Kamehameha Celebration Returns to Honolulu After Two Year Absence

Kamehameha the Great Founded a Nation That Still Honors Him

If you drive across the continental United States, you won’t find a lot of statues honoring royalty. Nor do we have any holidays commemorating the birth of a king or queen. After all, the labor pains that gave birth to America were generated by a revolution against the hapless King George III.

Out here in the middle of the Pacific, it is a different story. The fiftieth state was once an independent nation, ruled by a succession of Polynesian kings and queens who are still much loved by many Native Hawaiians. Prior to the 19th century, the islands were divided into four separate chiefdoms, each based on one of the four largest islands: Hawai’i, Mau’i, O’ahu and Kaua’i. The ali’i nui (paramount chiefs) of the four states were frequently at war with one another, as each tried to expand his or her realm.

Kamehameha was born in 1736 … or 1758 … possibly 1748 … but some think it was 1761. Suffice to say that record keeping has improved since the middle of the 18th century — and Kamehameha was born at some point during that period. He was descended from a number of high ranking chiefs and his full name was Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka…