Awaiaulu – Ke Kumu Aupuni.
Cover Image: Masthead of Ka Nupepa Kuokoa published on April 27, 1867.
Dear Reader,
Nūpepa ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi provided an outlet for people to share information from one end of the world to the other, and from one generation to the next through printed words, illustrations, and beginning in the 20th century, photography. Within these now fragile pages, the knowledge and history of the Hawaiian people is recorded in their own language, and the breadth of this repository is unmatched.
Today we present to you S. M. Kamakau’s account of Kaʻiana [Kaʻianaaʻahuʻula] meeting Kamehameha Paiʻea, as found in the nūpepa, and the English translation by Awaiaulu.
Our partners at Awaiaulu are dedicated to developing resources and resource people that can bridge Hawaiian knowledge from the past to the present and the future. Historical resources are made accessible so as to build the knowledge base and young scholars are trained to understand and interpret those resources for modern audiences today and tomorrow.
One of their recent accomplishments is the publication of Ke Kumu Aupuni: The Foundation of Hawaiian Nationhood. Authored by Samuel Mānaiakalani Kamakau, this historical account of Kamehameha and the nation that he founded was originally published in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa from October 20, 1866 to February 15, 1868.
Image: Cover image. Kamakau, Samuel Mānaiakalani. Ke Kumu Aupuni: The Foundation of Hawaiian Nationhood. Translated by M. Puakea Nogelmeier. Awaiaulu, 2022.
Image: “No ke Ku ana o Kaiana ma Hawaii,” Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, April 27, 1867, p. 1
Regarding Kaʻiana’s Arrival at Hawaiʻi
While Kamehameha was staying in Kona, Hawaiʻi, a ship anchored at Kealakekua under the command of Captain Kane. Kaʻiana was aboard the ship. Kaʻiana was a chief, a grandchild of Keaweikekahialiʻiokamoku. His father was ʻAhuʻula, son of Keawe, king of the island of Hawaiʻi, and Kaupekamoku was his mother. Kaʻiana had sailed from Kauaʻi, while his cousins, Nāmakehā and Nāhiʻōleʻa, remained on Kauaʻi.
When Kaʻiana landed at Hawaiʻi, he met with Kamehameha, who made Kaʻiana a great favorite. Kaʻiana gave Kamehameha many muskets and cannons. Kamehameha urged Kaʻiana to stay and live on Hawaiʻi, saying, “Here there is land; there are chiefs; there are subjects. Stay with us here on Hawaiʻi; do not go back to Kauaʻi and Oʻahu.” Kaʻiana saw that Kamehameha’s words were sincere; he also had cousins who were living on Hawaiʻi, namely Kalanikūāiwa and his people and Kaʻianaukupe, the father of Kaikioʻewa and some other royals there.
Kaʻiana decided that it was proper to reside on Hawaiʻi, the land bequeathed by the ancestors. But he told Kamehameha that he would summon his cousins, Nāmakehā and Nāhiʻōleʻa, on Kauaʻi. Kamehameha agreed to send for them, so Kaʻiana sent Captain Kane, his close companion and friend who had taken him to distant lands.
Kaʻiana was a knowledgeable chief who had deep insight regarding war strategy, geomancy, geography, priestly practice, and oratory. He was a seer who would never miss hidden meanings, a conservative political advisor, an expert in the frailties of the chiefs’ line, and a skilled ancestral genealogist; these were likely some of the reasons that Kamehameha’s ministers eventually conspired against him. Some said, “Kaʻiana is smart; he gave all of his weapons to Kamehameha and granted his own life to Kamehameha as well.” That was not the reason; there was another reason. Kamehameha witnessed Kaʻiana’s aptitude for battle and his skill at shooting, which had been the reason that Kaʻiana had sailed to Tahiti for three years as an officer with his companion and friend, Captain Kane. Those were years of many wars between the governments of Europe and America as well as pirate attacks by ships on the ocean, seizing ships at sea. It was during those years that Kaʻiana had traveled throughout the nations of distant lands, and that was the basis for his proficiency. Thus Kamehameha chose Kaʻiana as his general and battle strategist, sending him to make war against Keōuakūʻahuʻula. This was necessary, because Kamehameha had previously sent Keʻeaumoku, the chiefs, and the foreigners, John Young ʻOlohana and D. Isaac ʻAikake, to Hilo to battle Keōuakūʻahuʻula, but they had been routed by Keōuakūʻahuʻula, and the same outcome had occurred at Kaʻū.
[English translation from Awaiaulu’s “Ke Kumu Aupuni: The Foundation of Hawaiian Nationhood,” pp. 229– 231.]
Image: “A Man [Kaʻiana] of the Sandwich Islands with His Helmet,” Engraving by J. K. Sherwin, after John Webber, Hawaiʻi. 1784. Bishop Museum Archives. SP 33541.
Image sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact Archives@BishopMuseum.org
This post is part of He Aupuni Palapala: Preserving and Digitizing the Hawaiian Language Newspapers, a partnership between Bishop Museum and Awaiaulu with assistance from Kamehameha Schools. Mahalo nui loa to Hawaii Tourism Authority for their support. Learn more about this project here.
