Kuhina Nui
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Kuhina Nui was a powerful office in the
Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...
from 1819 to 1864. It was usually held by a relative of the king and was the rough equivalent of the 19th-century European office of
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
or sometimes
Regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
.


Origin of the office

Before the establishment of the office of ''Kuhina Nui'' by Kamehameha, there was a position called Kālaimoku (''kālai'' meaning "to carve" and ''moku'' being an island). This was an ancient office from the very dawn of Hawaiian civilization. During this time before the ''Kuhina Nui'' Kalanimoku, a trusted chief of Kamehameha, was the Kālaimoku until Kamehameha established the office of the ''Kuhina Nui''. When King Kamehameha II assumed the throne in 1819, his father's favorite wife, Queen Kaʻahumanu, told him Kamehameha I had wished for her to rule the kingdom alongside him. Whether this was really the will of Kamehameha I is a matter of debate. In either case, Kamehameha II did not object and the office of ''Kuhina Nui'' was created for Kaʻahumanu. According to other sources, Kamehameha I had wanted Kaʻahumanu to succeed her father Keʻeaumoku Pāpaʻiahiahi as a chief counselor. Kaʻahumanu became the driving force behind the kingdom’s policy during the reign of Kamehameha II. She and another one of Kamehameha I's wives (and Kamehameha II's mother), Keōpūolani, pressured Kamehameha II into abolishing the old kapu system of laws and religion.


Conflict between the Kuhina Nui and the king

At the death of Kamehameha II in 1824, his younger brother and heir Kauikeaouli was still only a child. Because of this, Kaʻahumanu ruled in his place as
regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
. After her death in 1832, a queen named
Kīnaʻu Princess Kalani Ahumanu i Kaliko o Iwi Kauhipua o Kīnau, also known as Elizabeth Kīnau ( – April 4, 1839) was Kuhina Nui of the Kingdom of Hawaii as Kaahumanu II, queen regent and dowager queen. Life Her father was King Kamehameha I an ...
, a daughter of Kamehameha I and the Dowager Queen of Kamehameha II, assumed the office of Kuhina Nui as Kaʻahumanu II and the regency until her half-brother Kauikeaouli declared himself to be of age in 1833. Kauikeaouli was crowned King Kamehameha III thereafter and the office of Kuhina Nui became the second-most powerful office in the kingdom. During Kīnaʻu's time in office, the offices of the king and Kuhina Nui often battled for power. This was mainly due to conflict between the views of the two people holding the office. While Kamehameha III desired a revival of the old Hawaiian culture, his elder sister Kīnaʻu wanted Hawaiʻi to be a
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
state which tolerated no other religion. For the first few years of Kamehameha III’s reign, the kingdom suffered from the frequent quarrels between Kīnaʻu and the king.


Constitution of 1840

The 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii codified the office of Kuhina Nui into law. The constitution specified the following duties and powers: *The Kuhina Nui was to be appointed by the king. *All business connected with the special interests of the kingdom which the King wished to transact was to be done by Kuhina Nui under the authority of the king. *All documents and business of the kingdom executed by the Kuhina Nui were to be considered as executed by the king's authority. *All government property was to be reported to the Kuhina Nui. *The king was not allowed to act without the knowledge of the Kuhina Nui, nor was the Kuhina Nui allowed to act without the knowledge of the king. *All important business of the kingdom which the King chose to transact in person, he could do only with the approbation of the Kuhina Nui. The 1840 Constitution created a degree of power sharing between the King and Kuhina Nui. Both were given seats in the House of Nobles in the legislature and both also held seats in the kingdom's judiciary. The position was written into a constitution devised by American attorneys and missionaries. In the United States, women held no political offices, were denied suffrage, and in some states could not even control their inherited property. Yet the Americans William Richards, John Ricord, and William Little Lee all believed it was appropriate to reinforce the power and authority of the Kuhina Nui as an equivalent to the King despite the fact it had become a traditional female office.Dismembering Lahui: A History of the Hawaiian Nation to 1887 By Jonathan Kamakawiwo'ole Osorio. Page 114-115


Constitution of 1852

The 1852 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii dedicated a full section (Section 2) to the office of Kuhina Nui. Articles 43 through 48 described the office: *The Kuhina Nui was given the
title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...
, "Kuhina Nui of the Hawaiian Islands", and the
style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...
of "
Highness Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style used to address (in second person) or refer to (in third person) certain members of a reigning or formerly reigning dynasty. It is typically used with a possessive adjec ...
." *All business connected with the special interests of the kingdom, which the King wished to transact, was to be done by Kuhina Nui under the authority of the king *All documents and business of the kingdom executed by the Kuhina Nui, were to be considered as executed by the king's authority. *All important business of the kingdom which the king chose to transact in person, he could do only with the approbation of the Kuhina Nui. *The Kuhina Nui was to act as regent in the absence of the king, or if the king was too young to rule on his own. In addition, should the crown become vacant, the Kuhina Nui would act as monarch until a new king was chosen.


End of the office

The power sharing scheme set in place by Kamehameha III in 1852 seemed to work and it remained in place throughout the remainder of Kamehameha III's reign and throughout the reign of Kamehameha IV. Kamehameha IV and his brother despised the position but Kamehameha IV did place the role upon his sister, Victoria Kamamalu. Mostly she just signed and approved papers to the wishes of her brothers. When Kamehameha V assumed the throne in 1863, however, the new king made it clear that he favored a more autocratic monarchy over the constitutional one set in place in 1852. In 1864, the King issued a new constitution that was much less liberal than the Constitution of 1852. The 1864 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii abolished the office of Kuhina Nui and effectively merged the powers into his own office as King. The office was never revived after that, with the Hawaiian monarchy lasting only about three more decades before being overthrown. The termination of the office did not destroy opportunity for feminine leadership in the kingdom. An office of Prime Minister was created during the reign of King Kalākaua for Walter M. Gibson.


List of Kuhina Nui

The female Kuhina Nui took the title "Kaʻahumanu" followed by a number, in honor of Queen Kaʻahumanu, the first holder of the office, in much the same way that all members of the Kamehameha dynasty took the title "Kamehameha" after King Kamehameha I. :


References


Bibliography

* Mrantz, Maxine. ''Hawaiian Monarchy: The Romantic Years.'' Honolulu: Tongg Publishing Co., Ltd., 1974. * Potter, Norris W. ''The Hawaiian Monarchy.'' – Honolulu: The Bess Press, Inc., 1983.


External links


Hawaii Government 1842-1899
{{Authority control Hawaiian Kingdom Government agencies established in 1819 1819 establishments in Hawaii Government agencies disestablished in 1864 1864 disestablishments in Hawaii