| Benjamin Nāmākēhā | |
|---|---|
| High Chief of Hawaii | |
| Spouse | Halauwai Esther Kapiʻolani |
| Full name | |
| Benjamin Nāmākēhāokalani | |
| Father | Kamaunu[1] |
| Mother | Kukaeleiki[1] |
| Born | c. 1799 Hilo, Hawaiʻi |
| Died | December 27, 1860 Honolulu, Oahu |
| Burial | Mauna ʻAla Royal Mausoleum |
Bennett, Beneli, Beniki, or Benjamin Nāmākēhā-o-kalani (c. 1799–1860) was a Hawaiian high Chief, uncle of Queen Emma of Hawaii, and first husband of Queen Kapiolani.[2]
He and his brother George Naea were sons of High Chief Kamaunu and High Chiefess Kukaeleiki, the daughter of Kalauawa from the royal line of Kauaian chiefs. Kukaeleiki was also cousin of Queen Keōpūolani. Nāmākēhā was also said to have been descended from Kalanawaʻa of Oahu and High Chiefess Kuaenaokalani of Maui who held the exalted kapu rank of Kekapupoʻohoʻolewaikalā (a head so sacred that it could not be exposed to the sun except at dawn).[3]:4 Some sources[2][4][5] say his father was High Chief Keliʻimaikai, son of High Chief Keōua by his second wife the High Chiefess Kekuʻiapoiwa II, and his mother was Kalikoʻokalani. His name was the same as the high chief who rebelled against Kamehameha during the end of his military career in 1796. His brother Naea was the father of Queen Emma.
He was a member of the House of Nobles from about 1848 through 1855. By 1851 the House of Nobles consisted only of petty chiefs called Kaukaualiʻi. Nāmākēhā was inferior to the aliʻi nui (High Chiefs). Kaukaualiʻi were only descended from famous fathers while aliʻi nui claim parentage of mother of the highest rank.[6]
On March 8, 1852 he married the chiefess Esther Kapiʻolani, daughter of Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole of Hilo and Chiefess Kekaulike of Kauaʻi. His second wife was 35 years his junior. Through that marriage she became Queen Emma's aunt. He and Kapiʻolani had no children. Although he had one son Hinau by his first wife, Halauwai. For his health the young couple voyaged for months on The Morning Star, a missionary vessel, among the Gilbert Islands, but in vain, for Nāmākēhā died on December 27, 1860, at Honolulu. He was buried at the Wylie Tomb in the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii at Mauna ʻAla. His wife later married David Kalākaua and became the Queen consort of Hawaii.[7] His line died out with his granddaugher Stella Keomailani (1866–1927), who was married to James Dawson Cockett and later to Edwin K. Kea.[8]