Kaomi

Kaomi (died 1837) was the half Hawaiian, half Tahitian, aikāne partner of King Kamehameha III who became the "engrafted king" (Ke-lii-kui) of the Kingdom of Hawaii. His father, Moe, who was a native to Borabora and mother, Ka-hua-moa, a native Hawaiian woman.[1] Kaomi was not only the aikāne to Kau-i-ke-aouli but also close friend to Kaʻahumanuʻs brother, Kuakini.

The time of Kaomi (Ka wa ia Kaomi)

He soon became close to the King due to his high level of education but also his skill in the art of healing. It is said that Kaomi could diagnose a disease by feeling the body of any individual and could thereafter prescribe the appropriate medicine to treat it. He had acquired these skills from Boki and Kaʻoʻo.[1] With Kaomiʻs advice to the King proven to be true, along with his capabilities to entertainingly tell amusing stories, landed him favor with the King. Soon after, Kaomi received the title of “joint king, joint ruler” (moi kuʻi, aupuni kuʻi).[1] In addition, appointed chiefs, warriors, and guards helped to develop an honorable name for Kaomi. With this title also came the responsibility and privilege to grant or deny any chief, citizen, or member of the kingʻs household land, clothing, money or anything desired for that matter. With Kaomi, remained the power to give or lend for the government.

Because Kaomi and Kamehameha III were aikane, there is speculation that Kaomi's relationship with the king may have led to Kamehameha III's decision to rebel against the wishes of Western colonizers and revived previously suppressed Hawaiian traditions that included hula, dancing, gambling, various forms of love-making, and the consumption of liquor.[2] With the exception of Waialua district, the liquor distilleries were again opened. Reportedly, people from all over the islands of Hawaiʻi, Maui and Kauaʻi poured into Oʻahu due to marriage laws not being observed in comparison to other islands where the law of Kau-i-ke-aouli was enforced.

The period would be called "The time of Kaomi".[3] He held this position for a small period before being removed due to pressure from the Calvinist Church in 19th-century Hawaii.[4] Originally, Kaomi was a Protestant minister in the Royal Court of Kaʻahumanu, but he left the ministry when he began his relationship with the King. After the death of Kaʻahumanu, Kamehameha III would name Kīnaʻu as the next Kuhina Nui. Kamehameha was distraught by the loss of his lover. The Christian community would blame Kaomi for many of the vices during this period.[5][6]

The removal of Kaomi

With the “non-christian” like behavior that Kau-i-ke-aouli demonstrated, the plan to remove Kaomi would begin. The entire blame of Kamehameha IIIʻs conduct was placed on Kaomi by many Christian chiefs of that time. Soon after, it was Chief Kaikioʻewa (a kahu to the King) and Hoapili who hatched a secret plan to remove Kaomiʻs power by killing him. After kidnapping Kaomi, Chief Kaikioʻewa ordered a servant named Kaihuhanuna to tie Kaomiʻs hands behind his back and club him to death. When Kīnaʻu protested, the King rushed in and fought with Kaikioʻewa to save Kaomi. King Kamehameha III took Kaomi home to protect him, but Kaomi left the public relationship they had, possibly to protect his aikāne and the Kingdom from further attack[2] During this series of events, Kaikioʻewa accused the monarch of abandoning his leadership responsibilities due to his irresponsible self-indulgence in “evil” ways.[7] The Hawaiian historian Kamakou reported that Kaomi diees soon thereafter, but this seems to be wishful thinking because in fact another missionary, Sheldon Dibble, wrote of meeting Kaomi in Lahaina, Maui, three years later. Dibble was also a passenger on the schooner on which Kaomi, who was travelling to Honolulu for medical treatment, passed away in 1837.  Kaomi’s survival of the assault by Kaikioʻewa has led one modern historian to speculate that he was sheltered at Mokuʻula, the royal compound in Lahaina that was tabu to the missionaries’ prying eyes[8]. 

Legacy

The time of Kaomi represented a revival of Native traditions and resistance against Westernization that became a recurring theme in Hawaiian history, yet for over a century historians presented this period as a warning against the perils of resisting Christian commandments.  Kaomi was described as “cunning” and “evil,” and the Hawaiian practices he helped revive as “sinful pleasures” and “things of darkness.”  More recently, however, there is renewed attention to Kaomi and in relation to the long-lasting impacts of colonization and the importance of resilience in the face of adversity.  Adam Keawe Manalo-Camp, a Native Hawaiian cultural historian, sees Kaomi’s journey as “a story of Indigenous resistance, of a kanaka trying to navigate an imposed worldview that sought to erase us.”[9] This interest has been reflected in academic papers[9], art works, a play, and an exhibition at the King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center[10].

References

  1. ^ a b c Kamakau, Samuel Mānaiakalani (1992). Ruling chiefs of Hawaii. Honolulu, HI: Kamehameha Schools. pp. 335–337. ISBN 0-87336-014-1.
  2. ^ a b "History of Aikane Relationships in Hawaii". Youtube. EqualityHi.
  3. ^ Mary Charlottle Alexander (1912). The Story of Hawaii. American Book Co. pp. 227–.
  4. ^ Noenoe K. Silva (7 September 2004). Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism. Duke University Press. pp. 61–. ISBN 0-8223-3349-X.
  5. ^ Alan Robert Akana (18 March 2014). The Volcano Is Our Home: Nine Generations of a Hawaiian Family on Kilauea Volcano. Balboa Press. pp. 69–. ISBN 978-1-4525-8752-3.
  6. ^ Hiram BINGHAM (1848). A Residence of Twenty-one Years in the Sandwich Islands; or the Civil, religious and political history of those islands ... Second edition. [With a portrait and a map.]. Hezekiah Huntington. pp. 450–.
  7. ^ Kauanui, J. Kēhaulani (19 October 2018). Paradoxes of Hawaiian sovereignty : land, sex, and the colonial politics of state nationalism. Durham: Duke University Press Books. ISBN 9780822370499. OCLC 1007581702.
  8. ^ Klieger, P. Christiaan (2015). Kamehameha III. Green Arrow Press.
  9. ^ a b Manolo-Camp, Adam Keawe (2023). Ka Wā Iā Kaomi: The Time of Kaomi, in Historical Investigations in West Maui, ed. LD Collins and BK Isaki. University of Hawaii Press, 2023.
  10. ^ "Kaulike No Nā Mea a Pau: Toward Queer Justice in Hawaiʻi". King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center.
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