Lono-a-Piʻilani was ''

Aliʻi The aliʻi were the traditional nobility of the Hawaiian islands. They were part of a hereditary line of rulers, the ''noho aliʻi''. Cognates of the word ''aliʻi'' have a similar meaning in other Polynesian languages; in Māori it is pronoun ...

'' 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 ...

. He was a chief of that Hawaiian island

David Malo David Malo or Davida Malo (birth name: Malo, 1795–1853) was a chiefly counselor, a Hawaiian intellectual, educator, politician and minister. He is remembered by subsequent generations of Hawaiian people and scholars primarily as a Native Hawaii ...

, ''Hawaiian Antiquities'',

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 ...

: Bishop Museum Press, 1951 and was named after god

Lono In Hawaiian religion, the god Lono is associated with fertility, agriculture, rainfall, music and peace. In one of the many Hawaiian stories of Lono, he is a fertility and music god who descended to Earth on a rainbow to marry Laka. In agricul ...

Biography

Lono was a son of the King

Piʻilani Piʻilani ("ascent to heaven") (born ca. 1460) ruled as Alii nui of Maui, Chief of the island of Maui in the later part of the 15th century. At the time Maui was an independent Monarchy, kingdom within the List of islands of Hawaii, islands of Haw ...

and grandson of Kawaokaohele. He was a brother of Kiha-a-Piilani and

Piʻikea Piʻikea (Hawaiian: ''piʻi'' = "to ascend", ''ke'' = "the", ''ea'' = "life"; "the life ascends") was a High Chiefess. She was a daughter of Piʻilani and Chiefess La’ieloheloheikawai and sister of Lono-a-Piʻilani and Kiha-a-Piʻilani. Piʻilani ...

and uncle of the chief

Kumalae Kumalae was a Hawaiian High Chief, ''Aliʻi Nui'' (ruler) of Hilo, Hawaii, Hilo. He is also known as Kumalae-nui-a-ʻUmi ("Kumalae the Great, son of ʻUmi"). He was born about 1648. His father was Umi-a-Liloa, ʻUmi-a-Liloa, ''Aliʻi'' of Hawaii ...

, ruler of

Hilo Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...

. Shortly after Piʻilani died, Lono succeeded him. When Kiha had to flee from

, he sought refuge with his sister Piikea, wife of ʻUmi-a-Liloa, king 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 ...

, at the court of ʻUmi. Here his sister advocated his cause so warmly, and insisted with ʻUmi so urgently, that the latter was induced to espouse the cause of the younger brother against the older, and prepared an expedition to invade Maui, depose Lono, and raise Kiha-a-Piilani to the throne of his father. ʻUmi summoned the chiefs of the various districts of Hawaii to prepare for the invasion of Maui. When all the preparations were ready, ʻUmi headed the expedition in person, accompanied by his wife, Piikea, and her brother and by his bravest warriors. Crossing the waters of ʻAlenuihāhā Channel between Maui and Hawaii island, the fleet of ʻUmi effected a landing at Kapueokahi, the harbour of Hāna, Maui, where Lono have continued to reside after Piilani's death. Having failed to prevent the landing of ʻUmi's forces, Lono retired to the fortress on the top of the neighbouring hill called Kauwiki, which in those days was considered almost impregnable, partly from its natural strength and partly from the superstitious terror inspired by a gigantic idol Kawalakiʻi. ʻUmi laid siege to the fort of Kauwiki, and, after some delay and several unsuccessful attempts, finally captured the fort, destroyed the idol, and Lono having fallen in the battle, Kiha-a-Piilani was proclaimed and acknowledged as a king. Having accomplished this, ʻUmi and his forces returned to Hawaii.

Family

Lono married Kealana-a-waauli, a great granddaughter of Kahakuakane, ''Alii aimoku'' 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 ...

, by whom he had a daughter named Kaakaupea, who became the wife of her uncle Nihokela, and mother of Piilaniwahine, the wife of Kamalalawalu. He had another daughter named Moihala, from whom descended Kapuleiolaa, one of the wives of Kanaloauoo and ancestress of Sarai Hiwauli, wife of

John Papa ʻĪʻī Ioane "John" Kaneiakama Papa ʻĪʻī (1800–1870) was a Hawaiian politician and historian. Life ʻĪʻī was born 1800, in the month of Hilinehu, which he calculated to be August 3, in later life. He was born near the Hanaloa fishpond in Kūme ...

References

{{Reflist *

Abraham Fornander Abraham Fornander (November 4, 1812 – November 1, 1887) was a Swedish-born emigrant who became an important journalist, judge, and ethnologist in Hawaii. Early life and education Fornander was born in Öland, Sweden on November 4, 1812, to An ...

, ''An Account of the Polynesian Race: Its Origin and Migrations,'' Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1969 Hawaiian chiefs