Miriam Auhea Kalani Kui Kawakiu o Kekāuluohi Kealiʻiuhiwaihanau o Kalani Makahonua Ahilapalapa Kai Wikapu o Kaleilei a Kalakua also known as Kaahumanu III (July 27, 1794 – June 7, 1845), was Kuhina Nui of the Kingdom of Hawaii, a queen consort of both

Kamehameha I Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiikui Kamehameha o Iolani i Kaiwikapu kaui Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; – May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Th ...

and

Kamehameha II Kamehameha II (November 1797 – July 14, 1824) was the second king of the Kingdom of Hawaii. His birth name was Liholiho and full name was Kalaninui kua Liholiho i ke kapu ʻIolani. It was lengthened to Kalani Kaleiʻaimoku o Kaiwikapu o Laʻ ...

, and mother of

Lunalilo Lunalilo (William Charles Lunalilo; January 31, 1835 – February 3, 1874) was the sixth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii from his election on January 8, 1873, until his death a year later. Born to Kekāuluohi and High Chief Charles Kanaʻina, ...

. In '' ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi'' (Native Hawaiian language), ''Kekāuluohi'' means; "the vigorously growing vine". She adopted her secondary name ''Auhea'', meaning ''Where, oh where,'' in memory of the death of Kamehameha I.

Birth and ancestry

Kekāuluohi was born in 1794, the only daughter of her father High Chief Kalaimamahu (half-brother of

) with her mother

Kalākua Kaheiheimālie Kalākua Kaheiheimālie, later known as Hoapili Wahine (–1842) was a member of Hawaiian royalty who was one of the Queen consorts at the founding of the Kingdom of Hawaii. She was mother of another Queen consort, and grandmother of two future k ...

of Maui, who was also a wife of Kamehameha I. She was ''

hānai ''Hānai'' is a term used in the Hawaiian culture that refers to the informal adoption of one person by another. It can be used as an adjective, such as "''hānai'' child", or as a verb to ''hānai'' someone into the family. In the Hawaiian cultu ...

'' to (adopted by) her grandparents Namahana and Keeaumoku, who "fondled her as if she were a feather lei from the precious

mamo Mamo or woowoo is a common name for two species of extinct birds. Together with the extant ʻIʻiwi they make up the genus ''Drepanis''. These nectarivorous finches were endemic to Hawaii but are now extinct. The Hawaiian name may be relat ...

bird." Through her mother she was a step-daughter of Kamehameha I, founder of the Kingdom of Hawaii, and through her father she was the monarch's niece. She was also half-sister of

Kamāmalu Kamāmalu Kalani-Kuaʻana-o-Kamehamalu-Kekūāiwa-o-kalani-Kealiʻi-Hoʻopili-a-Walu (–1824) was Queen consort of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi as the wife of King Kamehameha II. Kamāmalu was short for Kamehamalu or Kamehamehamalu meaning "the Shade ...

and Kīnau.

Early life

She was betrothed to a prince of the Tahitians

Pōmare Dynasty The Pōmare dynasty was the reigning family of the Kingdom of Tahiti between the unification of the islands by Pōmare I in 1788 and Pōmare V's cession of the kingdom to France in 1880. Their influence once spanned most of the Society Islands, ...

at birth, but never married him because of the prince's early death. In 1809 she was chosen along with

Manono II Manono II (died 1819) was a Hawaiian chiefess and member of the royal family during the Kingdom of Hawaii. She along with her second husband Keaoua Kekuaokalani died fighting for the Hawaiian religion after Kamehameha II abolished the kapu system ...

"to warm his old age". When Kamehameha I died in 1819 she gave herself the name Auhea (where has he gone) in memory of her first husband. She would later marry her cousin Liholiho (who took the throne as King Kamehameha II) as one of his five consorts. She had no children from her first two marriages. In 1821 was given by Kamehameha II to his friend

Charles Kanaina Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

on Kauai in marriage.

Kuhina Nui

On April 4, 1839 Kīnaʻu, styled as Kaahumanu II, died. The following day Kekāuluohi was initiated into office. Although Kīnaʻu's daughter

Victoria Kamāmalu Victoria Kamāmalu Kaʻahumanu IV (November 1, 1838 – May 29, 1866) was ''Kuhina Nui'' of Hawaii and its crown princess. Named Wikolia Kamehamalu Keawenui Kaʻahumanu-a-Kekūanaōʻa and also named Kalehelani Kiheahealani, she was mainly refe ...

was of higher rank and heir to the premiership, Kekāuluohi was given the position since Victoria was too young. As Kuhina Nui she signed, with the king, all official documents; conducted all executive business affecting the Crown; received and transferred government lands; and served as special Councilor to the king, with exclusive veto power over his decisions. She and Kamehameha III signed the first constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1840. It provided for an elected representative body, a first step toward the common people gaining political power. She served in the House of Nobles from its founding. The constitution also codified for the first time the responsibilities and authority of the kuhina nui. She held both positions until her death.

Family

She and Kanaina had two sons. Their first son Davida, died young. Kekāuluohi gave birth to her second son on January 31, 1835. When a name for the prince was about to be selected, his mother chanted: "I luna, i luna, i lunalilo, the highest, the highest, the highest of all". Although given the Christian name William Charles, he became King

of Hawaii in 1873. Kekāuluohi died of influenza at Pohukaina, Honolulu, June 7, 1845. Initially buried in the Pohukaina Tomb, located on grounds of

ʻIolani Palace The Iolani Palace ( haw, Hale Aliʻi ʻIolani) was the royal residence of the rulers of the Kingdom of Hawaii beginning with Kamehameha III under the Kamehameha Dynasty (1845) and ending with Queen Liliʻuokalani (1893) under the Kalākaua D ...

, her remains were not amongst those transported in 1865 to the newly constructed Royal Mausoleum at Mauna ʻAla in the Nuʻuanu Valley. It isn't known if this was a mistake or oversight, but the indignant Lunalilo refused to bury his mother at the Royal Mausoleum and instead arrange her remains to buried at sea. Her father's family line survives today through her cousin and namesake Miriam Auhea Kekāuluohi Crowningburg. A girl's dormitory is named for her at Kamehameha Schools Kapalama Campus.

Citations

References