Keaunui (Hawaiian for "Keau the Great") was a High Chief of
ʻEwa,
Waiʻanae and
Waialua 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 ...
. He was a member of the
Nanaulu line and is also known as Keaunui-a-Maweke.
His mother was High Chiefess Naiolaukea, also known as Naiolakea. (In ancient Hawaii, it was common for nobles to have many names.)
His father was a high chief and “wizard” called
Maweke According to the Hawaiian chants, Chief Maweke (also spelled Māweke in Hawaiian; Hawaiian pronunciation: ''MAH-WEH-KEH'') was a chief of the highest known rank who lived in the 11th century. He is described in the legends as a wizard (or priest, '' ...
, an ''
Aliʻi
The aliʻi were the traditional nobility of the Hawaiian islands. They were part of a hereditary line of rulers, the ''noho aliʻi''.
The word ''aliʻi'' has a similar meaning in the Samoan language and other Polynesian languages, and in Māori ...
'' of "the blue blood".
He had brothers named
Mulielealiʻi and
Kalehenui.
Keaunui married a woman named Wehelani (Hawaiian: ''lani'' = "
sky
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space.
In the field of astronomy, ...
"), and their children were:
*High Chief
Laakona of ʻEwa
*High Chiefess and "witch"
Nuakea of
Molokai
*High Chief and "wizard" Moʻi
Keaunui had a granddaughter, Chiefess
Kapau-a-Nuʻakea of Molokai.
Keaunui is traditionally credited with opening a navigable channel at
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...
.
[''Annual Report of the Hawaiian Historical Society''. Hawaiian Historical Society, 1932.]
References
{{Reflist
Hawaiian chiefs
Hawaiian legends