Ruth KeâÂÂelikà Âlani, or sometimes written as Luka KeâÂÂelikà Âlani, also known as Ruth KeâÂÂelikà Âlani Keanolani KanÃÂhoahoa or Ruth Keanolani KanÃÂhoahoa KeâÂÂelikà Âlani (June 17, 1826 â May 24, 1883), was a member of the House of Kamehameha who served as Governor of the Island of Hawaiûi and for a period, was the largest and wealthiest landowner in the Hawaiian Islands. Keûelikà Âlani's genealogy is controversial. Her mother's identity is not disputed, while her grandfather Pauli Kaà Âleiokà «'s relationship to Kamehameha I is. While her father was legally identified as early as 1864, disputes to that lineage continued as late as 1919. As one of the primary heirs to the Kamehameha family, Ruth held much of the land that would become the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, funding the Kamehameha Schools.
Her name Keûelikà Âlani means leaf bud of heaven.
Keûelikà Âlani's mother was Kalani Pauahi who died on June 17, 1826, during childbirth after having married the man believed to be her father, Mataio Kekà «anaà Âûa on November 28, 1825. She was born at Pohukaina near the ûIolani Palace and hÃÂnai adopted by Kaûahumanu
Kalani Pauahi was the daughter of Pauli Kaà Âleiokà « and Keouawahine. Kaà Âleiokà « was one of the three sons of KÃÂnekapà Âlei who rebelled against their half brother KëwalaÃ»à  and their uncle Kamehameha I when their father KalaniÃȈ Âpuûu died and left them no lands. The other two brothers were Keà Âua Kà «Ã»ahuûula who started the rebellion and Keà Âua Peûeûale, who was speared to death. It was said that Kalani Pauahi was Kamehameha I's granddaughter through her father Kaà Âleiokà « However, in 1935 the Hawaiian Historical Society published their Forty-Third Annual Report with an article by archaeologist John F. G. Stokes "Kaoleioku, Paternity and Biographical Sketch", in which Stokes claimed that Pauli Kaà Âleiokà « was not a son of Kamehameha l.
Kalani Pauahi's mother Keouawahine was a daughter of Kauhiwawaeono, whose parents were Kekauhiwamoku and Haalou. Haalou was a daughter of Haae-a-Mahi who was also the father of Kamehameha I's mother Kekuûiapoiwa II.
Kalani Pauahi died from complications due to child birth. While many sources and writers differ on the date and reason, Francisco de Paula MarÃÂn noted in his journal in 1826 the day Kalani Puahi died; "17 June. Today died one of the Queens Craypaguaji (Kalanipauahi i.e., Pauahi)". Some years later John Papa ûêûë wrote; "The mother died in childbirth on June 17, 1826", a date that anthropologist Alexander Spoehr agrees with. However professor Noel Kent gave the date of Keûelikà Âlani's birth as February 9, 1826, a four-month difference. According to Kristin Zambucka author of: "The High Chiefess, Ruth Keelikolani" this was a date Keûelikà Âlani supposedly celebrated herself. Professor Seth Archer in his 2018 publication; "Sharks upon the Land: Colonialism, Indigenous Health, and Culture in Hawai'i" lists Pauahi among those who died of a whooping cough outbreak.
Keûelikà Âlani's genealogy was disputed as late as 1919. She is sometimes considered to be of poûolua ancestry, a child of two fathers.
While Keûelikà Âlani was the half sister of Kamehameha V, he had always considered her the daughter of Kahalaiûa, a nephew of Kamehameha I, the son of the king's half-brother Kalaûimamahu and Kahakuhaûakoi Wahinepio from Maui. Kahalaiûa was a kahu (royal attendant) for Kamehameha II. Zambucka states that Kahalaiûa was caring for Kalani Pauahi while her first husband, Kamehameha II, was in England. According to Samuel MÃÂnaiakalani Kamakau, Kalani Pauahi and Kamehamalu, both wives of Kamehameha II, fell in love with him. Kamakau states: "Liholiho had once entertained the notion of disposing of Kahala-iûa as Kamehameha had of Ka-niho-nui". In Kamakau's version both Pauahi and Kinaûu were with Kahalaiûa when the king and queen's remains returned in 1825 and that; "Within a few years Pauahi became the wife of Keku-anaoûa, and Kinaûu of Kahala-iûa. Pauahi was carrying Ruth Ke-ûeli-kolani at the time, and that is why Ruth was said to be "double headed" (poûokua) > that is, a child of two fathers".
In May 1824 Kaumualiûi, the aliûi nui or "supreme ruler" of Kauaûi died. Not long afterwards Hiram Bingham I, while on the island, announced that a solar eclipse would occur on June 26 at exactly 12:57pm. Bingham had hoped to use the event to explain it as a simple act of nature and not an omen. Many still saw it as a sign of impending war. Kahalaiûa was appointed governor of the Island of Kauai and took command of the Russian fort with its fifty mounted canons and ordered armed guards to the tops of its walls. On August 8, 1824, the day after Kalanimoku held a failed council to annex the island, those dissatisfied with the land disbursement went to war. By the wars end Kahalaiûa had been replaced as governor by Kaikioewa. After he was replaced, Kahalaiûa returned to Honolulu and was made kahu hÃÂnai of Kauikeaoà «li (Kamehameha III). John Papa ûêûë states Kahalaiûa was sent to Lahaina, Maui for his safety upon Kekà «anaà Âûa's return as he had supposedly already stated his intention to wed Pauahi.
In 1909 Sheldon Dibble published the date of Kahalaiûa's death as 1826 however, he places Pauahi's death in 1825. Also in 1906, Thomas G. Thrum's; "Hawaiian Annual" lists Kahalaiûa's death as 1826 as well however, in their 1922 edition state that Kahalaiûa had died during the battle. John Fawcett Pogue published an account of the rebellion written by Hawaiian students in his book Moolelo of Ancient Hawaii in 1858. In 2002 Peter R. Mills clarified translations and conclusions from Charles W. Kenn about the writings in which Kenn describes a "sacrifice" interpreted as relating to Kahalaiûa. Mills noted that the figure had not died during the battle and was not buried at the fort. Archer believed that Kahalaiûa died of whooping cough in an outbreak in 1826 along with Kalani Pauahi. Kamakau mentions an outbreak of "cough and bronchitis" that killed Pauahi and others and then discusses Kalanimoku and Kahalaiûa's death, but not how they died. Kamakau only mentions that Boki took over as the young king's kahu after Kahalaiûa's death.
John Papa ûêûë writes that, whether or not Kekà «anaà Âûa had spoken of Pauahi before leaving for England, it was common knowledge that Kekà «anaà Âûa had taken Kalani Pauahi for himself immediately upon his return. ûêûë states that the relationship may possibly have stemmed from "illicit relations" prior to the king's death that remained hidden, but on Kekà «anaà Âûa's return the "affair was evident".
Although her paternity was questionable, Mataio Kekà «anaà Âûa claimed her as his own natural child. He took her into his household after Kaûahumanu's death and included her in his will and inheritance. This made her the half-sister of King Kamehameha IV and King Kamehameha V and Princess Victoria KamÃÂmalu.
A dispute between Boki and Kaûahumanu began in 1829 over the line of succession when a discussion overheard between the Queen-Regent Kaûahumanu and KekÃÂuluohi was relayed to Boki by a royal attendant. Kaûahumanu had said that Keûelikà Âlani could become ruler. Kaûahumanu believed Kaà Âleiokà « to be Kamehameha's first child, and as Pauahi was his daughter, Keûelikà Âlani was grandniece of Kauikeaouli. Kamakau says this is when Boki conceived plans to overthrow Kaûahumanu. On June 20 Boki visited with NÃÂhiûenaûena and Kamehameha III and advised the king and his sister to conceive a child in order to disqualify any claims saying; "the chiefs would not dare urge your grandniece as your possible successor!" and then told the king what the attendant had said. When Kaûahumanu and other's including Kuakini and Hoapili were told of Boki's actions they had harsh words toward Boki calling him; "[T]he one girdled in Kamehameha's intestines", a reference to Kahekili II's hatred towards the king and Boki's rumored paternity. They stated that Kaûahumanu had a right to decide such things but he did not. This only infuriated the young man who believed himself to be Kauikeaouli's main kahu or guardian, giving him the sole right to counsel the king as tradition had always given past guardians. Boki was held in high esteem by American and English consuls and felt encouraged in quartering soldiers, including some foreign white settlers, guns and ammunitions in Waikiki. When news of the rebellion reached Kaûahumanu, most of the soldiers stayed with Boki, but members of the church and others came to her aid. Kaûahumanu was defiant and said that Boki would have to come there himself to kill her and her grandchildren, Keûelikà Âlani and David Kamehameha. After hearing about Boki's purpose Charles Kanaûina and Kekà «anaà Âûa headed out on horseback to confront Boki, but Kanaûina became nervous and turned back, leaving Keûelikà Âlani's father Kekà «anaà Âûa to continue alone. He arrived to a huge gathering of armed people, including Boki and his men. When the crowd saw Kekà «anaà Âûa they shouted his name and fell silent. He took Boki off to speak with him about his plans to kill Kaûahumanu. Boki admitted his jealousy of the queen's sway over Kamehameha III but was persuaded to end the dispute and return to his home peacefully.
On June 29, 1844, an "Order in Council of His Majesty King Kamehameha III" designated the 15 eligible royals with rights to the throne. This pool of individuals became presumed heirs in the absence of a constitutional appointment of a successor to the throne. A full list with one additional name was printed in 1847 by the Polynesian, the official government journal; Moses Kekuaiwa, Jane Loeau, Alexander Liholiho, Abigail Maheha, James Kaliokalani, Mary Paaaina, David Kalakaua, Lydia Kamakaeha, Lot Kamehameha, Bernice Pauahi, William C. Lunalilo, Elizabeth Kekaaniau, Peter Y. Kaeo, Emma Rooke, William Kinau Pitt, and Victoria Kamamalu. Keûelikà Âlani was not included in this line of succession, although her son was.
Ruth was a defender of ancient Hawaiian traditions and customs. While the kingdom became Christianized, Anglicized, and urbanized, she preferred to live as a noblewoman of antiquity. While her royal estates were filled with elegant palaces and mansions built for her family, she chose to live in a large traditional stone-raised grass house. While she was fluent in English, she used the Hawaiian language exclusively, requiring English-speakers to use a translator. Although trained in the Christian religion and given a Christian name, she honored practices considered pagan, such as patronage of chanters and hula dancers.
She continued to worship the traditional gods and various aumakua, or ancestral spirits. When Mauna Loa erupted in 1880, threatening the city of Hilo with a lava flow, her intercession with the goddess Pele was credited by Hawaiians with saving the city. When the ruling monarchs asked her to pose for official photographs, she often refused. Only a dozen photographs of Ruth are known to exist.
Considered a beauty in her youth, she gained weight as she grew older, and a surgery for nasal infection disfigured her nose, although rumors circulated that it was her second husband Davis who had broken her nose in one of their many fights. She adopted some modern ways, such as Victorian fashions in hairstyle and dresses. Christian missionaries caused Hawaiian royal women to become self-conscious about their Hawaiian looks. They were uncomfortable with their dark skin and large bodies that had been considered signs of nobility for centuries. No matter how Westernized their manners, they were seen as a "Hawaiian squaw". By the last half of the 19th century, Hawaiian women were going in two different directions. Many European men married Hawaiian women they found exotic, favoring those who were thin and had pale complexions.
Ruth defied this ideal, weighing and standing over tall. Her broad features were accentuated by a nose flattened by surgery for an infection. To add to her stature, listeners described Princess Ruth's voice as a "distant rumble of thunder." The U.S. minister to Hawaiûi Henry A. Peirce dismissed the princess as a "woman of no intelligence or ability". Many Westerners interpreted her adamant defense of traditional ways as backward and stupid.
As the Governor of Hawaiûi Island and heir to large estates, she had more political power and wealth than most women in the world. For example, American women were not allowed to vote. Ruth's assertiveness were characteristic of her ancestors. She hired businessmen such as Sam Parker and Rufus Anderson Lyman, descended from Americans, to help her adapt to the rules for land ownership. Instead of selling the land, she offered long-term leases, which encouraged settlers to start farms, and gave her a secure income. She was a shrewd businesswoman. In a notorious case, she sold Claus Spreckels her claims to the Crown Lands for $10,000. The lands were worth $750,000, but she knew her claims to them were worthless, since previous court cases had established that the lands were entitled to the monarch.
In 1847 she was appointed to the Privy Council of Kamehameha III, and served from 1855 through 1857 in the House of Nobles. On January 15, 1855, she was appointed Royal Governor of Hawaiûi Island, serving until March 2, 1874. When her last half-brother Kamehameha V died in 1872 leaving no heir to the throne, her controversial family background prevented her from contending to become monarch. Although she was considered a member of the royal family, along with Queen Emma and the king's father. In 1874, King Lunalilo then died, and the legislature elected KalÃÂkaua as king, the first not to be descended from Kamehameha I. Keûelikà Âlani was not declared a member of the royal family, merely as a high chiefess by KalÃÂkaua. William Pitt Leleiohoku was named Crown prince. History might have been different had he lived past 1877 and become wealthy. Instead, the increased reliance of the royal family on the treasury and governmental pensions to fund their expenses is a factor that led to the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893.
She died at Huliheûe Palace, Kailua Kona, Hawaiûi Island on May 24, 1883 or possible May 15. Her body was shipped to Honolulu for a royal funeral, and she was buried in the Kamehameha Crypt of the Royal Mausoleum, Mauna ûAla, in Nuûuanu Valley, Oahu. Her will had one major bequest: to her cousin Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop the elaborate mansion, Keà Âua Hale on Emma Street in Honolulu, as well as approximately of Kamehameha lands. This totaled nearly nine percent of the land in the main Hawaiian Islands.
Before reaching sixteen, she married High Chief William Pitt Leleiohoku I (1821âÂÂ1848), Governor of Hawaiûi, former husband of Princess NÃÂhiûenaûena, and son of High Chief William Pitt Kalanimoku (the Prime Minister of Kamehameha I) and his first wife, High Chiefess Kiliwehi. Her 27-year-old husband soon died in a measles epidemic.
On June 2, 1856, she married her second husband, Isaac Young Davis (c. 1826âÂÂ1882), son of George Hueu Davis and his wife Kahaûanapilo Papa (therefore grandson of Isaac Davis). Standing at 6 ft 2 in, he was considered handsome by many including foreign visitors such as Lady Franklin and her niece Sophia Cracroft. Their marriage was an unhappy one, and they divorced in 1868 possibly over the early loss of their son.
She bore two sons, who both died young. John William Pitt Kënaûu, son of Leleiohoku, was born on December 21, 1842. He was taken away at an early age to attend the Royal School in Honolulu, and died September 9, 1859. Keolaokalani Davis, son of Isaac Young Davis was born in February 1862 and hÃÂnai (adopted) against his father's wishes to Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. He died on August 29, 1863, aged one year and 6 months.
Her adopted son Leleiohoku II was born January 10, 1854. He became Crown Prince of Hawaii, but died April 9, 1877, at age 23. On his death, she demanded that KalÃÂkaua and his family relinquish all rights to the estates she had bequeathed their brother, and that they be returned to her by deed. Her relations with King KalÃÂkaua were distant, although she had close friendships with his sister, Queen Liliûuokalani, and their mother, Keohokalole.
She was godmother to Princess Kaûiulani. At Kaûiulani's baptism, Ruth gifted of her land in Waikëkë where Kaûiulani's father Archibald Cleghorn built the ûÃÂinahau Estate. Kaûiulani gave Ruth the pen name of Mama Nui meaning "great mother". Ruth insisted that the princess be raised to one day be fit to sit on the Hawaiian throne. Ruth's death in 1883 was the first of many deaths that Kaûiulani witnessed in her short life.
Keûelikà Âlani was an heir to many in the Kamehameha Dynasty despite her controversial heritage. She was entitled to much of the land holdings of her adopted mother Kaûahumanu through her father who inherited his daughter's holdings, which then passed to Keûelikà Âlani. She was the sole heir of Kamehameha V and a 1/9 heir to the estate of Charles Kanaûina's estate along with her cousin Bernice who inherited two - 1/9th shares because her genealogy.
During her life Ruth was considered the wealthiest woman in the islands.. Her estate passed to her cousin Bernice Pauahi Bishop, with much of these lands becoming the endowment for Kamehameha Schools. On these lands downtown Honolulu, Hickam Air Force Base, part of Honolulu International Airport, Moana Hotel, Princess Kaûiulani Hotel, Royal Hawaiian Hotel, among others, were built.
A documentary film was made of her life in 2004. As a tribute to her traditionalism, a version of the film was produced in the Hawaiian language. In March 2017, Hawaiûi Magazine ranked her among a list of the most influential women in Hawaiian history.