Liloa (1435–1495) ruled as the 12th Alii Aimoku of Hawaii from 1465 to 1495. He was sovereign king or chief of the island of Hawaii.
He was the son of King Kihanuilulumoku, 11th Alii Aimoku of Hawaii and Waoilea. He succeeded on the death of his father in 1465. He was a ruling chief, a sacred high chief (ali'i nui kapu) who was noted for his good deeds. He carried the "sacred slab of Liloa" to make a pavement of stones leading from the bank of the place called Kahiki-mai-aea to the narrow side door of the chief's residence. The stone was famous down to the time of Kamehameha I. Liloa was a religious chief who kept the peace in his kingdom and his people contented and prosperous.
Liloa built the heiau of honuula in Waipio Valley, his home. Before he died, Liloa gave Umi the custody of the war god while making Hakau, Umi's half-brother, his heir. Umi defeated Hakau in battle and sacrificed the loser and his attendants at the heiau. Thus began a tradition upheld by Kamehameha I when he defeated his rival cousin, Kiwalao.
He kept his court at Waipio. He is represented as an affable, jolly monarch, who frequently traveled over the island, kept the other chiefs quiet, and protected the landholders. Liloa's first wife was Pinea or Piena, a Maui chiefess, with whom he had a son, Hakau, and a daughter, Kapukini. Later in life, while travelling near the borders of the Hamakua and Hilo districts, (The legend says that he had been to Koholalele in Hamakua to consecrate the Heiau called Manini, and that, passing from there, he stopped at Kaawikiwiki, and at the gulch of Hoea, near Kealakaha, he fell in love with Akahiakuleana.)
He spied a young woman, of whom he became deeply enamoured,and whom he seduced, and the fruit of which liaison was a son, whom the mother named Umi, and who afterwards played so great a role in the annals of Hawaii. The mother of Umi was named Akahiakuleana, and though in humble life, she was a lineal descendant in the sixth generation from Kalahuimoku, the son of Kanipahu Alii Aimoku of Hawaii, with Hualani of the Nanaulu-Maweke line, and haft-brother to Kalapana, the direct ancestor of Liloa.
When parting from Akahiakuleana, Liloa gave her the ivory clasp (Palaoa) of his necklace, his feather wreath (Lei-hulu), and his Malo or loincloth, (One legend has it that, instead of the Lei, Liloa gave her his Laau-palau, a short instrument for cutting taro tops, a dagger) and told her that when the child was grown up, if it was a boy, to send him with these token to Waipio, and he would acknowledge him. The boy grew up with and journeyed to Waipio valley. Umi proceeded alone to the royal mansion, not far distant. According to his mother's instructions, though contrary to the rules of etiquette observed by strangers or inferior visitors, instead of entering the courtyard by the gate, he leaped over the stockade, and instead of entering the mansion by the front door, he entered by the back door, and went straight up to where Liloa was relcining and set himself down in Liloa's lap. Surprised at the sudden action, Liloa threw the young man on the ground, and, as he fell, discovered his Malo and his ivory clasp on the body of Umi. Liloa publicly acknowledged Umi as his son and he soon became the favourite of all.
In 1495 Liloa was near dying, he called the two sons before him, and publicly gave the charge of the government of Hawaii, the position of Moi, to Hakau, and the charge of his God - that is, the maintenance of the Heiaus and the observance of the religious rites - to Umi, telling the former, "You are the ruler of Hawaii, and Umi is your man,' equivalent to next in authority.
Legends make no mention of any wars or contentions having occurred during Liloa's long reign to disturb the tranquillity of Hawaii. Liloa's high-priest was Laeanuikaumanamana, great-grandson of Kuaiwa through his son Ehu, and he received as a gift in perpetuity from Liloa the land in Kona district called Kekaha, which, through all subsequent vicissitudes of wars and revolutions, remained undisturbed in Laenui's family until the time of Kamehameha I.
| Preceded by Kihanuilulumoku |
Aliʻi Aimoku of Hawai‘i 1465–1495 |
Succeeded by Hakau |