Manono at the Battle of Kuamoʻo

“Kekuaokalani and Manono Battle at Kuamoʻo Dec. 1819,” 2014. Note Manono in the center, Kekuaokalani to her right, and the Hawaiian god of war, Kūkāʻilimoku, being held by a priest in the back.

Courtesy Brook Kapukuniahi Parker

Article written by Nicole Martin, PhD

---

“Mālama kō aloha”

These are the words that Chiefess Manono is said to have chanted as she died in the Battle of Kuamo‘o in 1819 on the island of Hawai‘i. They translate to “hold on to your love” or “keep your love.”¹

In Brook Kapukuniahi Parker’s contemporary painting, Manono is the woman in the center of the frame, fighting next to her husband, Kekuaokalani, and surrounded by warriors. She looks bold and fearless, her legs planted firmly on the lava field, her eyes determined. But her face also expresses a calmness. She appears at peace, ready to die for her beliefs, lifeways, and homeland.

Despite Manono’s evident courage, Parker’s painting depicts a tragic moment. The Battle of Kuamo‘o marked a pivotal turning point in Hawaiian history, ending the traditional kapu system that governed almost every aspect of daily life on the islands. It pitted Hawaiians against Hawaiians, cousin against cousin, and tradition against change. When traditionalists, the side Manono fought on, were defeated, they lost family and loved ones but also the ancient code of conduct that universally regulated and defined their homeland. However, Manono’s dying words provide a way to mend and move forward from loss through a philosophy of love.

Mo‘olelo

Mo‘olelo are more than just stories. They combine myth, history, and tradition together to impart important lessons. Anthropologist Ty Kawika P. Tengan explains that the mo‘olelo place words, or fragments, in succession to “create connections across time and space.” The preservation of mo‘olelo, such as the story Parker’s painting captures, is crucial to the very continuity of the Hawaiian people, land, and culture.²

As depicted in the painting, Manono stands at the heart of the mo‘olelo of the Battle of Kuamo‘o. Born from a long line of ali‘i (ruling elite) on Maui in the 1780s, Manono fell in love with and married Kekuaokalani, the nephew of King Kamehameha I. For a time, Manono and Kekuaokalani lived peacefully in the mountains of Maui with their four children before being called back to the royal court on the island of Hawai‘i.³

The slopes of Lekeleke, the final resting place for hundreds of warriors who lost their lives at the Battle of Kuamoʻo.

NPS Photo/Mandy Johnson- Campbell

In the wake of Kamehameha’s death in 1819, a power struggle arose, defined by opposing visions for Hawai‘i. On one side stood two powerful female chiefs, both widows of Kamehameha: kuhina nui (regent) Kaʻahumanu and Keōpūolani, the highest ranking aliʻi in the kingdom and mother to Liholiho, who inherited his father’s lands and political power. Liholiho’s army was led by Manono’s own brother, Kalanimoku.

On the other side stood Kekuaokalani, Liholiho’s cousin, who Kamehameha had made guardian of the war god Kūkāʻilimoku, and Manono and their followers.⁴

At the urging of his mother and Kaʻahumanu, Liholiho decided not to reinstate the ‘ai kapu – the sacred eating laws that forbade women and men from sharing meals together. With this decision, he effectively overthrew the entire kapu system that controlled interactions between women and men, commoners and ali‘i, the people and their Gods. Kekuaokalani and Manono resisted the change and those who agreed rallied behind him as the defender of the Hawaiian kapu system.⁵

Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, Kuamoʻo ahupuaʻa

NPS Photo/Mandy Johnson- Campbell

The Battle of Kuamo‘o

According to the moʻolelo, on the advice of Manono, Kekuaokalani declined a diplomatic solution with Liholiho. The battle that ensued culminated at Kuamo‘o, a place of striking beauty overlooking the coast. A portion of the 175-mile-long Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail runs through Kuamo‘o today. The Ala Loa is a trail that encircled the entire island at the time of the battle. While it is easy to think of Kuamo‘o as a place of bloodshed and violence, where 300 warriors perished, it had long brimmed with life. For centuries, it was where Hawaiians met and exchanged goods and information, where they farmed and worshiped, and most importantly, where they loved.⁶

The martyrdom story of Manono and Kekuaokalani captures both the thriving life and violent death that Kuamo‘o contains. Historical accounts claim that Kekuaokalani fought bravely through a wound to his leg before finally perishing with a shot to his left breast. It was said that Manono fought by his side throughout the day “with steady and dauntless courage.” When he was killed, she called out for mercy but was met with a shot to her left temple. She fell upon her husband’s lifeless body, uttering her final words before dying.⁷

Almost sixty years later, King Kalākaua would write in his book on Hawaiian folklore, “Thus died the last great defenders of the Hawaiian gods. They died as nobly as they had lived, and were buried together where they fell on the field of Kuamoʻo.”⁸

“Keep Your Love”

Winona Kapuailohiamanonokalani Desha Beamer, “Auntie Nona,” the famed hula proponent and educator, tells the story of Manono’s dying words with great fondness and perception. She explains that they represent far more than a family message. They are a belief about how the world should strive to live. “It’s so real, and when you think of the suffering of the time, and standing up for what they believed was right …To keep your love, that surmounts everything. You know, it doesn’t matter who we are, where we come from. Keep your love.”⁹

The brilliance of Manono’s words is that they can serve everyone. “Keep your love” was not just a mantra for her side’s loss but also a guide for the women on the victorious side, who sought to change the kapu system and what it meant to be Hawaiian. They also spoke to the loss that was to come in a succession of obstacles that aimed to wipe out Hawaiian traditions, and eventually, sovereignty: missionaries, colonialism, and annexation. Today, the words are the beating heart of efforts to restore Kuamoʻo to the values of the mo‘olelo, from a place of conflict to that of a refuge for meaningful learning, integrating traditional Hawaiian culture in modern life.

Home and Homelands Exhibition

This project was made possible through the National Park Service in part by a grant from the National Park Foundation.

---

¹ Kamuela Meheula, “Dying Words of a Fearless Chiefess,” Aloha Kuamo‘o ‘Aina, December 2016.

² Ty Kawika P. Tengan, “Mo‘olelo Koa,” Home and Homelands Honolulu Workshop Guest Lecture, March 2, 2023.

³ Meheula, “Dying Words of a Fearless Chiefess.”

⁴ “The 1819 Battle of Kuamo‘o,” Aloha Kuamo‘o ‘Aina.

⁵ Catharine Lo Griffin, “Kuamo‘o: The Last Stand,” originally appeared in Hana Hou!, October-November 2017.

⁶ Griffin, “Kuamo‘o: The Last Stand.” Meheula, “Dying Words of a Fearless Chiefess.”

⁷ William Ellis, Narrative of a Tour Through Hawaii, Or Owhyhee; With Observations on the Natural History of the Sandwich Islands; and Remarks on the Manners, Customs, Traditions, History, and Language of Their Inhabitants (London: H Fisher, Son, and P Jackson, 1827), 108. See also, Griffin, “Kuamo‘o: The Last Stand.”

⁸ David Kalākaua, The Legends and Myths of Hawaii: The Fables and Folk-lore of a Strange People (New York: Charles L. Webster, 1888), 446.

⁹ “E Manono: Recounting the Story of Kuamoo,” from “Kuma Nona Beamer and Her Ancestor Manono,” Hula Preservation Society.