Kaomi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kaomi Moe was the mōʻi kuʻi, aupuni kuʻi (joint king and joint ruler) of the Kingdom of Hawaii with his aikāne King Kamehameha III from 1832 to 1834. He is noted for his resistance to missionary influences in favor of a nation that retained its Hawaiian character, and for his roles in promoting literacy and in perpetuating hula and indigenous medical practices.
Kaomi was born in Maui on an unknown date early in the 19th century. His father was "Jack" Moe, a native of Bora Bora in Tahiti. His mother was a Hawaiian woman named Kahuamoa who was in the household of Kaʻahumanu, the Kuhina Nui (regent) of the Hawaiian Kingdom following the death of her husband Kamehameha I in 1819.[1][2]
Kaomi was among the first people in Hawai'i to become literate. He learned to read and write from his uncle Auna, a Tahitian missionary who arrived in Hawai'i in 1822 carrying two small hymnals in the Tahitian language, and appointed Kaomi to be the head of his school when he returned to Tahiti two years later[3]. Kaomi excelled at his studies to the point where American Protestant missionary leader Hiram Bingham invited him to teach reading, writing, and Christian principles to the chiefly followers of Ka‘ahumanu, and to tour the island's establishing prayer-meeting groups. This work played an important role in Hawaiʻi’s early embrace of literacy and widespread education.[2]
Kaomi was knowledgeable in the healing arts. According to Hawaiian historian Samuel Kamakau, "he could tell the symptoms of diseases, had learned from Boki and Ka-ʻoʻo how to diagnose a disease by feeling the body of a patient and [could prescribe] the proper medicine to cure it." Kamakau also remarked that Kaomi was "well-educated and intelligent" and could "tell a funny story entertainingly."[2]
It was through his skill in healing that Kaomi became acquainted with Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli), the second son of Kamehameha I, who had become King at age twelve when his brother Kamehameha II (Liholiho) died of measles during a trip abroad. Soon the two became aikāne, or intimate friends of the same sex. Such relationships were common and well accepted in early Hawaiian society, and could be sexual, social, and/or political and include sharing responsibilities with family and community.[4][5] Kaomi had previously been aikāne to Kuakini, royal governor of Hawaiʻi Island, who had himself been aikāne to Kamehameha I.[6]
Although there was gossip that Kaomi had seduced the young king, Kamakou reports that "this was not true for he had shown a fondness for such tempting delights even before Kaomi became his favorite." Ka‘ahumanu, who had become an ardent supporter of the missionaries, tried to stop the relationship by offering Kamehameha III a young chiefess to marry, but he refused, and instead accepted the punishment of building a cattle enclosure for Reverend Bingham.[2]
The missionaries also refused to baptize Kaomi, inspiring him to rebel by forming a group of young men know as the Hulumanu, or bird feathers. Although described by opponents as a cult, they were in fact revivalists who participated in traditional Hawaiian pastimes and spiritual practices that the Church deemed inappropriate.[3]
The time of Kaomi (Ka wa ia Kaomi) - 1832 to 1834
After Kaʻahumanu died in 1832, Kaomiʻs aikāne relationship with Kamehameha III became official when he was given the title of mōʻi kuʻi, aupuni kuʻi, or joint king and joint ruler.[2] Moʻi is one of the highest titles that an aliʻi may hold, and signaled that Kaomi had a higher royal position than Kīnaʻu, who had succeeded Kaʻahumanu as the Kuhina Nui.[3] As such, Kaomi was entitled to draw upon the kingdom's budget, transfer lands, impose taxes, and distribute clothing and money. The King also placed a taboo on Kaomi's house, and assigned warriors and guards to his service. These actions caused John Papa ʻĪʻī, the Christianized kahu to Kamehameha III and his brother before him, to leave the king because he "would not heed him."[7] The missionaries also refused to acknowledge Kaomi's new title, instead using the derogatory description of "kelii kui" or engrafted king.[3]
In March 1833, a crier was sent through the streets of Honolulu to proclaim the abrogation of all Christian laws and regulations save for the prohibitions against theft and murder. Residents of Oʻahu quickly resumed many of the traditions and pastimes that had been forbidden for the past ten years. ’Ulu maika and pūhenehene (stone games accompanied by gambling) and kite-flying were once again legal; tobacco smoking, tattooing, and drinking were allowed; the Makahiki season could be celebrated with joy; and with the biblical prohibitions on sexual behavior erased, people were free to be intimate with whomever they pleased. As noted by Kamakou: "People poured in from Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai, for on Oahu, the marriage laws were not observed, but on the other islands the rulers were strict in their enforcement…"[2]
The revival of hula, at which Kaomi was a master, was especially rejoiced. Stephen Reynolds, a merchant who lived next door to Kaomi in what is now downtown Honolulu, recalled one celebration: "At daylight the natives assembled in the yard next to mine and had a great dance. The streets, lanes, fences were filled with people to witness one of their former pastimes. The utmost satisfaction appeared to light the countenance of the spectators."[8] The revival of hula was important not just for its value as entertainment, but as a means to preserve histories and honor gods and ancestors.