House House of Keoua Nui Name Keoua Ahilapalapa Mother Kamakaimoku | Father Keeaumoku Nui | |
Died c. 1750s-1760sPiopio, Hilo Spouse KahikikalaKalanilehuaKekuʻiapoiwa IIKamakaeheikuliKalolaManono IAkahi-a-Kawalu Issue KalokuokamaileKamehameha IKeliʻimaikaʻiKalaʻimamahuKaweloʻokalaniKekuiapoiwa LilihaKiʻilaweauKaleiwohi | ||
Keōua Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui Ahilapalapa, sometimes called Keōua Nui ("Keōua the Great") (died c. 1750s–1760s) was an Ancient Hawaiian noble and the father of Kamehameha I, the first King of united Hawaiʻi. He was progenitor of the House of Keōua Nui. His first name Keoua, or Ke-ao-ua means "the rain cloud" and was given to him by his subjects because of his generosity.
Life
Keōua Nui's father was Chief Keeaumoku Nui, the second son of Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku, King of Hawaiʻi island, and his second wife, Princess Kalanikauleleiaiwi. His mother, Chiefess Kamakaʻimoku, was from the noble family of ʻI of Hilo. Keōua was a half-brother of King Kalaniʻōpuʻu of the island of Hawaiʻi through his mother who also married Kalaninuiamamao, Kalaniʻōpuʻu's father.
Keōua Nui was raised as royalty due to his royal birth. His father was a Piʻo chief which was considered among the highest rank in Hawaiʻian society. Through his mother and father he was descended from Kings ʻUmi-a-Liloa and Liloa and related to chiefs of Maui, Oahu, and Kauai. He was chief of the Kohala district and Kona district of the island. He was a non-ruling chief; the ruling chief of Kona and Kohala was his brother Kalaniʻōpuʻu.
During his youth he spent his time at the royal court on Maui.
His wives were:
His bones were deposited in the cliffs above Kealakekua Bay, which to this day are still called pali kapu o Keōua, "the forbidden cliffs of Keōua". His remaining descendants are generally considered those of his eldest son Kalokuokamaile.
In 1920, High Chiefess Elizabeth Kekaʻaniau Laʻanui Pratt wrote a book, Keoua Nui: Father of Kings, as a tribute to her great-great grandfather. It was republished in 1999 by his descendant, David Castro. The first use of the name "House of Keōua Nui" dates to a press release by descendant Owana Salazar.