Spirit of Aloha | Articles | Island Chronicles | August 1999

Island Chronicles

Kalola, Protector of Keopuolani

The chiefess Kalola was the steadfast guardian of her sacred granddaughter, the future wife and mother of kings

The battle at 'eao had devastated the Maui forces. The vanquished Maui chiefs scattered to other islands to save their lives and their bloodlines, fleeing the invading army from Hawai'i, led by Kamehameha. Among those taking flight was the high-ranking chiefess Kalola. With her small party of ali'i wahine (chiefesses)-including two daughters and a granddaughter-she made a swift escape by canoe from Olowalu. They had planned to travel to safety on O'ahu, but stopped to rest at Kalama'ula on Moloka'i. There, sickness overcame the elderly Kalola.

An emissary sent by Kamehameha caught up with them with orders to remain until Kamehameha arrived to escort them to Hawai'i. By the time Kamehameha reached Kalama'ula, Kalola was seriously ill. On her deathbed, she acknowledged him as the new ali'i nui, high chief, of Maui and agreed to his one request.

Kalola gave him her most precious prize-her sacred granddaughter, Kalanikauika'alaneo. The ailing chiefess promised that on her death, Kamehameha would gain custody of Kalanikauika'alaneo, along with Kalola's two high-born daughters. She died soon after, and Kamehameha assumed guardianship of the young chiefesses. Kalanikauika'alaneo was precious indeed. Later called Keopuolani, she would become Kamehameha's most sacred wife and the mother of kings-Liholiho (Kamehameha II) and Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III).

At Kalola's death, all the mourning rituals for the passing of a beloved ali'i were observed-weeping, wailing, fasting, tattooing the tip of the tongue, the eyelids and other parts of the body, scarifying the skin with firebrands, knocking out the eyeteeth and cutting the hair from one side of the head. Several members of Kalola's household also chose to become kanaka moepu'u-companions in death to the chiefess.

Kamehameha showed his grief by being tattooed and removing his own eyeteeth. He loved Kalola, though he had been estranged from her. As a youngster, he had been adopted by Kalola and her husband, Kalani'opu'u, and raised with their own son, Kiwala'o. At Kalani'opu'u's death, however, the two young chiefs had become rivals for power and the conflict had ended with Kiwala'o being killed on the battlefield at Ke'ei in Kona Hema, Hawai'i. It was then that Kiwala'o's sacred daughter, Kalanikauika'alaneo, became a ward of her grandmother, Kalola, who raised her on Maui, away from Kamehameha on Hawai'i.

According to the native historian Kamakau, Kalola was the daughter of the great Maui chief Kekaulike and the sister of Kahekili and Kamehamehanui. Though married several times, her union with Kalani'opu'u was especially close. In fact, it was her love for the powerful chief that touched off the fateful event in February 1779 at Ka'awaloa, Hawai'i. As Capt. James Cook and his men were attempting to take Kalani'opu'u hostage in retaliation for breaches of trust, Kalola threw her arms around her husband. Her attempt to prevent his seizure fueled the skirmish that took Cook's life.

Kalola's last marriage was to the chief Kaopuiki and her final home Honua'ula, Maui. In February 1790, when disputes between foreigners and natives trading on board the ship Eleanor threatened violence, she intervened. In an attempt to defuse the tense situation, Kalola proclaimed the Mau'umae kapu, which prohibited her people from having contact with the ship for several days. But the kapu could not dissolve the enmity the foreigners felt, nor could it prevent the massacre of innocent lives that ensued.

It was soon after this incident that Kalola's steadfast guardianship of her granddaughter and daughters on Maui ended-when Kamehameha arrived with his army to claim the island and Kalola's sacred charges.

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