Kamaloohua

Kamaloʻohua (also called Kamalu-Ohua) (ca. 1416) was a High Chief in ancient Hawaii, according to Hawaiian mythology, and is mentioned in old legends and chants. He was Moʻi - King of the island of Maui. He was the king of Maui island.

It is said that he was a descendant of mythical chief Paumakua of Maui.

There is no any archaeological record for him.

Family

In ancient chants genealogy of Kings of Maui is described.^[2]

Kamaloʻohua was a son of King Kuhimana and his sister Kaumana I and thus grandson of King Alo of Maui and his wife Moekeaea.^[3]

He married woman named Kapu, but her parents are not known. (For a meaning of her name, see kapu.)

Their son was King Loe of Maui and their grandson was King Kahokuohua of Molokai.^[4]

Legends

There are two famous legends about Kamaloʻohua. One legend inform us about great war.

War

According to the legend, Kamaloʻohua was attacked, defeated, and taken as prisoner by King Kalaunuiohua of Hawaiʻi island. Kalaunuiohua went on Oahu island, taking his prisoners with him. It is doubtful if Oʻahu had any recognised sovereign at the time.^[5]

Later, Kamaloʻohua returned to his island and it was the time of peace.

Arrival of light skin people

This legend inform us that during the lifetime of Kamaloʻohua happened strange event:

A vessel called Mamala arrived at Wailuku.^[6] The captain's name is said to have been Kaluiki-a-Manu, and the names of the other people on board are given in the tradition as Neleike, Malaea, Haʻakoa and Hika. These latter comprised both men and women, and it is said that Neleike became the wife of Wakalana and the mother of his son Alo-o-ia, and that they became the progenitors of a light-coloured family, poe ohana Kekea and that they were white people with bright, shining eyes. The tradition further states that their descendants were plentiful in or about Waimalo and Honouliuli on Oʻahu, and that their appearance and countenances changed by intermarriage with the Hawaiian people.

It is evident that no Europeans traversed the Pacific Ocean at the time of Kamaloʻohua, and that these white or light-coloured foreigners probably were the crew of some Japanese vessel driven out of her course, and brought by winds to these shores (or the ships of Álvaro de Saavedra's expedition). That the Hawaiian natives regarded these castaways as of an alien race is evident.

Another version of the same tradition, while substantially the same as the foregoing, differs somewhat in the names of the new arrivals; and the event is ascribed to the time of Kamaloʻohua, while the other ascribes it to the time of Wakalana. Kamaloʻohua and Wakalana were contemporary.^[7]

Family tree

Notes

1. ↑ Her parents are unknown, but her name suggests she was of high birth.
2. ↑ Family of Kuhimana
3. ↑ The Stories of the Genealogies of Maui
4. ↑ A study of prehistoric social change: the development of complex societies in the Hawaiian Islands by Ross H. Cordy.
5. ↑ David Malo, Hawaiian Antiquities, Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1951.
6. ↑ All about Hawaii: The recognized book of authentic information on Hawaii, combined with Thrum's Hawaiian annual and standard guide
7. ↑ Abraham Fornander, An Account of the Polynesian Race: Its Origin and Migrations, Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1969. Page 67-68, 81-83