FULL NAME:
Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kaui Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea.

THE IDENTITY OF THE BIOLOGICAL PARENTS OF KAMEHAMEHA THE GREAT is a disputed matter.

Contrary to popular history, there is a strong case to be made that Kamehameha was originally a member of the Maui royal family and that he was transferred to the Big Island and adopted by the ruling chief and his wife. They became his parents of record.

This has not been settled (c. 2010) and probably can't be settled. It doesn't need to be settled. However, there is no question about whom Kamehameha the Great treated as his father, and that was the great chief Keoua Kalani-kupu'uapai-kalani-nui Ahilapalapa. By tradition, the Hawaiian people follow this line of genealogy because Kamehameha himself did. It is probably a good practise. When fully understood, the ancient custom of hanai and the seriousness of it in Hawaiian culture makes clear to those who understand that Keoua was very much indeed Kamehameha's "real" father. All Hawaiians will understand that to be the truth. It is this family of Keoua that formed the royal court around Kamehameha the Great.

However, in our genealogy practise we follow the blood-line tradition from Maui (taught by our kupuna the genealogist SLK Peleioholani), which tells us that Kamehameha was not the natural biological son of Keoua Kalani-kupu'uapai-kalani-nui Ahilapalapa and Kekupoiwa Nui but rather given as a gift to them by his true biological parents from Maui. These biological parents were Kahekili (Ruling Chief of Maui) and his sister Ku, the son and daughter of Kekaulike (Ruling Chief of Maui). This Maui genealogy would make Kamehameha a full NINAU PI'O chief (the mother and father are full blooded brother and sister and children of ruling chief). This was a rare This would have made him the highest ranking male chief, by blood, in all the Hawaiian Islands. It may have been possible, with this exalted chiefl;y rank anbd all its honors and kapus, to assume complete control over all the islands without going to war, based on his bloodline alone. Such male chiefs are rare, the closest living male in Kamehameha's time being Keawemauhili (who possessed certain "intertwined kapus" from birth which were rare but not as exalted as the NINAU PI'O of Kamehameha).

When Kamehameha was gifted in "hanai" by Maui to the Big Island and it's rulers Keoua Kalani-kupu'uapai-kalani-nui Ahilapalapa and Kekupoiwa Nui, the social and political ramifications of Kamehameha's exceptionally high birth rank upon the fortunes and power of Maui's current elites were neutralized, at least for for the time being. This disappearance of the male infant Kamehameha was very convenient for all the othe other male chiefs of Maui, especially Kamehameha's father Kahekili and uncle Kamahemahanui Ailuau (who he was named after).

END OF THE KAMEHAMEHA DYNASTY

There was a controversy at the time of Kalakaua's election as to the quality of his bloodline and whether he was fit to sit on the throne of Hawaii. Also, there was a controversy about the special election itself, which brought him to power. It is now forgotten that there was a great tumult surrounding the elections results. Not everyone supported Kalakaua. People did riot when they heard Kalakaua had won. There were accusations that Kalakaua had cheated his opponent the beloved Queen Emma (widow of King Kamehameha IV) out of a victory with his political machinations. Many chiefs, especially the very old guard, refused their support and would not attend the Kalakaua court. This is now forgotten. But in its time this was a great controversy, a dark cloud that hung over the Kalakaua Dynasty's possession of the throne and some say it is why they could not hold on to it.

Nonetheless,in due time they did establish themselves firmly in the hearts of the people and their claim was secured. The Kamehameha line (and the Keoua line) lost their seniority in regal succession when the Kalakaua Dynasty came to power and legitamized their government by gaining acceptance by the people of Hawaii Nei. The expression of the warm and sincere acceptance by the Hawaiian people can be seen in their love for Queen Liliuokalani and also for the Princess Victoria Kaiulani.

The current heirs of the Kalakaua Dynasty would be the Kawananakoa family.

Kuhina-Nui from 6th June 1825

NOTE: There are extensive NOTES for this individual. SCROLL PAST THE NOTES BELOW to see SPOUSE/FAMILY
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FULL NAME: Miriam Kalākua Kaheiheimālie Hoapili-Wahine.

Through her daughters Elizabeth and Miriam she was grandmother of three kings: Kamehameha IV, Kamehameha V, and Lunalilo.

Governess of Maui 1840-1842

She was born c. 1778 into a noble (ali'i) family of Maui. Her father was Keʻeaumoku Pāpaʻiahiahi, a noble from Hawaiʻi Island. Her mother was Namahanaʻi Kaleleokalani, the former consort of her half-brother the late king of Maui, Kamehameha Nui. From her mother she was a member of the royal house of Maui. Her siblings included Hawaiʻi island Governor John Adams Kuakini, Queen Kaʻahumanu, Maui Governor George Cox Kahekili Keʻeaumoku II, and Lydia Namahana Piʻia. Her father became an advisor and friend to Kamehameha I, eventually becoming royal governor of Maui. He arranged for her sister Kaʻahumanu to marry the king when she was thirteen; she woud be the most powerful leader of the kingdom for several decades.

First Kaheiheimālie married Prince Kalaʻimamahu, Chief Priest of ʻIo and Kāne. He was a brother of Kamehameha I. They divorced around 1795 and she married her former brother-in-law King Kamehameha I in a ceremony known as Hoao-Wohi. She was part of the court of Kamehameha I that met George Vancouver during his expedition in 1794 and agreed to the first treaty with Great Britain.

She had one son and two daughters by her second marriage to Kamehameha I. Her son Prince Kamehameha Kapauaiwa was born about 1801 and died as an infant. Her daughter Victoria Kamehamalu Kekuaiwaokalani (c. 1802–1824) married Liholiho and became Queen consort Kamāmalu when Liholiho became King Kamehameha II. Her youngest daughter Elizabeth Kīnaʻu (c. 1805–1839) succeed her aunt Kaʻahumanu, Kalākua's sister, as Kuhina Nui, co-ruling Hawaii with Kamehameha II. Her daughter from her first marriage with Kalaimamahu was Miriam Auhea Kekāuluohi (c. 1794–1845) who succeeded Elizabeth as the third Kuhina Nui, styled as Kaʻahumanu III.
Through her daughters Elizabeth and Miriam she was grandmother of three more kings: Kamehameha IV, Kamehameha V, and Lunalilo.

She married for the third time at Honolulu, October 19, 1823, to Ulumāheihei Hoapili who was the Governor of Maui. She became a late convert to Christianity and took the name "Miriam" along with her oldest daughter. She was described as physically being "...tall and gigantic" like her siblings. She was known as Hoapili-wahine or "Mrs. Hoapili". She served as Governor of Maui 1840-1842 after her husband's death, and was a founding member of the Hosue of Nobles in 1841. She died on Maui, January 16, 1842 and was at buried Moku'ula. Her remains were later moved to the nearby Waineʻe Cemetery beside her last husband Hoapili.

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References
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(1) Kapiikauinamoku (June 19, 1955). "The Story of Maui Royalty: Kamehameha, Kalakua Wed in Hoao-Wohi Rites". Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 2010-01-01.

(2) Stephen L. Desha (2000). "Chapter 14: Vancounver's Visit". Kamehameha and his warrior Kekūhaupiʻo (Moolelo kaao no Kuhaupio ke koa kaulana o ke au o Kamehameha ka Nui). Translated by Frances N. Frazier. Kamehameha Schools Press. p. 379. ISBN 0-87336-061-3.

(3) Kapiikauinamoku (Sammy Amalu) (June 20, 1955). "The Story of Maui Royalty: Princess Kamamalu Was Kamehamehaʻs Daughter". Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 2010-01-01.

(4) Henry Soszynski. "Kalakua Kaheiheimalie". web page on "Rootsweb". Retrieved 2009-12-22.

(5) Hiram Bingham I (1855) . A Residence of Twenty-one Years in the Sandwich Islands (Third ed.). H.D. Goodwin. p. 164.

(6) "Hoapili office record". state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Retrieved 2009-11-25.

(7) "Burials in Waialoa Cemetery". Find A Grave web site. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
External links

FULL NAME:
Keōpūolani-Ahu-i-Kekai-Makuahine-a-Kama-Kalani-Kau-i-Kealaneo
Please see the notes/discussion for her mother.

Fornander and Kamakau call her Kahakuhaakoi.

Kuhina Nui of HAwaii. According to information in "Hawaiian Genealogies" (Pukui), Kinoiki was a po'olua by Kala'imamahu and Kamehameha.

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NOTE: There are extensive notes for this person. Scroll past these notes to go directly to SPOUSE & CHILDREN
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Liliha Kekuipoiwa (Kekuipoiwa III) is the daughter of Kalaniopu'u, not Keaoua Kalanikupuapa'ikalaninui (Keaoua) as commonly taught.

Knowing the true father of Liliha Kekuipoiwa means we can now see that when she married Kiwalao, she was marrying her full brother not her half-brother, as is commonly taught. This their offspring Keopuolani (w.), a full Ninau Pi'o chief, because she is the offspring of a full blooded brother and sister who are themselves the children of ruling chiefs. This is a rare and precious type chief.

Liliha's daughter Keopuolani, would have been considered more than a normal human being: she was a living god walking among mortals (an "akua"). Thus we understand why she was sought after by Kamehameha to be the Royal Queen Mother of his sons, the furture kings (Kamehameha II and Kamehameha III)

The only person of equal rank to Liliha Kekuipoiwa's daughter would have been the Ninau Pio chiefess Kalanikauiokikilo of Maui, a half-sister of Liliha Kekuipoiwa. Kamehameha also sought this chiefess Kalanikauiokikilo as a wife but because of her high station she committed suicide rather than surrender to Kamehameha, who she considered an enemy of Maui (which he had conquered and subdued) and of insufficient chiefly rank to be her mate.

(Kalanikauikikilo was wrong abou Kamehameha's rank, please see his records and the information about his true parent in this database for that separate discussion)

* PLEASE NOTE: Further sanctifying the daughter Keopuolani was the fact that Liliha and Kiwalao's mother Kalola was herself a kind of Pi'o chief, being the product of a marriage between King Kekaulike of Maui and his half-sister Kekuipoiwa Nui.

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LILIHA KEKUIPOIWA: DAUGHTER OF KING KALANIOPU'U
"The Complete Ancestry of John Liwai Kalniopuuikapali-o-Molilele-ma-wai-o-Ahukini-Kau-Hawaii Ena"
(S.L.K. Peleioholani)
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HAWAIIAN:
Kalaniopuu (k), moi, hoao ia Kalola (w), alii kiekie o Maui, hanau o Kiwalao (k) Liliha Kekuiapoiwa (w), a noho moi mahope mai.

ENGLISH:
Kalaniopuu (k), king, married to Kalola (w), high chiefess of Maui; born was Kiwalao (k) Liliha Kekuiapoiwa (w), who later became ruling king.





HAWAIIAN:
E nana ia Kalaninuiiamamao (k) oia ponoi ka makua o Moi Kalaniopuu (k) ame kana mau keiki.
(I) Keiki hiapo Kiwalao (k);
(II) Keiki elua Liliha Kekuiapoiwa, o Saua ponoi ke kupuna o Liholiho (k) I, moi o Hawaii, kupuna o Naahienaena (w)/ kupuna o Kauikeaouli (k) moi o Hawaii.
(III). Kalaniopuu (k) ka makuakane ponoi o Kaleipaihala (k)/ ke kupuna ponoi o Kaleleonalani moi a me L. M. Kekupuoh, Keawehawaii (k), Halalo (k), J. Ropikana (k).
(IV) Kalaniopuu (k) ka makuakane o Keaouakuahuula, ke kupuna o na lit Kekaaniau (w) Honolulu, L. M. Kekupuohi, Sam Paka.

ENGLISH:
Look at Kalaninuiiamamao (k); he was the own father of King Kalaniopuu (k) and his children.
(I) The eldest son Kiwalao (k);
(II) Second child Liliha Kekuiapoiwa; they are the true grandparents of Lihoiiho I (k), King of Hawaii, grandparent of Naahienaena (w) and grandparent of Kauikeaouli (k) King of Hawaii.
(III). Kalaniopuu (k)/ the true father of Kaleipaihala (k), the grandfather of Kaleleonalani, Queen, and L. M. Kekupuohi, Keawehawaii (k), Halalo (k), and J. Robinson (k).
(IV) Kalaniopuu (k), the father of Keaouakuahuula, the ancestor of the chiefess Kekaaniau (w) of Honolulu, L. M. Kekupuohi and Sam Parker. The chief Keouakuahuula (k), true ancestor through the mother of Keouakuahuula, namely Kanekapolei (w), of W. Notley, C. K. Notley, K. 0. Notley, M. Notley, all of Waimea, Hawaii.

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CONCLUSION

Textbooks, charts and references should be corrected.

This is the correct genealogy of the Kamehameha Dynasty according to my great grandfather High Chief S.L.K. Peleiholani, senior ranking Chief of the Keawe Lineage of Hawaii along with his sister the Honorable Ululani Liwai (Baker), Governess of Hawaii Island, advisor to the kings Kamehameha IV and Kalakaua.

This is the knowledge handed down by the Maui and Hawaii chiefs who fathered Kamehameha, helped him conquer the islands, or resisted him to defend their own kingship when they could, and finally gave up their women to be his royal wives. These foundational chiefs passed the kokua and the mo'okuauhau in an unbroken chain from father to son, mother to son, directly to S.L.K. Peleioholani, whose grandmother Kahahana sat at Kamehameha the Great's bedside as he was dieing.

- Dean P. Kekoolani
January 23, 2010
Kapolei, Oahu, Hawaii

THERE ARE 2 (TWO) DIFFERENT CHIEFESS NAMED "KANEKAPOLEI"We are told clearly by a Poepoe family member in a 1919 newspaper article that there are two Kanekapoleis, one is the wife of Kamehameha the Great, the other is the niece, who is named after the wife of Kamehameha the Great. Today, this is a cause of some slight confusion as many do not remember that there are two different women (same family) named Kanekapolei.

We differentiate them as Kanekapolei I and Kanekapolei II.

(REFERENCE: Ka Nupepa Kuokoa (Newspaper) NOV 21, 1919 "Hala is Pua Alii Kamehameha", reprinted in HAWAIIAN GENEALOGIES, VOL 2, McKinzie)

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EXCERPT FROM 1919 NEWSPAPER ARTICLE (NOT COMPLETE):

KA NUPEPA KUOKOA November 21, 1919
HALA IA PUA ALII KAMEHAMEHA This Kamehameha Chiefly Offspring Is Gone (Moses Keaulana)

Moses Keaulana was born in Koleaka, Honolulu, in 1876; he had reached the age of 43 and more. Here is his genealogy. Kamehameha the Conqueror is the one who married Kauhilanimaka and was born Kahiwa Kanekapolei**. Kauhilanimaka (w.), she is the true sister-in-law of Kanekapolei I, wife of Kamehameha I, with her brother, that is Kalamakuikeao, second husband of Kauhilanimaka and thus was this daughter called by the name Kanekapolei.

Kahiwa Kanekapolei married Kahaaualani and was born Kalamakuikeao Kaahiki.

** Kahiwa Kanekapolei is also the mother of Kepelino, the writer.
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From genealogist Solomon Peleioholani:

Kalaniopuu (k) married again, to Kanekapolei (w); born were Keaouakuahuula (k), ancestor of chiefess Kekaaniau (w), L. M. Kekupuohikapulikoliko (w), Sam Parker and his sisters Mary Stillman and N. Kameeualani Kauanoe , and Keaouapeeale (k).

From genealogist Solomon Lehuanui Kalaniomaiheilu Peleioholani (in Ancestry of John Liwai Ena):
Kalaniopuu (k), King of Hawaii, married Kanekapolei; born were two sons Keouakuahuula (k) and Keouapeeale (k); Keouakuahuula (k) married Kaiolaniokaiwalani (w), the only child of Anahulukapoiawohilani (k), a kapu high chief and the chiefly Lord of Kohala, Hawaii; born was the chiefess Wailuanuiahoano (w), grandmother of L. M. Kekupuohikapulikoliko and Mark P. Robinson and his sisters.

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EXCERPT FROM 1919 NEWSPAPER ARTICLE (NOT COMPLETE):

KA NUPEPA KUOKOA November 21, 1919
HALA IA PUA ALII KAMEHAMEHA This Kamehameha Chiefly Offspring Is Gone (Moses Keaulana)

Moses Keaulana was born in Koleaka, Honolulu, in 1876; he had reached the age of 43 and more. Here is his genealogy. Kamehameha the Conqueror is the one who married Kauhilanimaka and was born Kahiwa Kanekapolei**. Kauhilanimaka (w.), she is the true sister-in-law of Kanekapolei I, wife of Kamehameha I, with her brother, that is Kalamakuikeao, second husband of Kauhilanimaka and thus was this daughter called by the name Kanekapolei.

Kahiwa Kanekapolei married Kahaaualani and was born Kalamakuikeao Kaahiki.

** Kahiwa Kanekapolei is also the mother of Kepelino, the writer.

Child of half-brother and half-sister Pio marriage.