HONOLULU (KHON2) – In the ahupuaʻa of Waikiki, which lies in the moku of Kona here on Oʻahu, stands a short road named for a wife of the King.
We are speaking of Nāmāhana St.
The word nāmāhana can be broken up as nā meaning a plural “the” and māhana translating as “twins or doubles.”
But the street name Nāmāhana is in honor of Lydia Piʻia Nāmāhana, noted as the “Queen of the Sandwich Isles.”
Born to high chiefly parents, she was one of the many wives to King Kamehameha I and served as Governor of Oʻahu.
Stated as Nāmāhana II and Kekuaipiʻia among other names, Nāmāhana was noted to be six feet, two inches tall and over three hundred pounds.
Present at the arrival of the Western missionaries, she was among the first royals to accept Christianity and learn to read and write.
Nāmāhana was not the only wife to King Kamehameha I as he had many.
Her older sister, Kaʻahumanu, is known to have been the King’s favorite wife and to have heavily inspired change.
In fact, Queen Kaʻahumanu was the “first fruit of the Kawaiahaʻo Church” being its first Christian convert.
On December 5, 1825, Kaʻahumanu led a small group of others, including Nāmāhana, to become some of the first royal Christians.
Following their arrival, the missionaries began teaching reading and writing via the works of the Bible.
Within their first year and a half, they helped to create an early spelling system and the alphabet which is known as the Pīʻāpā.
It is said that a fluent speaker of the Hawaiian language was able to learn to read and write in just eighteen hours.
It was efforts such as this which led the Hawaiian Nation to become one of the most literate in the entire world, once upon a time.
Did you know? Now you do!