UNVEILING OF THE DONATED TABLET

The Populace Gathers in Kawaiahao on the Evening of this Past Tuesday.

It was a scene from the sacred times when the Islands were ruled under monarchs, that was before a great crowd of people which arrived at Kawaiahao Church in the afternoon of this past Tuesday, when a memorial service for the hundredth birthday of King Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III was held, and unveiled was the stone tablet dedicated to him that will be stood at the place of his birth at Keauhou, North Kona, Hawaii.

Before the hour set aside for that remembrance, at four o’clock in the afternoon, the crowd entered the church: from the members of the organizations of this town, the students of the Kamehameha Schools, the heads of the government, to the general public, filled up the church, with some people standing.

Outside of the church grounds was the Royal Hawaiian Band entertaining the people, with a majority of the people there, because they could not get a seat in the church.

Before the pulpit stood a painting of King Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III, and right below the painting was the tablet with clear lettering that said: “Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III, ke keiki a Kamehameha III ame Keopuolani. Hanauia i Maraki 17,1814. Ka Moi lokomaikai.”

On the sides of this tablet were the war leader [pukaua] and kahili bearer [paakahili], a scene showing this new generation what it was like in the days of the monarchs of the ancient days; and in front of the tablet were Queen Liliuokalani on the right and Elizabeth Kekaaniau Pratt, and both of them were descendants of Keawe, the king of Hawaii.

Present were the members of the Daughters of Hawaii [Ahahui o na Kaikamahine o Hawaii], in their full uniform, the association which initiated this idea that a plaque be placed to commemorate the place that this benevolent king who loved the Hawaiian people was born;  there also were the members of the Kaahumanu Society [Ahahui Kaahumanu] in their usual attire, the members of the Hui Oiwi o na Wahine, Daughters of Hawaiian Warriors [Ahahui o na Kaikamahine a na Pukaua], Ahahui Poola o na Wahine, and some other few members of other societies.

It is estimated that about twenty-six hundred people came that evening, made up of all ethnicities, to witness this important event which was to become a memorial in the minds of everyone.

When the clock struck four on the dot, the events of the memorial began, according to the program, with the singing of a hymn, and after the hymn, Rev. H. K. Poepoe stood and gave thanks to God with a prayer.

After the prayer, Mrs. Naha Hakuole stood and chanted the mele koihonua, something that is not familiar in these times, and it was something that was astonishing for those of the other ethnicities, but it was something awe inspiring to hear.

When the chanting was over, Queen Liliuokalani stood along with Princess Elizabeth Kekaaniau Pratt; Liliu pulled the cord that held the flag that covered the tablet, and so too did Kekaaniau Pratt pull the cord that held the Hawaiian flag, and the plaque stood in full few before the crowd.

After this was done, Mrs. Naha Hakuole stood once again and chanted the ko’ihonua, the prayer that was given at the time Kauikeaouli was born, and it was seen that there was no life within him.¹

This is a pule that has not been written in books pertaining to the history of the rulers of Hawaii nei, but it was memorized from one generation to another, and that is how Mrs. Naha Hakuole obtained it, from her own mother.

At the conclusion of this prayer [kanaenae], Ake Mahaulu [Archie Mahaulu] of Waialua stood and gave a speech about Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III, and what he did for his people, and this is the gist of his speech:

“O Queen Liliuokalani, Princess Kekaaniau Pratt, the students of Kamehameha Schools, the members of all the associations, and all of the people, I was unlucky in being chosen as the one to give a speech this afternoon about King Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III, for I have but a little knowledge and preparation about the history of the birth of this king and his life.

“But as I speak about what I searched for in the few books in my humble home, I would like to speak as a Hawaii maoli, and to set aside my American citizenship, and that is how I invite all of you to listen to me, as Hawaiians.

“I remember that King Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III, was the first monarch to make a constitution for this Archipelago, and to establish laws to give order to his kingdom, and from right within this church, the very first legislature was held, and from here he invoked these words: ‘Ua mau ke Ea o ka Aina i ka Pono.’

“The nature of King Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III, was that his aloha was for his people, and he feared God, with a desire for Christian righteousness.

“Because of his love for his makaainana, he gave them land for themselves, but forgive me for saying, there is one big problem which I see, that is his not doing one thing, that is making it not possible to transfer that land to others. The knowledge and wisdom of the people in the ancient times [about land ownership] was very limited, and should something like that have been done as mentioned above, then we would be a people with wealth and rich today.

“That deed by King Kauikeaouli, is a set diamond in his royal crown, and is why he is called the ‘Benevolent King.’

“When the independence of Hawaii was taken away, through force of the foreign nation, the fear of God was within Kauikeaouli, and he proclaimed to all his makaainana to kneel and to turn towards God, and this voice of plea was heard, for the independence of the Islands was returned.

“One of the greatest accomplishments of King Kauikeaouli was when the Frenchmen asked for permission to import alcohol into Hawaii nei without any dute, and he stood and denied their request; this shows that Christian righteousness resided within him.”

There was much appreciation for this speech, and Rev. W. B. Oleson followed, speaking about the story of King Kauikeaouli and his deeds, in English; and according to him, when King Kauikeaouli was just a young boy, he was one of those who first broke the kapu by…

A Memorial Held for Kamehameha III

KAMEHAMEHA III

KAUIKEAOULI KAMEHAMEHA III
Son of KAMEHAMEHA I and KEOPUOLANI
Born MARCH 17, 1814
Died DECEMBER 15, 1854
KA MOI LOKOMAIKAI

¹See “Ka La Hoomanao O KA Moi Kauikeaouli,” Kuokoa Home Rula, 3/22/1907, p. 4 for more on this prayer given by Kapihe.

(Kuokoa, 3/20/1914, p. 1)

…living and eating with his mother.

He spoke of the many good attributes of King Kauikeaouli, like what his predecessor said, that he was a loving, gentle, and kindhearted king, and that is why the memory of him is emblazoned unforgettably in the Hawaiian people. He is the king who gave a constitution fair to all the people, and the king who gave the right to own land to them.

King Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III, was born at Keauhou, North Kona, Hawaii, by Kamehameha I and Princess Keopuolani. When he was just 11 years old, he was proclaimed as king, with the name Kamehameha III, on the 6th of June, 1825, and Kaahumanu was his royal guardian [kahu alii], during his youth.

In the month of March of the year 1833, proclaimed himself king, with these words: “I take the rule over the lands united by my father, and over the power of life and death and of all the power of king,” with Kinau as premier [kuhina nui].

The name of Kauikeaouli is seen from this new generation without clarity; some believe that the correct name is: “Kau-i-ke-a-o-uli,” that being, the king obtained life when he was first born, because of the kahuna’s prayer before Uli, who it is said by the Hawaiians of the time, “Uli, the seer of right [nana pono]; Uli, the seer of wrong [nana hewa]; the god to whom belonged life and death;” and therefore, the life of the king was through Uli.

Some people believed this totally, while others deny it saying that it is not correct, because Uli, the god being spoken of was down in Milu, and that the truth of how that name was gotten was because the kahuna looked up above at the dark clouds when he saw the royal child not moving, and because of that vision he said, the alii lives, as he saw above in the dark clouds, and that is the correct name that was given to Kauikeaouli.

Rev. Gulick was one who gave a short speech about what he remembered of King Kauikeaouli, for he saw this king with his own eyes during his youth, however he was not familiar with him, but he did see him all the time at Kawaiahao Church, sitting on every Sunday.

There was a song by the Kamehameha Boys School about Kamehameha along with the mele of Pauahi, and then “Hawaii Ponoi” was sung under the direction of the Royal Hawaiian Band, then the remembrance service was let out with a prayer by Kahu H. H. Parker [H. H. Paleka].

(Kuokoa, 3/20/1914, p. 4)