Chief Kaniuhu (
Hawaiian: ''Aliʻi Kaniuhu'') was an ancient
Hawaiian noble and the High
Chief
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boat ...
(Hawaiian: ''Aliʻi Nui'') of the Island of
Hawaiʻi
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, th ...
(the "Big Island"). He was a member of the “
Pili line
Pili line (House of Pili, Pili dynasty; Hawaiian language: ''Hale o Pili'') was a royal house in ancient Hawaii that ruled over the island of Hawaiʻi with deep roots in the history of Samoa and possibly beyond further to the west, Ao-Po ("gather ...
”, as a descendant of Chief
Pilikaaiea and his sister
Hina
Hina may refer to:
People and deities
* Hina (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Hina (goddess), the name assigned to a number of Polynesian deities.
* Hina (singer), of 2021 group Lightsum
Other u ...
, who were born on
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...
(''Kahiki'').
Etymology
Kaniuhu’s name means “grief/sorrow” in Hawaiian. He is also called Kaniuhi.
Life
Early life and marriage
Kaniuhu was born on the Big Island, in
ancient Hawaii
Ancient Hawaii is the period of Hawaiian history preceding the establishment in 1795 of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great. Traditionally, researchers estimated the first settlement of the Hawaiian islands as having occurred sporad ...
, to the High Chief
Kukohou and his half-sister, Lady
Hineuki, whose sexual
union was considered sacred, according to the
laws
Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...
of the
Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaiʻi was settled at least 800 years ago by Polynesians ...
. In ancient Hawaii, nobles born from the “sacred unions” were thought to be
gods
A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...
on the
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
. Whilst he was still a boy, he was
circumcised
Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...
, which was a rite of passage for the boys in
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 ...
. It is unknown did he have any siblings.
The wife of Kaniuhu was Lady Hiliamakani, whose parents are not known. They had a son named
Kanipahu
Kanipahu was an ancient Hawaiian chief. He was of the Pili line.
Kanipahu was a son of ''Aliʻi'' Kaniuhu and Hiliamakani.
After Kanipahu lived on Molokai, Molokaʻi and it was discovered that he was a chief, he was taken (as husband) by Hualani, ...
.
[Peleioholani, Solomon Lehuanui Kalaniomaiheuila (1906). ''Genealogy of the Robinson family, and ancient legends and chants of Hawaii'', ]Honolulu
Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
Bulletin Publishing Company.
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
Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; to May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii ...
of the
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi
Latin epsilon or open E (majuscule: Ɛ, minuscule: ɛ) is a letter of the extended Latin alphabet, based on the lowercase of the Greek letter epsilon (ε). It was introduced in the 16th century by Gian Giorgio Trissino to represent the pronunc ...
, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...
.
References
{{Portalbar, Hawaii
Year of death unknown
Hawaiian chiefs
House of Pili