Person

Keōpūolani

c. 1778–1823 · 19th century · Also known as Keopuolani, Kalanikauikaʻalaneo

Keōpūolani was the highest-ranking wife of Kamehameha I, a chiefess of naha rank, born of a royal half-brother and half-sister marriage, whose kapu required commoners to fall prostrate before her. Daughter of Kīwalaʻō, king of Hawaiʻi island, she was caught with her grandmother Kalola after Kamehameha's victory at Kepaniwai on Maui in 1790, and married him in 1795, linking his house to the ruling houses of Maui and Hawaiʻi. She bore Kamehameha II, Kamehameha III and Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena. In 1819 she joined Kaʻahumanu and Hewahewa in sharing a meal of forbidden foods to break the kapu, and she was baptised a Christian just before her death in 1823.

Keōpūolani
Image: The American Tract Society · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Keōpūolani. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/keopuolani
MLA
“Keōpūolani.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/keopuolani. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Keōpūolani.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/keopuolani.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Keōpūolani’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/keopuolani (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻