Kaneʻalai (also known as Kane-a-Laʻe) was a

Queen regnant A queen regnant (plural: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank and title to a king, who reigns '' suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a "kingdom"; as opposed to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigni ...

of the

Hawaii 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 ...

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

of Molokai, who lived in the 18th century. She ruled as Alii nui of Molokai. She was a daughter of Luahiwa II (of the reigning family of Kauai) and Ka-hoʻoia-a-Pehu. Kaneʻalai planted a

mountain apple ''Syzygium malaccense'' is a species of flowering tree native to tropical Asia and Australia. It is one of the species cultivated since prehistoric times by the Austronesian peoples. They were carried and introduced deliberately to Remote Oce ...

tree.''Place names of Hawaii'' by

Mary Kawena Pukui Mary Abigail Kawenaulaokalaniahiiakaikapoliopele Naleilehuaapele Wiggin Pukui (20 April 1895 – 21 May 1986), known as Kawena, was a Hawaiian scholar, author, composer, hula expert, and educator. Life Pukui was born on April 20, 1895, in her ...

She married

Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku Keaweīkekahialiiokamoku (c. 1665 – c. 1725) was the king of Hawaii Island in the late 17th century. He was the great-grandfather of Kamehameha I, the first king of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was a progenitor of the House of Keawe. Biography He ...

, the king of

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 stat ...

. They had four children: Hao, Awili, Kaililoamoku, and Kumukoa the father of Kalaikuʻahulu. After Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku died, Kaneʻalai became a wife of Kekaulike, the king of Maui. With him she had one daughter, Luahiwa, who married her half-brother

Kahekili II Kahekili II, full name Kahekilinuiʻahumanu, (c. 1737–1794) was an ali'i (''Moʻi'') 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 on ...

. It is probably because of Kaneʻalai that Kamehameha-nui, the son of Kekaulike and Kekuiapoiwa I, was raised as a young boy at Waialua, Molokaʻi, and because of her connection with Kekaulike that her son and grandsons and other chiefs of Molokaʻi went to the help of Kamehameha-nui in his fight with

Kalaniʻōpuʻu Kalaniōpuu-a-Kaiamamao (c. 1729 – April 1782) was the aliʻi nui (supreme monarch) of the island of Hawaiʻi. He was called ''Terreeoboo, King of Owhyhee'' by James Cook and other Europeans. His name has also been written as Kaleiopuu. Bio ...

References

{{Reflist Royalty of Molokai Hawaiian queens regnant House of Keawe Royalty of Hawaii (island) 18th-century women rulers 18th-century monarchs in Oceania