Kuini Liliha (âÂÂ1839) was a High Chiefess (aliûi) and noblewoman who served the Kingdom of Hawaii as royal governor of Oûahu island. She administered the island from 1829 to 1831 following the death of her husband Boki.
She was born in 1802. Her father was UlumÃÂheihei Hoapili, a son of Kameûeiamoku, one of the nëûaupiûo (highest noble rank) twin brothers. Her mother was High Chiefess Kalilikauoha of Maui, who was the daughter of King Kahekili II of Maui and his half-sister bride Luahiwa. Some genealogists say Liliha was only adopted by Hoapili, but the practice known as hÃÂnai was considered a bond as strong as a blood relation. According to them, she was the biological daughter of Koakanu, a son or grandson of Kaolohaka-a-Keawe, one of the many issues of Keaweûëkekahialiûiokamoku; and his wife High Chiefess Loeau. Her name means "heartsick queen" in the Hawaiian language. She had no siblings.
Liliha was initially married to Kahalaiûa Luanuûu, a nephew of Kamehameha I. However, his uncle Boki, an advisor and friend to King Kamehameha II, took her from Kahalaiûa as his wife after his previous wife Likelike was taken by his older brother Kalanimoku.
Boki, Liliha, and Mataio Kekà «anaà Âûa were principal members of the entourage that accompanied King Kamehameha II and Queen KamÃÂmalu on an 1824 diplomatic tour of the United Kingdom, visiting King George IV. The entire delegation contracted the measles, since native Hawaiians had no immunity to the disease. As a result, Queen KamÃÂmalu and several chiefs died, including Kamehameha II who was so distraught after his Queen's death that he died in Liliha's arms.
Boki and Liliha survived the measles and Boki took charge of what was left of the delegation. They managed to secure agreements of friendship from the British government. The Kingdom of Hawaii also became a protectorate of the British military under those agreements. Boki and Liliha returned to Oûahu with the bodies of Kamehameha II and KamÃÂmalu in 1825 on the British warship . On the return journey, Liliha, Kekà «anaà Âûa and Manuia were baptized by the Blondes chaplain Richard Rowland Bloxam.
Liliha became embroiled in the dispute over freedom of religion in the kingdom. Kaûahumanu was a widow of Kamehameha I, and held great power as Kuhina Nui or chief advisor during the reigns of both Kamehameha II and Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III). She had been influenced by the Protestant missionaries in Honolulu and was baptized into the Congregational church. Heeding the advice of her Congregationalist ministers, Kaûahumanu convinced King Kamehameha III to ban the Roman Catholic Church from the islands.
The priests and lay brothers of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary were forcibly deported from the kingdom. Native Hawaiians who had converted were persecuted. Some were beaten and imprisoned. When Kaûahumanu discovered that Boki and Liliha were among the first chiefs to convert to the suppressed Hawaii Church it angered the queen regent, who wanted all the chiefs to accept Protestantism in order that all Hawaiians would follow. Kuini Liliha's steadfastness in her Catholicism influenced Native Hawaiian Catholics to persevere even in suppression. Only after the intervention of the French government and Captain Cyrille-Pierre-Théodore Laplace and Kamehameha III's proclamation of the Edict of Toleration did Hawaiians like Kuini Liliha have the legal right of membership in the Hawaii Catholic Church.
As royal governor, Boki incurred large debts from the foreigners and attempted to cover them by traveling to the New Hebrides to harvest sandalwood. Before departing in 1829, Boki entrusted administration of Oûahu to his wife. One of her new responsibilities was to become legal guardian and sole trustee of the properties of Kamehameha III, who had become king as a child. This was opposed by Kaûahumanu who was ruling Hawaii as queen regent and had developed a rivalry with Liliha. About this time, Kaûahumanu forced Liliha to give up some of her land in an area known as Punahou to missionary Hiram Bingham I. This eventually became the site of Punahou School, also known as Oûahu College, for the children of the missionaries.
Boki and his entourage were lost at sea and pronounced dead, leaving Liliha in administration as royal governor. On April 1, 1831, Kaûahumanu heard rumors of a planned rebellion, so sent Hoapili to remove Liliha of her power, replacing her with Kaûahumanu's own brother, John Adams Kuakini as governor of Oûahu. In November 1833 (after Kaûahumanu's death and Kamehameha III came to age) some chiefs planned to back her as Kuhina Nui, a position similar to prime minister or as powerful as co-regent. Instead, Hoapili put his support behind Elizabeth Kënaûu, who also acted as governor of Oûahu with Kuakini returning to the island of Hawaiûi.
Liliha had numerous other husbands and partners. In fact, she was probably the most married chiefess during her lifetime; she had a document seven partners or husbands. Besides Kahalaiûa Luanuûu and Boki, she married Kalaniulumoku and Namaile by whom she had daughters, Jane Loeau (1828âÂÂ1873), and Abigail Maheha (1832âÂÂ1861), respectively. King Kamehameha III declared both eligible for the Hawaiian throne, and they were sent to the Chiefs' Children's School later known as the Royal School in Honolulu. With Kulinui she had a son, Aberahama Kaikioewa Palekaluhi (1830âÂÂ1912). With Namaile or Kamaile, she had a son, John F. or Pius F. Koakanu (died 1885) and two daughters, Maheha (mentioned above) and Kailinoa. With Haalou she had another daughter Mary Ann Kiliwehi (1840âÂÂ1873).
She died on August 24, 1839, in Honolulu and was buried on the sacred island of Mokuûula on Maui. Later she was reburied in the Waineûe cemetery. Although treated as a rebel by Kaûahumanu, she was generally loved by the people. For example, a traditional hula chant honors her memory. A street is named for her in Honolulu.