#kelea

Day Seven: Keleanohoanaʻapiʻapi!

Keleanohoanaʻapiʻapi was born into Hawai’ian royalty during the fifteenth century; her father, Kahekili the Great, was the ruler of Maui. He was a notedly bellicose leader, and his campaigns impoverished his people, inspiring the name of Keleanohoanaʻapiʻapi’s brother, Kawaokaohele, “Our Impoverished Days;” Kawaokaohele would notably fight no wars during his own reign. Keleanohoanaʻapiʻapi grew up into not only a well-known beauty, but a woman well-known as a skilled surfer. Her first husband, Lōlale, was a high-ranking Prince on Oahu; accounts vary on whether this was merely an unhappy political marriage or a full-on abduction, but, nevertheless, Keleanohoanaʻapiʻapi seems to have found little joy living inland on Oahu. She and Lōlale had several children, but Keleanohoanaʻapiʻapi ended their marriage - according to one chant, after having rediscovered her love of surfing on a visit to the sea.

Gender: Female

Pronunciation: ke-LE-a (Hawaiian); ke-LEE-a (English)

Origin: Possibly an English variant of the Hawaiian name Kale’’a