Aliʻi

The aliʻi were the traditional nobility of the Hawaiian islands. They were part of a hereditary line of rulers, the ''noho aliʻi''.

Cognates of the word ''aliʻi'' have a similar meaning in other Polynesian languages; in Māori it is pronounced " ariki" and in Tahitian ari'i.

Background

In ancient Hawaiian society, the ''aliʻi'' were hereditary nobles (a social class or caste). The ''aliʻi'' consisted of the higher and lesser chiefs of the various levels on the islands. The ''noho aliʻi'' were the ruling chiefs. The ''aliʻi'' were believed to be descended from the deities.

There were eleven classes of ''aliʻi'', of both men and women. These included the '' kahuna'' (priestesses and priests, experts, craftsmen, and canoe makers) as part of four professions practiced by the nobility. Each island had its own aliʻi nui, who governed their individual systems. ''Aliʻi'' continued to play a role in the governance of the Hawaiian islands until 1893, when Queen Liliʻuokalani was overthrown by a coup d'état backed by the United States government.

''Aliʻi nui'' were ruling chiefs (in Hawaiian, ''nui'' means grand, great, or supreme.). The ''nui'' title could be passed on by right of birth.

Social designations of noho aliʻi (ruling line)

Historians David Malo, Samuel M. Kamakau and Abraham Fornander wrote extensively about the different aliʻi lines and their importance to Hawaiian history. The distinctions between the aliʻi ranks and lines comes from their writings.

*''Aliʻi nui'' were supreme high chiefs of an island and no others were above them (during the Kingdom period this title would come to mean "Governor"). The four largest Hawaiian islands ( Hawaiʻi proper, Maui, Kauaʻi, and Oʻahu) were usually ruled each by their own aliʻi nui. Molokaʻi also had a line of island rulers, but was later subjected to the superior power of nearby Maui and Oʻahu during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. ''Mōʻī'' was a special title for the highest chief of the island of Maui. Later, the title was used for all rulers of the Hawaiian Islands and the Hawaiian monarchs.
*''Aliʻi nui kapu'' were sacred rulers with special taboos.
*''Aliʻi Nīʻaupiʻo'' were a rank of chiefs who were considered the very highest in descent and power. Nīʻaupiʻo chiefs can be from Piʻo or Naha unions.
*''Aliʻi Piʻo'' were a rank of chiefs who were products of full blood sibling unions. Famous ''Piʻo'' chiefs were the royal twins, Kameʻeiamoku and Kamanawa.
*''Aliʻi Naha'' were a rank of chiefs who were products of either half-blood sibling unions or the unions of uncle and niece or father and daughter. The exact definition is disputed amongst Malo, Kamakau and Fornander. Chiefs of this rank traditionally possessed the ''kapu noho'' (sitting kapu). Famous ''Naha'' chiefs include Keōpūolani.
*''Aliʻi Wohi'' were a rank of chiefs who were products of marriage of close relatives other than siblings; one famous Wohi chief was Kamehameha I. These chiefs possessed the ''kapu wohi'', exempting them from ''kapu moe'' (prostration taboo).
*''Papa'' were chiefs born to mother of the nīʻaupiʻo, piʻo, or naha rank with a lower-ranking male chief.
*''Lōkea'' were chiefs born to high-ranked father with a mother who was a relative through younger siblings.
*''Lāʻau aliʻi'' were chiefs born to parents who are children of high chiefs through secondary unions.
*''Kaukaualiʻi'' were lesser chiefs who served the aliʻi nui. It is a relative term and not a fixed level of aliʻi nobility. The expression is elastic in terms of how it is used. In general, it means a relative who is born from a lesser ranking parent. A kaukaualiʻi son's own children, if born of a lesser ranking aliʻi mother, would descend to a lower rank. Eventually the line descends, leading to makaʻāinana (commoner). ''Kaukaualiʻi'' gain rank through marriage with higher-ranking ''aliʻi''.
*''Aliʻi noanoa'' were chiefs born to a high chief and a commoner.

One kaukaualiʻi line descended from Moana Kāne, son of Keākealanikāne, became secondary aliʻi to the Kamehameha rulers of the kingdom and were responsible for various ''hana lawelawe'' (service tasks). Members of this line married into the Kamehamehas, including Charles Kanaʻina and Kekūanaōʻa. Some bore '' Kāhili'', royal standards made of feathers, and were attendants of the higher-ranking ''aliʻi''. During the monarchy some of these chiefs were elevated to positions within the primary political bodies of the Hawaiian legislature and the king's Privy Council. All Hawaiian monarchs after Kamehameha III were the children of Kaukaualiʻi fathers who married higher ranking wives.

See also

* Monarchs of the Hawaiian Islands
* Ancient Hawaiʻi
* Kingdom of Hawaiʻi
* Aliʻi nui of Hawaiʻi
* Aliʻi nui of Maui
* Aliʻi nui of Oʻahu
* Aliʻi nui of Kauaʻi
* Aliʻi nui of Molokai
* List of monarchs of Tonga
* List of monarchs of Tahiti
* List of monarchs of Huahine
* List of monarchs of Mangareva

References

Further reading

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Alii
Hawaiiana
Hawaii culture
Hawaiian nobility
Noble titles
Samoan words and phrases
Society of Samoa
Polynesian culture
Polynesian titles