Mailikukahi

Mailikukahi
King of Oʻahu
Coronation	at Kapukapuakea Heiau
Predecessor	Haka
Successor	Kalonaiki
Spouse	Kanepukoa
Issue
Kalonaiki Kalonanui
Father	High Chief Kukahiaililani
Mother	High Chiefess Kokalola
Born	Kūkaniloko birth site, Wahiawa, Oahu

Maʻilikukahi was the eighth Alii Aimoku of Oahu. He reigned as the titular chieftain or king of the island of Oahu and all its territories it may of claim at the time. He was Oahu's first true great king,^{[citation needed]} and his successor, one after another were as great as the next, excepting Kuamanuia.^{[citation needed]} "The most civilized kings, the paragon kings, lived here on O‘ahu. In very, very ancient times, long before King Umi lived, King Ma‘ilikukahi lived in the center of this island in a place only vaguely known; similar to King Arthur's court at Camelot. He was the quintessential Hawaiian king, the “King Arthur” of Hawai‘i, in that he was the good king. He took care of people, he took care of the gods, the land prospered, people prospered, many babies are born; he treated the commoners well.^[1]

Early life

Mailikukahi was the son of Kukahiaililani and Kokalola. His father was fourth in descent from Maelo and her husband Lauli-a-Laa, and he thus represented both the Maweke and Paumakua families; a fact which gave him and his descendants no little importance among the Hawaiian aristocracy. Mailikukahi is said to have been born at Kūkaniloko birth site, and thus enjoyed the prestige of the kapu attached to all who were born there. In his childhood he was raised in Wahiawa, Kanewai and Waialua. Aged 20 he was chosen by a fellow chief in council to be the administrator of the kingdom under Haka, the reigning monarch. He succeeded Haka of Oahu after he was overthrown. Unlike his predecessor he does not descend from Kumuhonua but rather his brother Moikeha. Tradition does not say whether Mailikukahi had a hand in this affair, but he was clamorously elected by the Oahu chiefs in council convened as Moi and duly installed and anointed as such at the heiau of Kapukapuakea . After his installation as Moi he made Waikiki in the Kona district his permanent residence, and with few exceptions the place remained the seat of the Oahu kings until Honolulu harbour was discovered to be accessible to large shipping.

Reign

On the Oahu legends Mailikukahi was known for wise, firm, and judicious government. He caused the island to be thoroughly surveyed, and the boundaries between the different divisions and lands to be definitely and permanently marked out, thus obviating future disputes between neighbouring chiefs and landholders. He enacted a code of laws in which theft and rapine were punishable with death. He also caused an ordinance to be enacted and proclaimed, which found great favour with both chiefs and commoners, namely, that all first-born male children should be handed over to the Moi, to be by him brought up and educated. He was a religious chief, built several heiaus, and held the priests in honour. The island of Oahu is said to have become very populous during his reign, and thrift and prosperity abounded.

He is said to have ended the practice of human sacrifices seven generations after Paao re-introduced it to Hawai'i: Ma'ilikukahi did not sacrifice men in the luakini temples. That was the practice of the Lo Aliis who were born in Kukaniloko. There were no sacrificial heiau, po'o kanaka (human heads), anywhere in the kingdom. No trace of the heiau of Kapukapuakea, where Mailikukahi was installed as Moi, remains today. In the aftermath of the abolition of the kapu system (1819), the Hawaiian gods were repudiated and the heiau and images of the gods were destroyed. (Not without some resistance from some of the ali'i and kahuna; by the end of the nineteenth century, most of the native Hawaiian population, the estimated five percent that survived epidemic diseases introduced by colonists and immigrants, had been converted to Christianity by American missionaries. The stones of Kapukapuakea were perhaps used for road-building or other public works. Christians and converts no doubt justified their destruction of the old religion and heiau by pointing to the human sacrifices that took place at luakini heiau. But human sacrifice was hardly the essence of Hawaiian culture. Human sacrifice was practiced to prevent the devastation of wars or famine; and Ma'ilikukahi rejected and banned the practice even for that purpose. He was able to bring peace and prosperity to his kingdom by good management of people and resources instead.^[2]

His reign did have some conflict. An expedition by some Hawaii chiefs, Hilo-a-Lakapu, Hilo-a Hilo-Kapuhi, and Punaluu, joined by Luakoa of Maui, invaded Oahu during the reign of Mailikukahi. It cannot be considered as a war between the two islands, but rather as a raid by some restless and turbulent Hawaii chiefs, whom the pacific temper of Mailikukahi and the wealthy condition of his island had emboldened to attempt the enterprise, as well as the éclat that would attend them if successful, a very frequent motive alone in those days. The invading force landed at first at Waikiki, but, for reasons not stated in the legend, proceeded up the Ewa lagoon and marched inland. At Waikakalaua they met Mailikukahi with his forces, and a sanguinary battle ensued. The fight continued from there to the Kipapa gulch. The invaders were thoroughly defeated, and the gulch is said to have been paved with the corpses of the slain, and received its name, "Kipapa". Punaluu was slain on the plain which bears his name, the fugitives were pursued as far as Waimano, and the head of Hilo was cut off and carried in triumph to Honouliuli, and stuck up^{[clarification needed]} at a place still called Poo-Hilo.

Marriage

Mailikukahi's wife was Kanepukoa, but to what family she belonged legend does not relate. They had two sons, Kalona-nui and Kalona-iki, the latter succeeding his father as Moi of Oahu. From Kalona-nui's son, Kalamakua, descended the ʻI Family of Hilo.

References

• Abraham Fornander, An Account of the Polynesian Race: Its Origin and Migrations, Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1969. Page 88-90

References

1. ^ Nu'uanu, O'ahu - A Native Place: Old O'ahu
2. ^ http://apdl.kcc.hawaii.edu/~oahu/stories/waialua/killing.htm

Preceded by Hākā

Alii Aimoku of Oahu

Succeeded by Kalonaiki