Maweke

Maweke was a northern Hawaiian king. He was of the Nanaulu line being lineal descendent of Nanaulu, the brother of Ulu, from whom the southern chiefs claim their descent. The northern chiefs of Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau descent from Maweke and Nanaulu. There are no legends of much historical value referring to the long line of chiefs from Nanaulu to Maweke, embracing a period of fifteen generations, or about 450 years. From Maweke and the descendants of this ali'i and his family were considered the blue-blood of all the aliis in Hawaii down to comparatively modern times.^[1]

If Hawaiian traditions are remarkably redundant with the brilliant exploits of princely adventurers from the southern groups, who flocked this country, or by some means or other insinuated themselves or their descendants on vacant thrones and in prominent positions, they are equally redundant, if not more so, with the adventures and achievements of Hawaiian chiefs of the original Nanaulu line, who roamed over the southern and southwestern groups of the Pacific in quest of fame, of booty, or of new homes. Many of these returned to their native homes laden with rich and curious knowledge of foreign manners and foreign modes of thought, and thus aided not a little in overlaying the ancient condition, social, political, and religious, with the more elaborate but grosser southern cultures and more despotic rule of government.^[2]

About the time, probably a generation earlier, of the Paumakuas, Kapawa, and Paao, there lived on Oahu a chief by the Maweke. He was the son of High Chief Kekuapahaikala and High Chiefess Maihikea. He lived twenty-seven generations ago, counting on the direct line through the King of Oahu, his descendants, or from twenty-six to twenty-eight generations ago, counting on the collateral Hawaii and Maui kings. He was believed to have lived about the earlier and middle part of the eleventh century. Nothing worthy of note is related by the traditions about Maweke, but it is remarkable that he is the first on the Nanaulu line, counting downward, from whom any collateral branches have descended to our days. No doubt there were collateral offshoots of the Nanaulu line before his time. The Hikapoloa, Kamaiole, and others on Hawaii; the Kamauaua on Molokai; the Wahanui on Oahu; the Kealiiloa, Pueo-nui, and Keikipaanea on Kauai, and several others to whom the legends refer, were not southerners of the Ulu line, but it is nowhere stated through whom, on the Nanaulu line before Maweke, they descended. It does appear as if those families and many other collaterals above Maweke had been merged, absorbed in, and eclipsed by the southern element, and in process of time lost the memory of their connection with the Nanaulu line. While the Maweke family was strong enough to not only retain its own individuality and its ancient genealogy to the latest times unruffled by southern contact, but also to absorb and subordinate to itself several of those southern invader whose descendants in after ages counted it no small honor to be able, through marriage of some of their ancestors, to claim connection and descent from this powerful Nanaulu Maweke Family.^[3]

Tradition records that Maweke had three sons, Mulielealii, Keaunui, and Kalehenui, whose lines, with numerous collaterals, have descended to our days. The Kalehenui family appears to have chiefly resided on the Koolau side of the island of Oahu, while the favoured residence and patrimonial estates of the Keaunui family appear to have been in the Ewa, Waianae, and Waialua districts of the same island. The particular district occupied by Mulielealii is not well defined in the legends. As the descendants of one of his sons, Kumuhonua, are found for several generations afterwards in possession of the district of Kona, Oahu, it may be supposed to have been their heritage after the death of Maweke.^[4]

Notes

References

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