Mopua

Mopua, a Hawaiian High Chief of Mauian and Molokaian descent, was the district king or chieftain of Hāna and father of Kalahumoku II. Although most sources refer to Mopua as a Hana chieftain, Abraham Fornander calls him Mopua of Molokai,^[1] hinting either Molokaian descent or suzerainty.

Overview

Mopua was the son of the High Chief Kauhiokalani, not to be confused with the son of Kihapiilani and Koleamoku, and the High Chiefess Kaakaualaninui.^[2] It was through his mother Kaakaualaninui, not to be confused with the second wife of Kakuhihewa and mother of Kauakahinuiakakuhihewa, that his family came to possess "Ka Poo Hoolewa I Ka La."^[3] His only sibling was a sister named Nalanipipio. Through his paternal lineage he was the grandson of Princess Kuhala of Maui and High Chief Kaneikapookapuoluna.^[4] His grandmother, Kuhala, was the youngest daughter of Lonohonuakini, King of Maui, and his wife Queen Kalanikauanakinilani of Maui.^[5][6]

His genealogy is steeped in royal Mauaian blood, and by this it can be speculated that Hāna was under the rule of his first-cousin once removed, Kekaulike. Hāna had been an outpost of the King of Hawaii but during Kekaulike's reign he had broken the peaceful policy of his predecessor and conquered Hāna as his own. It may have been under the rule of his second cousin, Kamehamehanui who lost this piece of land to the King of Hawaii. Most likely Mopua's lifetime was in the late 17th century and therefore under Kekaulike's rule. It may have been in his son's lifetime that Hāna's rule transacted to Hawaii under Kalaniopuu before being reconquered decades later by Kamehamehanui's brother, Kahekili II.

He married the High Chiefess Kauaamano^[7] whose genealogy is unknown but no doubt of Mauian descent. His only son was Kalahumoku II, who succeeded him as district chieftain of Hāna. Mopua's personal ʻulu maika, a round stone used in an ancient Hawaiian game, had been passed down to his son, Kalahumoku II; then to his granddaughter, Kahikikalaokalani; to his great grandson, Kalokuokamaile; to his great great granddaughter, Kaohelelani; to his great great great grandson, Gideon Peleioholani Laanui; and finally to Elizabeth Kekaaniau Pratt, who donated it to the Bishop Museum. Through the generations, it was the duty of the family kahu to care for the ʻulu maika.^[8] Made of coral rock, the ʻulu maika's catalogued number at the Museum is 5013, with a diameter of 3 in., a thickness of 2 in., and weight of 12 oz.^[9]

Footnotes

1. ^ Fornander p.216
2. ^ http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/a/h/y/Thomas-Eugene-imakakoloaihe-Ah-yee/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0403.html
3. ^ Pratt. p. 10-11
4. ^ http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/a/h/y/Thomas-Eugene-imakakoloaihe-Ah-yee/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0401.html
5. ^ The Stories & Genealogies of Maui," http://www.mauiculture.net/mookuauhau/index.html, Accessed 9 Oct 2004.
6. ^ http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/a/h/y/Thomas-Eugene-imakakoloaihe-Ah-yee/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0406.html
7. ^ http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/a/h/y/Thomas-Eugene-imakakoloaihe-Ah-yee/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0405.html
8. ^ Catalogue of the Bishop Museum. p 105
9. ^ Memoirs of the Bishop Museum. p 70

References

• Fornander, Abraham; Stokes, John F. G. (1880), An Account of the Polynesian Race, Trubner & co., http://books.google.com/books?id=tcQNAAAAQAAJ&ie=ISO-8859-1 .
• Pratt, Elizabeth Kekaaniauokalani (1920), History of Keoua Kalanikupuapa-i-kalani-nui, Father of Hawaii Kings, and His Descendants, with Notes on Kamehameha I, First King of All Hawaii, T.H., http://books.google.com/books?id=K-O5nPqJVKEC&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html_text .
• Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum (1892), A Preliminary Catalogue of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum of Polynesian Ethnology and Natural History ..., Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, http://books.google.com/books?id=D0lgAAAAIAAJ&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html .
• Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum (1902), Memoirs of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum of Polynesian Ethnology and Natural History ..., Bishop Museum Press, http://books.google.com/books?id=JLI78txyfr0C&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html_text .

External links

• Mopua Genealogy