Kekuʻiapoiwa II
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Kekuʻiapoiwa II was a Hawaiian chiefess and the mother of the king
Kamehameha I Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; to May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii ...
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Biography

She was named after her aunt Kekuʻiapoiwa Nui (also known as Kekuʻiapoiwa I), the wife of King Kekaulike of Maui. Her father was High Chief Haae, the son of Chiefess Kalanikauleleiaiwi and High Chief Kauaua-a-Mahi of the Mahi family of the Kohala district of Hawaii island, and brother of Alapainui. Her mother was Princess Kekelakekeokalani-a-Keawe (also known as Kekelaokalani), daughter of the same Kalanikauleleiaiwi and Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku,
king of Hawaii Kamehameha I established the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1795 after conquering most of the Hawaiian Islands. In 1810, Kaumualiʻi became a vassal of Kamehameha I, who therefore emerged as the sole sovereign of the island chain of Hawaiʻi. His dyna ...
. Her mother had been sought after by many who wished to marry into the Keawe line. She was the niece of Alapainui through both her father and mother. She married the High Chief
Keōua Keōua Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui Ahilapalapa, sometimes called Keōua Nui ("Keōua the Great") (died c. 1750s–1760s) was an Ancient Hawaiian noble and the father of Kamehameha I, the first King of united Hawaiʻi. He was progenitor of the Ho ...
to whom she had been betrothed since childhood. Through her double grandmother Kalanikauleleiaiwi, Keōua's own paternal grandmother, she was the double cousin of Keōua. When her uncle was staying at Kohala superintending the collection of his fleet and warriors from the different districts of the island preparatory to the invasion of Maui, in the month of ''Ikuwa'' (probably winter) Kamehameha was born probably in November 1758. He had his birth ceremony at the ''Mookini Heiau'', an ancient temple which is preserved in Kohala Historical Sites State Monument. Many stories are told about the birth of Kamehameha. One says that when Kekuʻiapoiwa was pregnant with Kamehameha, she had a craving for the eyeball of a chief. She was given the eyeball of a man-eating shark and the priests prophesied that this meant the child would be a rebel and a killer of chiefs. Alapainui, the old ruler of the island of Hawaii, secretly made plans to have the newborn infant killed. Kekuʻiapoiwa's time came on a stormy night in the Kohala district, when a strange star with a tail of white fire appeared in the western sky. This could have been
Halley's Comet Halley's Comet is the only known List of periodic comets, short-period comet that is consistently visible to the naked eye from Earth, appearing every 72–80 years, though with the majority of recorded apparitions (25 of 30) occurring after ...
which appeared near the end of 1758. According to one legend, the baby was passed through a hole in the side of Kekuiapoiwa's thatched hut to a local Kohala chief named Naeole, who carried the child to safety at Awini on the island's north coast. By the time the infant in Naeole's care was five, Alapainui had accepted him back into his household. After Kamehameha, Kekuʻiapoiwa bore a second son, Keliimaikai. A few years later, Keōua died in
Hilo Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...
, and the family moved with Alapainui to an area near Kawaihae, where she married a chief of the
Kona district Kona is a ''moku'' or district on the Big Island of Hawaii in the State of Hawaii, known for its Kona coffee and the Ironman World Championship Triathlon. In the administration of Hawaii County, the ''moku'' of Kona is divided into North Kon ...
(and her uncle)
Kamanawa ''For other persons with this name, please see Kamanawa II.'' Kamanawa (died c. 1802?) was a Hawaiian high chief and early supporter of King Kamehameha I, known as one of the royal ''Nīʻaupiʻo'' twins with his brother Kameeiamoku. He later be ...
. She had one daughter, Piʻipiʻi Kalanikaulihiwakama, from this second husband, who would later become an important military ally of Kamehameha, who was both step son and cousin through several relationships. Piʻipiʻi became first the wife of Keholoikalani, the father of her son Kanihonui, and later she married Kaikioʻewa, who she had a daughter Kuwahine with. Kanihonui was killed by his uncle Kamehameha I in 1809 for sleeping with Queen
Kaʻahumanu Kaʻahumanu (March 17, 1768 – June 5, 1832) (''"the feathered mantle"'') was queen consort and acted as regent of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi as Kuhina Nui. She was the favorite wife of King Kamehameha I and also the most politically powe ...
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Kamehameha dynasty


References


External links


Imaginary Portrait of Kekuiapoiwa II by Brook Kapukuniahi Parker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kekuiapoiwa Ii 18th-century births Year of death unknown House of Keoua House of Kamehameha House of Keliimaikai Royalty of the Hawaiian Kingdom Mothers of monarchs