Aliʻi

The aliʻi were the hereditary nobility of the Hawaiian Islands, the higher and lesser chiefs, men and women alike, who were believed to descend from the gods. Each of the four largest islands usually had its own aliʻi nui, or supreme high chief; mōʻī, first borne by Maui's highest chief, was later used for all rulers of the islands. The highest born, the nīʻaupiʻo, came of unions between siblings or other close kin. Aliʻi kept a role in government until 1893, when Queen Liliʻuokalani was overthrown in a coup backed by the United States.