Aloha – a greeting of hello or goodbye, also a philosophy in which the individual gives to and is nourished by the community.
Mahalo – thank you.
Ali’i – a chief or ruler.
Haole – stranger, literally, white face, often used to refer to Americans and Europeans.
Malihini – newcomer.
Pono – excellent, good, respectful.
Mana – strength, both spiritual and physical.
Hanai – a practice among the royal families to allow other parents to raise one’s children; this practice helped to bind these families together.
Lono – the God of agriculture and weather.
Maui – the Demi-God who captured the sun and gathered the fishes around Hawaii; also the Valley Isle, north of the Big Island and south of Molokai.
Kauai – the Garden Isle, the oldest of the immediate Hawaiian Islands.
Oahu – the Gathering Place, the site of Honolulu, most populated of the Hawaiian Islands.
Molokai – island south of Oahu, with cattle ranches, where the leper colony was established.
Big Island of Hawaii – by far the largest and the southernmost of the Hawaiian Islands.
Captain James Cook (1728-1779) – English explorer who was looking for a Northwest Pacific passage, he found Kauai and the Big Island. When he returned to Hawaii for supplies, Cook was killed during an altercation with natives. There are several different accounts of Cook’s death. Some Native Hawaiians say the boat theft story is apocryphal.
Kamehameha the Great (1758-1819) – The first King to unite the Hawaiian Islands under one rule, he conquered all islands but Kauai by 1796 and ruled Kauai by treaty beginning in 1810.
Kamehameha II [Liholiho] (1797-1824) – Son of Kamehameha the Great, he ruled with the assistance of his regent, Queen Kaahumanu. He died of measles during a royal visit to England.
Kamehameha III [Kauikeaouli] (1813-1854) – Only 12 years old when his brother died, he ruled under Kaahumanu’s regency until her death in 1832. Under his sole rule, the first constitution and land reform measures were decreed. He also stepped aside when British troops occupied Hawaii for 6 months in 1843.
Kamehameha IV [Alexander Liholiho] (1834-1863) – Although he was the younger brother of Lot, he was named King first because he was considered to be more responsible and was married, therefore likely to produce an heir. He favored the British and disliked the American missionaries. Later in his rule, his behavior became erratic; he killed one of his employees and inadvertently killed his young son. After that, he became reclusive and drank heavily.
Kamehameha V [Lot] (1830-1872) – Bachelor King who favored granting all rights to native Hawaiians, he reformed the constitution. Lot died without naming an heir.
William Lunalilo (1835-1874) – The first King to be elected and the last to be related to Kamehameha by blood. He was at one time engaged to Lili’uokalani. He was sick when he became King and died a year later.
David Kalakaua (1836-1891) – Brother of Lili’uokalani, he was a lawyer, musician, songwriter and author of a book on Hawaiian folklore. He was the first King to travel the world, and he designed and built the second Iolani Palace. He granted many licenses to businessmen to develop Hawaii; those same businessmen plotted his (attempted) assassination in 1887 and forced him to accept the “Bayonet Constitution,” reducing his powers. He named Lili’uokalani heir to the throne in 1877, after their brother, William Pitt Lelei’ohoku, died.
Lili’uokalani [Liliu “Lydia” Kamakaeha] (1838-1917) – Like her brother, she was a prolific songwriter and wrote a book about the fall of the monarchy. She was an early advocate for women’s education and also tried to start a women’s bank in Hawaii. She became Queen in 1891 upon her brother’s death and served for two years. Her estate trust has established battered women’s centers and other public projects.
John Owen Dominis (1832-1891) – Lili’uokalani’s husband, he served as Governor of Oahu and later of Maui. Their marriage was not a happy one, although they enjoyed a strong political partnership. The marriage produced no children but it was rumored that he had fathered their hanai son, Aimoku.
Kaiulani (1875-1899) – Named heir to the throne by Lili’uokalani, she was sent to England to continue her education. She later became a powerful advocate for the royalty in Washington but died at the age of 24.
Bernice Pauahi Bishop (1837-1884) – Lili’uokalani’s hanai sister, she was offered the monarchy by Lot on his deathbed but declined it. One of the last direct descendants of Kamehameha the Great, she died without children and left the bulk of her estate in trust for the education of Hawaiian children. This estate trust today contains assets well into the billions of dollars and administers the Kamehameha schools, as well as many other enterprises.
John L. Stevens (1822-1895) – Journalist, newspaper owner and Republican Party fund-raiser from Augusta, Maine, he served as ambassador to several countries under Republican administrations, and was minister to Hawaii from 1889-1893. Although he worked vigorously to promote annexation of Hawaii to the United States, he died before his quest was accomplished.
Sanford B. Dole (1844-1926) – Lawyer, businessman and philanthropist, he was appointed to the Hawaii Supreme Court by Lili’uokalani. He agreed to head the Provisional Government upon her overthrow and later headed the Territorial Government until the United States annexed Hawaii.
Lorrin Thurston – The grandson of original missionaries to Hawaii, he became an ardent opponent of the Hawaiian monarchy and leader of the Reform Party that made several attempts to overthrow the monarchy. He served in the original cabinet of the Provisional Government.
Grover Cleveland – Democratic president of the United States for two non-successive terms (1885-1889 and 1893-1897), he befriended Lili’uokalani in 1887 during her American visit. Later, when he returned to power, he ordered that she be restored to the throne. This order was not carried out. However, he made it clear he would not approve the annexation of Hawaii to the United States.
Benjamin Harrison – Republican president 1889-1893, he favored expansion of American interests, including the annexation of Hawaii.
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ʻOkina – Hawaiian written "accent" mark, ʻokina means separator, and is written as a reverse apostrophe: ʻ
Kahakō – Hawaiian written "accent" mark, also called a macron, a kahakō indicates vowel length, changing meaning and placement of vocal emphasis, and is written as a horizontal line over a vowel: ō
