Naihe - High Chief & National Orator

Naihe being the son of Keawe-a-Heulu, was a high chief of Kealakekua, Naihe was a warrior and trusted friend of King Kamehameha I. It was he who took Kamehameha to Hilo and took him to the Naha stone, to show his power and strength. Naihe succeeded his father as councilor to Kamehameha, serving as chief orator and remained in that position for the first three Kamehamehas. Due to his fluency in the language and his eloquence in speech, he was called the "National Orator".

(Kamehameha's councilors were Keaweaheulu, his son Naihe, and their cousins Kameeiamoku and Keeaumoku)

He was also given charge of Hale o Keawe.

His most famous marriage was to his half sister High Chiefess Kapi'olani, the one who defiled Pele publicly at the Kilauea crater and who may have done more for the growth of Christianity in the Hawaiian islands than anyone else at the time.

His home in Kona was built by Jeremiah Martin. (Jeremiah was a "favorite" of Kapi'olani and the Governer of Hawaii Island, King Kuakini.)

With the Ka'u Chiefess Mauka'a, Naihe had a son, Elia Kapinaoulahalolani "Pinao" Naihe or also known as Pinao-o-Naihe. (He is also said to be the sire of all of Mauka'a's other children even though she was espoused to Kawa'a).

In addition Puku'i wrote:

"Naihe was an accomplished Orator and athlete of Kona, island of Hawai'i, who flourished during the first thirty years of the ninteenth century."

Naihe was an expert surf rider and this made some of his fellow chiefs jealous.

Later the Kuhina Nui, Ka'ahumanu (Kamehameha I's favorite wife) assigned King Kuakini (Her brother) as the Governor of O'ahu, and appointed Naihe to be the acting Governor of Hawai'i island.

Naihe died while serving as the Governor for Hawai'i island.

_______________________________________________

In the book, Reminiscences of Old Hawaii, by Sereno Edwards Bishop

Naihe is mentioned in one of the sections:

"RECOLLECTIONS OF SOME OF THE CHIEFS.

Another prominent native was Naihe, the husband of Kapiolani, who lived at Kaawaloa. Like Kuakini, and Hopu, he always appeared in our presence, in pants and a jacket.

Naihe appears in Hawaiian history as an orator, and spokesman for the king and chiefs. I never knew of him in that capacity. He was a rather aged man of spare form and ordinary height, and of considerable quiet dignity."

_______________________________________________

There is a story that tells of a surfing competition where jealous rival chiefs concealed from Naihe the ruling that a surfing chant proving his rank must be recited before a contestant would be permitted to beach his board after the race, and how he was saved from drowning only by the impromptu composition of an old retainer from Ka'u, the famous "Surfing Song of Naihe" still chanted to extol the waves of Kona that comb the surfing beaches of the young chief's home.

Following is part of the translation to his Name-Song, which was a Eulogy for Naihe

               The huge roller, roller that surges from Kona,

Makes loin-cloth fit for a lord;
Far-reaching swell, my malo streams in the wind;
Shape the crescent malo to the loins--
The loin-cloth the sea, cloth for king's girding.
Stand, gird fast the loin-cloth!
Let the sun guide the board Ilalepó,
Till Halepó lifts on the swell.
It mounts the swell that rolls from Kahiki,
From Wakea's age enrolling.
The roller plumes and ruffles its crest.
Here comes the champion surf-man,
While wave-ridden wave beats the island,
A fringe of mountain-high waves.
Spume lashes the Hiki-an altar--A
surf this to ride at noontide.
The coral, horned coral, it sweeps far ashore.
We gaze at the surf of Ka-kuhi-hewa.
The surf-board snags, is shivered;
Maui splits with a crash,
Trembles, dissolves into slime.
Glossy the skua of the surf-man;
Undrenched the skin of the expert;
Wave-feathers fan the wave-rider.
You've seen the grand surf of Puna, of Hilo.
This spirited song, while not a full description of a
surf-riding scene, gives a vivid picture of that noble sport.
_______________________________________________

Naihe died in 1831. Mrs. Lucy Thurston described Naihe as:

"He was of commanding stature, and distinguished for refinement and polish of mind and manners. Such was his fluency and eloquence in speech that he was styled the national orator. ...As a magistrate he was as firm as he was affectionate, and in passing sentence upon offenders, the tears were often seen chasing each other in quick succession down his cheeks."

_______________________________________________

Naihe's estates and the magistrate position were inherited by Chiefess Kapiʻolani, who donated some of the land for the Kahikolu Church. On her death, many lands passed to Naihe's grand-niece Anea Keohokālole, matriarch of the Kalākaua Dynasty.

Naihe (died 1831) was the chief orator and councilor during the founding of the Kingdom of Hawaii. A champion athlete in his youth, he negotiated for peace at several critical times, and helped preserve the remains of several ancient leaders.

His father was Keawe-a-Heulu, chief legal counselor of Kamehameha I.[1] His mother was High Chiefess ʻUlulani of Hilo.[2] His sister Keohohiwa would be great grandmother of two future monarchs. Literally nā ihe can mean "many spears" in the Hawaiian language[3]:xvi, or "to have authority with a calm and quieted spear".[4] His authority came because he could settle conflicts with appeals to justice that were sharper than physical weapons. Some early writers spell his name "Nahi",[5]:132 or call him "Naihe-Haiha"[6] or "Naihenui".[7]

Naihe was known as a champion athlete and surfer in his early life. Historical chants and stories describe his surfing skill at Kahaluʻu Bay and Holualoa Bay, and of a contest in Hilo when the other chiefs were envious of his abilities.[8][9] He took Kamehameha I to his mother's district of Hilo to move the Pohaku Naha, an enormous sacred stone that demonstrated Kamheameha's strength and power.[10] He probably traveled along with Kamehameha during his conquest of the other islands, learning from his father how to give inspiring speeches to the troops. [edit] Kingdom established

After the successful campaign to establish the Kingdom by the beginning of the 19th century, he settleled down to what he hoped would be a quiet life with his wife Chiefess Kapiʻolani at Kaʻawaloa, at the north end of Kealakekua Bay starting about 1809. He served as magistrate of the south Kona district.[3]:xvi

The quiet was going to be interrupted with a year of great change in 1819 when King Kamehameha I died. Queen Kaʻahumanu declared the old traditions known as kapu were no longer in effect. In November 1819 Keaoua Kekuaokalani gathered followers of the old ways to Kaʻawaloa and threatened a rebellion. Hoapili and Naihe were sent to negotiate. Although Naihe respected the old traditions, he urged peace. At first Keaoua sounded convinced, but the next morning the troops met in the battle of Kuamoʻo, and the rebellion was violently put down.[11] [edit] Great changes

At the end of 1820 he and Kapiʻolani followed the royal court to Lahaina and Honolulu.[3]:125 In Honolulu they learned to read and write with the system invented by missionaries. Previously Hawaiian only been an oral language, of which Naihe was an expert, so he quickly picked up the new skill. Naihe and Kapiʻolani happened to be on board a small boat that Kamehameha II suddenly ordered across the open sea to Kauaʻi July 21, 1821.[3]:138 By spring of 1823 they moved back to Kaʻawaloa, along with the first misionaries to the island, Asa and Lucy Goodale Thurston. By 1824 they would send a boat to Kailua for a preacher to hold Sunday services in a thatched house they built near their home.[12]

In June 1823 British missionary William Ellis toured the island to survey for potential church sites. He was hosted by Naihe, and Kaʻawaloa was listed as one of the first places to establish a church. Naihe had an advisor or assistant named Kamakau (not to be confused with Samuel Kamakau who was younger) who told the story of the death of Captain James Cook at Kaʻawaloa when he was a young boy in 1779.[13]

Lord Byron returned in 1825 on the HMS Blonde with the bodies of Kamehameha II and his Queen Kamāmalu who had died on a state visit to England. Naihe traveled to Honolulu for a the royal funeral; this was the first Hawaiian King to have a Christian memorial service. Naihe helped convene a national convention to agree on succession and discuss updating the laws. Chief Boki advocating quickly moving to the Parliamentary system he had seen in England. Naihe argued for a more moderate course; ensure stability by keeping existing laws, but adopt the more democratic system over time. Naihe lived among the people and knew the costs of social change. The official legislative body of the Kingdom was not defined until the 1840 Constitution.

Byron called Naihe's district "one of the most civilized of the Sandwich Islands."[5]:198 In July 1825 Naihe led the British to the ancient religious site called Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau and let them remove most of the wooden carvings and other relics at the Hale o Keawe burial site. Byron considered them "pagan symbols".[14] When the Blonde left Hawaii for the last time on July 18, 1825, Naihe and his wife were there to say goodbye, being called "hospitable friends".[5]:202 Missionary Samuel Ruggles

On September 27, 1826 Naihe gave a speech at the dedication of the first wood-framed Mokuaikaua Church in Kailua-Kona. In 1827 he decreed that all marriages in his district should be done by a minister.[15]:102 When the missionary Samuel Ruggles in 1828 wanted to move to a cooler higher elevation, Naihe allowed the missionaries to build on some of his farm land, which would eventually become a prime Kona coffee area.

In 1829 Mrs. Gerit Judd visited the ruins of Hale o Keawe with Kapiʻolani and Naihe. After seeing the destruction, the remaining bones were put into two large coffins and hidden in a cave, until moved in 1858 to the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii known as Mauna 'Ala.[14] In November 1829 the USS Vincennes arrived, on the first trip around the world by a ship of the U.S. Navy.[16] The ship chaplin was Samuel Stewart, a former missionary to Hawaii. Naihe and Kapiʻolani welcomed them and served the officers tea in their home.[17]

On April 1, 1831 Naihe was appointed Governor of Hawaiʻi island while John Adams Kuakini restored order on Oʻahu island after a rumored rebellion by Kuini Liliha.[18]:205

Naihe died in November or December 29, 1831, after a stroke of of paralysis forty-four hours before. Mrs. Lucy Thurston described Naihe as:

  "He was of commanding stature, and distinguished for refinement and polish of mind and manners. Such was his fluency and eloquence in speech that he was styled the national orator. ...As a magistrate he was as firm as he was affectionate, and in passing sentence upon offenders, the tears were often down his cheek seen chasing each other in quick succession down his cheeks."[12]

[edit] Legacy Cook Monument near his house site

Residents of the Kona district tell stories of Kai mimiki o Naihe, the "roiling sea of Naihe", which was probably the tsunami after the 1868 Hawaii earthquake, or another about this time, which caused damage to the area.[19]

Various monuments to Captain Cook were constructed in front of Naihe's former home at the edge of the bay. The first was by Lord Byron in 1825, and a more permanent one in 1874.[20] The village was abandoned, and the area is now on the National Register of Historic Places as the Kealakekua Bay Historic District and a state historic park.[21]

Stephanie N. Naihe Laxton of Kohala is said to be a direct descendant of Naihe.[22] She founded a non-profit group called Maika'i Kamakani 'O Kohala ("fine winds of Kohala, Hawaii") to protect historic sites on the island.[23][24] "John W. Naihe" was a member of the House of Representatives of the Kingdom from 1856 to 1873.[25] This "Naihe of Kohala", a descendant of the ancient priest Paʻo may or may not be connected with "Naihe of Kaʻawaloa".[26]:259 Marriages between the royalty of Maui[27] and Hawaii island would explain relatives in Kohala (across a channel from the island of Maui). A connection with naval commander and pilot Naihe Kukui Kapihe would also explain why Kalama would be an acceptable bride for King Kamehameha III. There are also several people with the "Naihe" surname that live in the Kona area where this Naihe lived. It was a popular name in the 19th century; he might have many relatives or namesakes.[28]

Naihe's estates and the magistrate position were inherited by Chiefess Kapiʻolani, who donated some of the land for the Kahikolu Church. On her death, many lands passed to Naihe's grand-niece Anea Keohokālole, matriarch of the Kalākaua Dynasty.