Nahienaena (c. 1815–1836)

Hawaiian princess. Born around 1815; died on December 30, 1836; daughter of Keopuolani (c. 1778–1823) and Kamehameha I the Great (1758–1819), king of Hawaii (r. 1810–1819); sister of Liholiho known as Kamehameha II (1797–1824), king of Hawaii (r. 1819–1824) and Kauikeaouli (1814–1854), later known as Kamehameha III, kingof Hawaii (r. 1824–1854); trained under the missionaries; married her brother Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III), in 1834; married Leleiohoku (a chief), in 1836.

Born around 1815, Nahienaena was the daughter of Keopuolani and Kamehameha I the Great, king of Hawaii. When her mother died, Nahienaena was entrusted to the mission in Lahaina for her Christian and secular education and to the Hawaiian chiefs for "moral guidance," splitting her allegiance in two very different ways. As was customary, Nahienaena wanted to marry her brother Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III). Though the chiefs were delighted with the idea, the missionaries were appalled and convinced some of the chiefs to forbid it. For some time, the baptized Nahienaena, under continual scrutiny for the sake of her Christian soul, tried to follow the way of the missionaries, but her spirit was conflicted. In 1834, she married her brother. When neither the court nor the missionaries would recognize the nuptials, Nahienaena despaired. In 1835, she was excommunicated from the church for drunkenness. The following year, she married Leleiohoku, a young chief. That September, she gave birth to a son who died within a few hours. Three months later, on December 30, 1836, Nahienaena also died, from effects of childbirth. It is said that the baby was the offspring of Nahienaena and her brother, the king.