Keaoua Kekuaokalani

Keaoua Kekua-o-kalani was a nephew of Kamehameha I, the chief from the Big Island of Hawai'i who had unified the Hawaiian islands. He was the son of Kamehameha's half brother Kealiimaikai and Kamehameha's half-sister Ki'ilaweau. After Kamehameha died in 1819, Keaoua rebelled against Kamehameha's successor, his son Liholiho. Keaoua's rebellion was brief; he was killed in battle in 1819, possibly on or about December 21, 1819.

The 'Ai Noa

After Kamehameha died, on May 8, 1819, power was assumed by Kamehameha's son Liholiho. Liholiho, at the urging of powerful female chiefs such as Ka'ahumanu, abolished the kapu system that had governed life in Hawai'i for centuries. Henceforth, men and women could eat together, women could eat formerly forbidden foods, and state worship at the stone platform temples, or heiaus, was discontinued. This event is called the Ai Noa, or free eating. As the historian Gavan Daws points out (Daws, 1967, pp. 54-59), this was a decision taken by the chiefs, and it affected only the state religion. Commoners could still worship their family protective deities, their aumakua; hula teachers could make offerings to Laka and Big Island Hawaiians could make offerings to Pele (mythology).

Rebellion

Nonetheless, some of the chiefs felt that if they were to abandon the kapus and the services at the heiaus, they would lose the religious justification and support for their rule. Liholiho, they felt, was courting disaster, and must be opposed, lest he take down everyone with him.

Keaoua Kekuaokalani was a Big Island chief. He was the son of Kamehameha's younger brother and if Liholiho were to die or be overthrown, would have a good claim to the throne. He was outraged by the Ai Noa and withdrew from the royal court, then staying at Kailua-Kona, on the Big Island, and retired to Ka'awaloa. Many opponents of the Ai Noa joined him in his self-imposed exile and urged him to try for the throne, saying, "The chief who prays to the god, he is the chief who will hold the rule." (Kamakau, 1961, p. 226) Some of the Hawaiians living in Hamakua, on the north coast of the Big Island, rebelled outright and killed some soldiers sent against them. The situation was perilous.

The emissaries

The king, Liholiho, and his chiefs took counsel and decided to send emissaries to Keaoua, asking him to abandon his defiance, return to Kailua, and join in the free eating again. Keaoua received the emissaries with apparent deference and said he was ready to return to Kailua the next day, but would not join in the free eating. The emissaries retired to rest, thinking the problem solved.

According to Kamakau, Keaoua's supporters spent the night arguing with their leader, urging him to kill the emissaries and mount a decisive rebellion, Keaoua forbade any assassinations but the next morning, when he and his followers were to board canoes for the return to Kailua, he refused. He said he and his men (drawn up in ranks, in warrior regalia) would go by land.

The battle

Again, he had not declared war outright — but this was tantamount to war. Liholiho sent forces under Kalanimoku to intercept Keaoua. Their forces met at Kuamo'o. Keaoua fought bravely, but was eventually killed by rife fire. His wife Manono, who had been fighting at her husband's side, begged for mercy but was shot down as well. Keaoua's army scattered and the victory for Liholiho was complete.

This was the only armed rebellion in favor of the old religion.

References

* Daws, Gavan, "Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands", University of Hawaii Press, 1967
* Kamakau, Samuel M., "Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii", Kamehameha Schools Press, 1961 (a collection of newspaper articles written by Kamakau, in Hawaiian, during the 1800s)