Kānekapuakakuhihewa

Kanekapu-a-Kakuhihewa was the 16th Alii Aimoku of Oahu. He ruled as titular King or chief of Oahu and the district chieftain of Koolau or just Koolaupoko, with his seat at Kailua. Referred to Kanekapu for short.

Biography

He was the eldest son of Kakuhihewa, the 15th Alii Aimoku of Oahu, and of his wife Kaea-a-Kalona or Kahaiaonuiakauailana, the daughter of Napulanahumahiki. When Kakuhihewa died, the office and dignity of Moi of Oahu descended to Kanekapu, his oldest son. His family would ruled for five more generations afterwards under the titles of King. In other respects the island of Oahu appears to have been divided between the three oldest brothers, him, Kaihikapu-a-Kakuhihewa, and Kauakahinui-a-Kakuhihewa. This situation is similar to the Carolingian Empire after the Treaty of Verdun with Louis the German and Charles the Bald both respecting their brother Lothair I, the rightful heir of the imperial titles. No legends remain of the life and reign of Kanekapu. His other siblings were a brother, Kalehunapaikua, and a sister Makakaialiilani, who both were kept out of the inheritance. The three brothers agreed well together; though no dissensions seem to have troubled their lives, and peace and abundance blessed the land of Oahu-a-Kakuhihewa (Kakuhihewa's Oahu). Occasional allusions in the legends of other chiefs would seem to indicate, however, that the jovial temper and sumptuous style of living, which had made his father so famous among his contemporaries, were in a great measure shared by his son, Kanekapu's brother, Kaihikapu-a-Kakuhihewa, whose brilliant entourage continued the lustre of their father's court.

He had two wives. His first was Kalua, with whose name some confusion appears to have been made by the genealogies. Some she is said to have been one of the daughters of High Chiefess Hoohila, a daughter of High chief Kalaniuli and high chiefess Kaulala, and of her husband High chief Kealohi-Kikaupea, and thus a sister to Kaioe, the mother of Kahamaluihi, fourth wife of Kakuhihewa; but as Hoohila was a half-sister of Kakuhihewa's grandfather Lupekapukeahomakalii and is mentioned to in legends of Kakuhihewa as an old lady in his day, it is hardly probably that any of her daughters could have been the mate of Kakuhihewa's son, Kanekapu. She is probably granddaughter of great-granddaughter, rather than daughter, of Hoohila, and in the Meles and legends is known as Kalua-a-Hoohila. The only product of this marriage was a son named Kahoowahaokalani. His only other marriage was to Kahamaluihi, his stepmother mentioned above, with whom he had no children. There has been some confusion about his two wives for they may have been one and the same person. His only son Kahoowa succeed him as the sovereign of the island of Oahu.

References

• Abraham Fornander, An Account of the Polynesian Race: Its Origin and Migrations, Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1969.