Mataio Kekūanaōʻa ( – November 24, 1868), formally referred to as His Honor or His Highness, was a Hawaiian politician who served as governor of the island of Oʻahu, father of two kings,

Kamehameha IV Kamehameha IV (Alekanetero ʻIolani Kalanikualiholiho Maka o ʻIouli Kūnuiākea o Kūkāʻilimoku; Anglicisation, anglicized as Alexander Liholiho) (February 9, 1834 – November 30, 1863), reigned as the List of Hawaiian monarchs, fourth monar ...

and

Kamehameha V Kamehameha V (Lota Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiōlani Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui; December 11, 1830 – December 11, 1872), reigned as the fifth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipaʻa": immovable, firm, s ...

, and held the office of

Kuhina Nui Kuhina Nui was a powerful office in the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1819 to 1864. It was usually held by a relative of the king and was the rough equivalent of the 19th-century European office of Prime Minister or sometimes Regent. Origin of the offi ...

as did his wife,

Kīnaʻu Princess Kalani Ahumanu i Kaliko o Iwi Kauhipua o Kīnau, also known as Elizabeth Kīnau ( – April 4, 1839) was Kuhina Nui of the Kingdom of Hawaii as Kaahumanu II, queen regent and dowager queen. Life Her father was King Kamehameha I an ...

and their daughter, Victoria Kamāmalu.

Parentage and early life

His first name Mataio, which he adopted later in life, is the Hawaiian form of Matthew. Kekūanaōʻa translates as "the standing projection" in the

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a critically endangered Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family, originating in and native to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the native language of the Hawaiian people. Hawaiian, along with English, is an offi ...

and refers to the masts of Western ships seen in the harbor at his birth. Kekūanaōʻa was born sometime around the year 1791. His mother is believed to be Inaina. While an obituary at his death identified his father as Nāhiʻōleʻa, on March 14, 1879 the Hawaiian Supreme court identified Kiʻilaweau as the father of Kekuanaoa in probate using the genealogy books of the royal family, proving a legal bloodline line from Keʻelikōlani back to Kiʻilaweau's grandmother, Moana. John Papa ʻĪʻī's uncle Nāhiʻōleʻa, the aliʻi that took Kalanikapule's side against Kamehameha I and was killed by his cousins, was listed in the newspaper ''Ke Au Okoa'' as Kekūanaōʻa's father; however, in the chant for Nakanealoha, the name of Kiʻilaweau is mentioned as a ''makua''. This makes some believe he had two fathers, a tradition called ''poʻolua''. Kiʻilaweau was an aliʻi of the highest rank. While Kekūanaōʻa's children were not as high ranking as Kamehameha II or Kamehameha III, Kekūanaōʻa descends from Keawehanauikawalu, the son of Lonoikamakahiki, his line was considered high-ranking.

Political career

He was the Royal Governor of Oʻahu 1839–1864. On December 21, 1863 he was made the sixth Kuhina Nui, replacing his daughter who became Crown Princess and heir apparent to the throne. For most of his reign as Kuhina Nui he supported his son Kamehameha V's view of abolishing the position. He held the position until 1864 when the Constitution of 1864 abolished it. He also served as a member of the House of Nobles from 1841–1868, Privy Council 1845–1869, and as President of the Board of Education from 1860. In 1866,

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

wrote of Mataio Kekūanaōʻa: " man of noble presence.." and " emingly natural and fitted to the place as if he had been born to it...." The Territorial Building in the Hawaii Capital Historic District was named for him.

Personal life

Kekūanaōʻa was the ''punahele'', or intimate companion of King

Kamehameha II Kamehameha II (November 1797 – July 14, 1824) was the second king of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kingdom of Hawaii from 1819 to 1824. His birth name was Liholiho and full name was Kalaninui kua Liholiho i ke kapu ʻIolani. It was lengthened to Kala ...

in his youth, and followed him to England where the King and Queen Kamāmalu died of measles in 1824. He was able to escape the sickness and return to Hawaii. On the return journey, he was baptized by the chaplain of the British warship . Back in Hawaii, he stabilizes himself in the court by marrying two wives of his late sovereign. His first marriage to Kalehua was from 1822 to 1825, and the product of this marriage was a son named Paʻaula. He married again to Pauahi, the widow of

. Their marriage lasted only months, from November 1825 to her death in February 1826. He is considered the father of her daughter Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani. He remarried Elizabeth Kīnaʻu, another Kamehameha II widow, who ruled as the

at the time under the name Kaʻahumanu II. From her he fathered

David Kamehameha David Kamehameha (1828–1835) was a member of the royal family of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Biography Born May 20, 1828, he was the firstborn and eldest son of Mataio Kekūanaōʻa and Elizabeth Kīnaʻu. He was a grandson of King Kamehameha ...

Moses Kekūāiwa Moses Kekūāiwa (July 20, 1829 – November 24, 1848) was a member of the royal family of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Early life and family Kekūāiwa was born on July 20, 1829, in Honolulu, as noted by American merchant Stephen Reynolds, who ca ...

, Lot Kapuāiwa, Alexander Liholiho, and

Victoria Kamāmalu Victoria Kamāmalu Kaʻahumanu IV (November 1, 1838 – May 29, 1866) was ''Kuhina Nui'' of Hawaii and its crown princess. Named Wikolia Kamehamalu Keawenui Kaʻahumanu-a-Kekūanaōʻa and also named Kalehelani Kiheahealani, she was mainly refe ...

. His sons Alexander and Lot would become King Kamehameha IV and King Kamehameha V. His daughter would become the fifth Kuhina Nui as Kaʻahumanu IV. The third marriage lasted from 1827 until Kīnaʻu's death in 1839. After 6 years as a widower he remarried again in 1845, to the High Chiefess Kaloloahilani. The marriage resulted in the birth of a son on November 28, 1846.Journal, Amos Starr Cooke, December 1, 1846. Vol. 8, p. 14., Honolulu: Hawaiian Mission Houses Library.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kekuanaoa, Mataio Royalty of the Hawaiian Kingdom 1790s births 1868 deaths Hawaiian Kingdom politicians House of Kamehameha Governors of Oahu Kuhina Nui Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Nobles Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom Privy Council Hawaiian Kingdom chamberlains Commanders-in-chief of the Hawaiian Kingdom