Kamanawa II

Kamanawa II
Spouse Kamokuiki
Aulani (lover)
Issue Caesar Kaluaiku Kapaʻakea
Kekahili (disputed)
Joel Hulu Mahoe
Father Kepoʻokalani
Mother Alapaiwahine
Born c. 1785
Died October 20, 1840
Honolulu

Kamanawa II known as Kamanawa ʻŌpio or Kamanawa ʻElua (c. 1785 – October 20, 1840) was a Hawaiian high chief and grandfather of the last two ruling monarchs of the Kingdom of Hawaii, King David Kalākaua and Queen Lydia Makaeha Liliʻuokalani. His family had a good reputation until 1840, when he was convicted of murdering his wife.

Life

Family

Kamanawa was born about 1785. His father was High Chief Kepoʻokalani. He was a grandson of Kameʻeiamoku, one of the five Kona chiefs who supported Kamehameha I in his formation of the Kingdom, one of the royal twins on the Coat of Arms of Hawaii. His mother was High Chiefess Alapaʻi Wahine.

His half-brother was ʻAikanaka.

He was named after his great uncle Kamanawa, the twin of his grandfather. Sometimes he is called Kamanawa ʻŌpio or ʻElua because ʻōpio means "junior"[1] and ʻelua means "second" in the Hawaiian language.[2] He had son Caesar Kaluaiku Kapaʻakea (1815–1866) and daughter Chiefess Kekahili (c. 1830) by Kamokuiki. He was known to live in the Keahuolū area of the North Kona district of the island of Hawaiʻi.[3]

Death

He began to hear rumors that his great-uncle Alapai was the true father of Kekahili. Meanwhile, he had a son Joel Hulu Mahoe (1831–1891) by Aulani. He had divorced his wife Kamokuiki, but he could not legally remarry while his former wife lived. Punishment for adultery in missionary-influenced Hawaii included banishment to the barren island of Kahoʻolawe.

He and an accomplice, Lonoapuakau, captain of the Hawaiian vessel Hooikaika, poisoned Kamokuiki to avoid punishment for adultery, but were discovered.[4] The trial, October 3, 1840, was presided over by Governor Kekūanāoʻa of Oʻahu and a jury of twelve "intelligent Hawaiians". Kamanawa was found guilty of both murder and adultery. The same issue of the newspaper that expressed approval of the trial welcomed Charles Wilkes of the American Exploring Expedition.[5]

On October 20, 1840 he and Lonopuakau were hanged at Fort Honolulu before a crowd of 10,000. Kamanawa died twelve days after the first Hawaiian Constitution was signed. His grandson David Kalākaua was six years old, still attending Royal School, when the Cookes sent him to see the execution, not knowing that it was to be that of his grandfather. Juliette Cooke wrote in her journal: “A man is to be hanged and wants to see David." To see the public execution of his own grandfather was traumatic for the six-year-old child. Kalākaua, coming from the tradition of ohana (close extended family relationships), had known his grandfather well. This might have influenced Kalākaua's later conflicts with the conservative missionaries after he came to the throne.[6][7]

References

  1. ↑ Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel Hoyt Elbert (2003). "lookup of opio ". in Hawaiian Dictionary. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library, University of Hawaii Press. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
  2. ↑ Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel Hoyt Elbert (2003). "lookup of elua ". in Hawaiian Dictionary. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library, University of Hawaii Press. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Keahuolū ahupua'a". Ka Wai Ola. Hawaii state Office of Hawaiian Affairs. June 2009.
  4. ↑ Kapiikauinamoku (1955). "High Chief Kamanawa II Is Hanged for Murder". in The Story of Hawaiian Royalty (The Honolulu Advertiser, Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library). Retrieved October 13, 2010.
  5. ↑ Helen Geracimos Chapin (1996). Shaping History: The Role of Newspapers in Hawai'i. University of Hawaii Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-8248-1718-3.
  6. ↑ Darlene E. Kelley (January 1, 2001). "Kalakaua Part 2". Keepers of the Culture: A study in time of the Hawaiian Islands As told by the ancients. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
  7. ↑ June Gutmanis (1974). "Law ... Shall Punish All Men Who Commit Crime". Hawaiian Journal of History (Hawaiian Historical Society) 8: 143–145. hdl:10524/526.

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