Individual Details

LINEAGE
McKinzie, Hawaiian Genealogies, vol 2 p 86 gives father Puou, but not mother
Conflict: He buke kuauhau alii, Hms G6a, p 15 lists mother as Haalolou, instead of his grandmother.
LIFE
A. After islands united, he was Kahuna Nui to Kamehameha I (Kamakau, Tales and Traditions of the People of Old, p 100; Kamakau, Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii, p 213) and Kahuna Nui to Liholiho, Kamehameha II (Kalakaua, The Legends and Myths of Hawaii, p 434).
B. "The priesthood in the family of Paao continued until the last high priest on Hawaii, Hewahewanui, joined Liholiho Kamehameha II and Kaahumanu in abrogating the tabus" (Fornander, An Account of the Polynesian Race, vol 2 p 38). When Liholiho expressed the intention to no longer observe the kapu, Hewahewa said "no evil consequences would follow the discontinuance of the worship of the gods" (Ellis, A Narrative Tour of Hawai, p 95). As the high priest, Hewahewa had the most to lose from the conspiracy against the traditional religious system. "Of an inquiring mind, the little knowledge he had gained of the new creed [of Christianity] had convinced him of the inconsistency of his own, and when the time came to strike he acted boldly. His hand was the first to apply the torch to the temples. Had he hesitated the conspiracy would have failed, for the influence of the high-priest with the masses at that time was second only to that of the king." At the great feast when the tabu was broken, Hewahewa said to the king; "We have made a bold beginning, but the gods and heiaus cannot survive the death of the tabu." "Then let them perish with it!" declared Liholiho. "If the gods can punish, we have done too much already to hope for grace. They can but kill, and we will test their powers by inviting the full measure of their wrath" (Kalakaua, The Legends and Myths of Hawaii, p 434,437-438).
C. He instituted the destruction of the heiau, idols, and the kapu (tabu),
a. "remembered as that of one who cared more for the truth and his people than for himself or position" (Alexander, The Story of Hawaii, p 174).
b. From the Journal of the Sandwich Islands Mission, the entry on April 5, 1820: "...we were favored with an interview with Hewahewa....About five months ago the young king consulted with him with respect to the expediency of breaking taboo and asked him to tell him frankly and plainly whether it would be good or bad, assuring him at the same time that he would be guided by his view. Hewahewa speedily replied, maikai it would be good, adding that he knew there is but one Akua who is in heaven, and that their wooden gods could not save them nor do them any good." (Gulick, The Pilgrims of Hawaii, p 77-78). The abolition of idolatry started on October 1819 (Alexander, A Brief History of the Hawaiian People, p 320).
c. He resigned his office and "in 1819 was the first to apply the torch to the temples in which his ancestors had so long worshipped" (Kalakaua, The Legends and Myths of Hawaii, p 71). "in the smoke of burning heiaus, images and other sacred property, beginning on Hawaii and ending at Niihau, suddenly passed away a religious system which for fifteen hundred years or more had shaped the faith, commanded the respect and received the profoundest reverence of the Hawaiian people. No creed was offered by the iconoclasts in lieu of the system destroyed by royal edict, and until the arrival of the first Christian missionaries, in March of the following year, the people of the archipelago were left without a shadow of religious restraint or guidance" (Kalakaua, The Legends and Myths of Hawaii, p 438).
d. On April 4th, 1820 Hewahewa welcomed his "brother priests" on the brig Thaddeus. He described how he and the king came to understand each other about the abolition of the kapu, carefully feeling each other out. King: "Do you think it well to break them?" Priest: "That lies with you." King: "It is as you say." This led to a true expression of their thoughts. Said Hewahewa to his hosts on Thaddeus; "I knew that the wooden images of our deities, carved by our own hands, were incapable of supplying our wants, but I worshiped them because it was the custom of our fathers; they made not the kalo to grow, nor sent us rain; neither did they bestow life or health. My thought has always been, 'Akahi wale no Akua nui iloko o ka lani' - there is 'one only Great God dwelling in the heavens.' " (Jarves, History of the Hawaiian Islands, p 103).
e. "The following prayer, said to have been composed and taught the people by Hewahewa, the last high priest of the ancient regime in these islands, is connected with a story so characteristically Hawaiian that I will give it as I heard it. Hewahewa was a great favorite with the high chiefs and the royal family. A few days before the missionaries landed at Kailua he foresaw their coming and instructed his awa- chewer to rim in front of the house, near the shore where the royal family were living, and call out, "E ka lani e, ina aku ke akua a pae niai." O King, the god will soon land yonder, pointing, as he spoke, to the very spot on the sandy beach where, a few days later, April 4th, 1820, the little band of missionaries landed from the brig Thaddeus, bringing with them the new god. In commemoration of this incident the spot received the name, "Kai-o-ke-akua," the sea of the god, by which name it has ever since been called. During the next few days the missionaries had audience with royalty and earnestly presented the claims of their god for the worship of the people. Their pleading made such an impression on the high chiefess, Kapiolani nui, that she told Hewahewa that the god had really landed, and expressed her willingness to accept the new religion. This led Hewahewa, the chief religious leader of the kingdom, to prepare this prayer as a welcome to the new god who had so recently arrived. We may remark that the Hawaiians regarded the rainbow as the most beautiful object in nature, whose feet, without the connecting arch, were looked upon as indicating the presence of some exalted personage. Such is the idea conveyed in this prayer. The imagery and beauty of this exquisitely worded composition shows its author to be no mean poet. No mere translation can do it justice. The above story was lately given me by Peter Pascal , who in turn obtained it from Matthew Kane of Halawa, Molokai, who was born at Kailua, Hawaii. The prayer itself has been in my collection for more than twenty years.
HE PULE MAMUA O KA LAHA ANA O KA PULE A KA HAKU MA HAWAII.
Ku, ku la ia, ku la.
Piha, ku lalani, ku la.
O pouli la, poeleele la.
Opu kalakala, lau ia, e ku la.
He Akua nui, he Akua mana,
He Akua ola, he Akua man,
Iehova he Kamahele mai ka lani mai ;
He Akua noho i ka iuiu,
O ka welelau o ka makani,
Iloko o ke ao kaa lelewa.
He ohu ku i ka honua,
He onohi ku i ka moana,
Ieku, ko makou Kalahala.
Mai ke ala i Kahiki a Hawaii nei,
Mai ka hooku'i a ka halawai ;
Ehuehu ka ua mai ka lani,
Iehova I, ka makemake.
Himeni i ka lani kaakua.
Ke olioli nei ka honua.
Ua loaa ka hua olelo ka ike, o ka mana, o ke ola.
Halawai i ke alo o Poki,
I ke alo o ka Haku mana mau.
Pule pono ia Iehova,
I Kahuna mana o na moku,
Me he lama ike hewa nui ;
I ola makou a pau ;
I ola ia Ieku.
Amene.
A PRAYER ANTE-DATING THE USE OE THE LORD'S PRAYER IN HAWAII.
Arise, stand up, stand.
Fill up the ranks, stand in rows, stand.
Lest we be in darkness, in black night.
Ye thorny-hearted, assemble, a multitude, stand.
A great God, a mighty God,
A living God, an everlasting God,
Is Jehovah, a Visitor from the skies;
A God dwelling afar off, in the heights,
At the further end of the wind,
In the rolling cloud, floating in air.
A light cloud resting on the earth,
A rainbow standing in the ocean,
Is Jesus, Our Redeemer.
By the path from Kahiki to us in Hawaii He comes '
From the zenith to the horizon;
A mighty rain from the heavens,
Jehovah the Supreme, we welcome.
Sing praises to the rolling heavens.
Now the earth rejoices.
We have received the words Of knowledge, of power, of life.
Gather in the presence of Poki,
In the presence of the ever mighty Lord.
Pray with reverence to Jehovah,
As a mighty kahuna of the Islands,
Who, like a torch, shall reveal our great sins;
That we all may live;
Live through Jesus.
Amen.
The Poki referred to in this prayer was the Governor Poki, more generally known as Boki, who was Governor of Oahu from 1819 to 1830, a younger brother of Kalanimoku, or Kalaimoku. This Kalaimoku was one of the most important persons in the Kingdom. He was commander of the Hawaiian army from 1819 to 1824 and Prime Councillor of Kaahumanu during the first three years of her regency. Hewahewa, the gifted author of this prayer, was the last High Priest of the old cult and one of the first to denounce the old gods and to recognize the new one. With his own hand on the 26th day of June, 1822, he helped to destroy some 102 idols by fire and thus to demonstrate their impotence. He afterwards confessed himself a follower of the Christians' God, and when my father, Rev. John S. Emerson, organized the Church of Waialua, Oahu, Hewahewa became one of the early attendants, if not a communicant, his home being at Waimea on the same island. I know of no good account of this remarkable man whose story would be so fascinating to the student of ancient Hawaiian worship" (Emerson, Selections From a Kahuna's Book of Prayers, p 36-39).
D. Hewahewa wrote a letter to Christian missionary Levi Chamberlain from his home in Lahaina, Maui on July 29, 1830 in which he feared for "the wrongs of my heart" and expressed his testimony of the grace of God and the "love of the son of God" (Hewahewa - Ali`i Letters - 1830.07.29 - to Chamberlain, Levi).
E. His obituary states that he was ill for perhaps four months; his illness was like that of Kaahumanu’s final illness. While he was sick, he was terrified of sins, and on the day that he died, he asked one of the brethren to pray often to God for him, and he prayed for himself in fear (Ke Kumu Hawaii, 26 April 1837, p 96, Make).
F. His bones were buried in Waimea Valley, Oahu (Poke Nuhou, 20 April 2017, News Briefs, Descendants of Hewahewa celebrated 'iwi protection).

Death	16 Feb 1837
Alt name		Hevaheva

Spouse	Piipii ( - )
Child	Kalanikaapuu ( - )
Child	Lehunui ( - )
Child	Kalanikaapau ( - )

Spouse	Kapapaeeuliumoku ( - )
Child	Eleeleualani ( - )
Child	Kapikokaakua ( - )
Child	Pupuaikanaka ( - )
Child	Kahuhukeakaokalani ( - )

Spouse	Kailakanoa ( - )
Child	Kainokumeaia ( - )
Child	Puou ( - )
Child	Holoae ( - )

Spouse	Kaumakaehulani ( - )
Child	Uina ( - )

Father	Puou ( - )
Mother	Kamakona ( - )
Sibling	Kapele ( - )