Kaniuhu

Chief Kaniuhu (Hawaiian: Aliʻi Kaniuhu) was an ancient Hawaiian noble and the High Chief (Hawaiian: Aliʻi Nui) of the Island of Hawaiʻi (the Big Island). He was a member of the “Pili line”, as a descendant of the Chief Pilikaaiea and his sister Hina, who were born on Tahiti (Kahiki).

Kaniuhu
OccupationChief of Hawaiʻi
LanguageHawaiian
SpouseHiliamakani
ChildrenKanipahu

Etymology

Kaniuhu’s name means “grief/sorrow” in Hawaiian.[1][2] He is also called Kaniuhi.

Life

Early life and marriage

Kaniuhu was born on the Big Island, in ancient Hawaii, to the High Chief Kukohou[3] and his half-sister, Lady Hineuki, whose sexual union was considered sacred, according to the laws of the Hawaiians. In ancient Hawaii, nobles born from the “sacred unions” were thought to be gods on the Earth. Whilst he was still a boy, he was circumcised, which was a rite of passage for the boys in Hawaii. It is unknown did he have any siblings.

The wife of Kaniuhu was Lady Hiliamakani,[4] whose parents are not known today. She bore him a son named Kanipahu.[5][6][7]

Reign

Kukohou died in ca. 1185, and Kaniuhu became his successor. He was the third chief of the Pili line and he ruled until his death, in ca. 1215, when he was succeeded by Kanipahu. He was an ancestor of the King Kamehameha I of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

References
  1. Kahikāhealani Wight (2005). Illustrated Hawaiian Dictionary. Bess Press.
  2. Lorrin Andrews (1865). A Dictionary of the Hawaiian Language: To which is Appended an English-Hawaiian Vocabulary and a Chronological Table of Remarkable Events. H. M. Whitney. p. 258.
  3. Sheldon Dibble. History of the Sandwich Islands. Press of the Mission Seminary.
  4. Kepelino's Traditions of Hawaii (2007). Bishop Museum Press.
  5. Abraham Fornander (1880). An Account of the Polynesian Race: Its Origins and Migrations, and the Ancient History of the Hawaiian People to the Times of Kamehameha I. Trubner & Company.
  6. The family tree of the Chief Kanipahu. "Kanipahu (Chief of Hawaii Island)... married Alaikauakoko (Kanakoko)."
  7. Peleioholani, Solomon Lehuanui Kalaniomaiheuila (1906). Genealogy of the Robinson family, and ancient legends and chants of Hawaii, Honolulu Bulletin Publishing Company.


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