawaiʻi. His parents were the High Chief Kuaiwa of Hawaiʻi and one of his wives, ...

. Because his parents were siblings, Kahoukapu was considered a special human being. In ancient Hawai‘i, marriage between siblings was sacred. Kahoukapu succeeded his father on the throne, and ruled until his death, which happened ca. 1405. He was then succeeded by his son Kauholanuimahu.

Marriages

Kahoukapu had two marriages, mentioned in the chants. He married his full sister, Lady Hukulani, who bore him son, Prince Makalae. This man was considered a nobleman of the highest rank. Kahoukapu also married woman named

Laʻakapu Laʻakapu was an ancient Hawaiian noble lady and a High Chiefess of the Big Island (Hawaiʻi) as a wife of Kahoukapu, ''Aliʻi Nui'' of Hawaiʻi. She was the mother of the High Chief Kauholanuimahu, who succeeded his father. Biography Lady La� ...

, and their son was Prince Kauholanuimahu, who became a high chief, although his noble rank was not very high, since his parents were not related.

References

{{Authority control Hawaiian chiefs House of Pili