Kalanikauikaalaneo Kai Keōpūolani-Ahu-i-Kekai-Makuahine-a-Kama-Kalani-Kau-i-Kealaneo (1778–1823) was a queen consort of Hawaii and ōpūthe highest ranking wife of King Kamehameha I.
Early life
Keōpuolani was born around 1778 at an area known as Pahoehoe of Pāpōhaku, near present-day Wailuku, on the island of Maui. She was known as Kalanikauikaalaneo in her early childhood. Her name means "Gathering of the Clouds of Heaven".
Her father was Kīwalaʻō, King of Hawaii island. He was the son of King Kalaniʻōpuʻu of Hawaii island who met Captain James Cook at Kealakekua Bay.
Her mother was Queen Kekuiapoiwa Liliha, half-sister of Kamehameha I. Their father was Keōuakupuapāikalani.
Kiwalaō and Kekuiapoiwa Liliha were half-siblings through their shared mother, High Chiefess Kalola-Pupuka-Honokawahilani of Maui.
As a child, Keōpuolani lived for a while in Hāna (the eastern tip of Maui), then moved back to the Wailuku area.
Battle of Kepaniwai
In 1790, while Keōpuolani was 11, Kamehameha attacked the island of Maui at the Battle of Kepaniwai while her great-uncle King Kahekili II was away on the island Oahu. When Maui forces under Kalanikupule lost to Kamehameha, Kalola along with her two daughters, many Maui chiefesses and Keōpuolani tried to flee to Oahu. They stopped in Molokai as sickness overcame the elderly Kalola, and were caught by Kamehameha's forces. Kalola offered her granddaughter as a future bride and the recognition of Kamehameha as the ruler of Maui in exchange for peace. Other Maui chiefesses also joined Kamehameha's court.
She was given the name Wahinepio (captive women) around this time, but this name is usually associated with another chiefess. She was commonly known as Keōpuolani.
Ancestry and rank
Keōpūolani was among the highest alii of all the islands of Hawaii in her days, a ranking called naha. This meant she was the product of a royal half-sister and brother marriage.
Her extended genealogy displays an extreme case of pedigree collapse; in the five preceding generations, the 64 possible positions for her ancestors are filled by only 30 individuals, largely due to multiple half-sibling marriages (by comparison, Charles II of Spain, an extreme case of European royal pedigree collapse, has 32 individuals in those positions, in his case largely due to multiple uncle-niece marriages).
This lineage gave her unquestionable social and political influence, which made her a coveted marriage partner for a chief to ensure heirs to inherit the combined ranks and birthrights of both parents. She married Kamehameha in 1795 and their marriage linked the House of Kamehameha to the ruling house of Maui and the old ruling house of Hawaii. Although Kamehameha had his own claims to these island, Keōpūolani further cemented his legitimacy over his usurpation of his cousin, Keōpūolani's father.
She possessed the kapu moe (prostrating taboo) which required commoners to fall to their face on the ground at her presence. When chanters mentioned her name, listeners removed their kapa (bark cloth) garments above the waist in deference. Even the touching of her shadow by commoners was punishable by death. She was kindhearted and never enforced those punishments. Even Kamehameha had to remove his malo (loincloth) in her presence. She was amiable and affectionate, while her husband was not. Keōpūolani was strict in the observance of the kapu, but mild in her treatment of those who had broken it, so they often fled to her protection.
Children
She mothered at least three of Kamehameha's children: Prince Liholiho in 1797 (later King Kamehameha II), Prince Kauikeaouli in 1814 (later King Kamehameha III), and Princess Nāhienaena in 1815.
Perhaps up to eleven or twelve children were born but all except the three mentioned died young.
Because of the large age difference, Kamehameha called his children born to Keōpūolani his grandchildren. The children of nieces and nephews were collectively grandchildren among the older generations of true grandparents and their siblings. Only his children by Keōpūolani were considered so sacred that the Great Warrior would lie on his back and allow them to sit on his chest as a sign of their superior status. The sons were taken away to be raised by others, but she would break the Hawaiian tradition of hānai and keep her daughter Nāhienaena by her side.