Hewahewa
Hawaiian religious leader
Hewahewa (c. 1774 – February 16, 1837) was a Hawaiian religious leader who served as kahuna nui (high priest) of King Kamehameha I and his successor Kamehameha II. Hewahewa was a powerful figure in the royal court of Hawai’i and played a major role in the abolition of the kapu system, the decline of the native religion of Hawai’i, and the introduction of Christianity to the Hawaiian Kingdom.
Biography
Kahuna Nui
Hewahewa was born in the late 18th century. In 1819, French explorer Louis de Freycinet estimated Hewahewa was born around 1774. He grew up as part of the aristocracy of the pre-unified kingdom of the island of Hawaiʻi and was a descendant of Paʻao, a lineage that added to his prestige as a spiritual leader. Hewahewa's great-grandfather was Holoʻae, the kahuna of Alapaʻinui and Kalaniʻōpuʻu, the latter of whom ruled during James Cook's fatal visit to the islands. Hewahewa's grandfather was Pailili (or Pailiki) and his father was Puʻou, a kahuna of Kalaniʻōpuʻu's successor Kamehameha I. A cousin of Hewahewa was Kekūhaupiʻo, the instructor and military advisor of Kamehameha.
Hewahewa was educated as a kahuna and rose to prominence in the court of Kamehameha. Hewahewa and his family line were of the order of the war god Kū (moʻo Kū), which rose to prominence during the conflict that led up to the unification of the Hawaiian Islands and displaced the priestly order of the fertility god Lono. After Kamehameha united the Hawaiian islands into the Hawaiian Kingdom, he granted Hewahewa control over the Waimea Valley on Oahu, a powerful position within the kingdom. By the 1810s, Hewahewa was serving as kahuna-nui (high priest) and was responsible for maintaining the kapu code of conduct at the behest of King Kamehameha.
“Hewahewa” enters the record as hawaiian religious leader. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Hewahewa, Hawaiian and religious can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q75186256. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1774, 1837 and 1819.
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