Kaneʻalai (also known as Kane-a-Laʻe) was a
Queen regnant
A queen regnant (: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort, who is married to a reigning ...
of the
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
an
island
An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
of
Molokai
Molokai or Molokai ( or ; Molokaʻi dialect: Morotaʻi ) is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its g ...
, who lived in the 18th century. She ruled as
Alii nui of Molokai.
She was a daughter of Luahiwa II (of the reigning family of
Kauai
Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands.
It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...
) and Ka-hoʻoia-a-Pehu.
Kaneʻalai planted a
mountain apple tree.
[''Place names of Hawaii'' by Mary Kawena Pukui]
She married
Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku, the king of
Hawaiʻi. They had four children: Hao, Awili, Kaililoamoku, and Kumukoa the father of
Kalaikuʻahulu.
After Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku died, Kaneʻalai became a wife of
Kekaulike, the king of
Maui
Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...
. With him she had one daughter, Luahiwa, who married her half-brother
Kahekili II.
It is probably because of Kaneʻalai that Kamehameha-nui, the son of Kekaulike and
Kekuiapoiwa I, was raised as a young boy at
Waialua, Molokaʻi, and because of her connection with Kekaulike that her son and grandsons and other chiefs of Molokaʻi went to the help of Kamehameha-nui in his fight with
Kalaniʻōpuʻu
Kalaniōpuu-a-Kaiamamao (c. 1729 – April 1782) was the aliʻi nui (supreme monarch) of the island of Hawaiʻi. He was called ''Terreeoboo, King of Owhyhee'' by James Cook and other Europeans. His name has also been written as Kaleiopuu.
Bio ...
.
References
{{Reflist
Royalty of Molokai
Hawaiian queens regnant
House of Keawe
Royalty of Hawaii (island)
18th-century women rulers
18th-century monarchs in Oceania