Kūkaniloko was an
ancient Hawaii
Ancient Hawaii is the period of Hawaiian history preceding the establishment in 1795 of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great. Traditionally, researchers estimated the first settlement of the Hawaiian islands as having occurred sporad ...
an noble lady, who became the High Chiefess (Hawaiian: ''
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 pronoun ...
Wahine'') of the island of
Oahu
Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...
, and had a long reign.
Biography
Kūkaniloko was born on Oʻahu as a daughter of High Chief
Piliwale and his spouse, High Chiefess Kawaalaauaka, his sister. Kūkanilokoʻs younger sister was called Kohipalaoa; they were Piliwaleʻs only children, and he had no sons. After Piliwale's death, Kūkaniloko became the first female ruler of the whole island of Oʻahu; although there were some female rulers on Oʻahu before Kūkaniloko — like
Mualani
Mualani (also called Muolani or simply Mua; ''lani'' = "heaven/sky" in Hawaiian) was a Hawaiian High Chiefess who lived on the island of Oahu and was a Princess of Koʻolau.
She was a daughter of Princess Hinakaimauliʻawa of Koʻolau, who was ...
— but they ruled only over the small portion of Oʻahu.
Marriage
Kūkaniloko married a man called Luaia, who was a chief from
Maui
Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...
. They had at least one child —
Kalaʻimanuʻia, who became the High Chiefess of Oʻahu (after her mother's death).
[ Kamakau, Samuel Mānaiakalani, ''Ka Nupepa Kuokoa'' (newspaper). 1865. "He Mau Olele Mua No Ka Mookuauhau o Kamehameha I".]
See also
*
Alii nui of Oahu
References
{{Authority control
Royalty of Oahu
Year of death unknown
Hawaiian queens regnant