Hawaii's Most Haunted: The Execution of Kamanawa and Lonopuakau

Located in Downtown Honolulu was the site of the first executions by hanging in Hawaii. The first was that of Kamanawa and Lonopuakau in 1840. This sad milestone marked the first time an ali‘i of such rank had been convicted of a crime under the new constitutional law.
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[@kimoarmstrong3519]

These keep getting better. Better story, better sound quality, better background music levels... thanks!

[@lizziesangi1602]

Quite "alluring" as we were never taught any history of Ha'Wii in New Jersey or New York. To hear of haunted Hawaii is even more alluring. The Banshees do wail in Ireland. A Priest I know who hailed from Ireland attested to hearing the banshees in Ireland. He was never hesitant to talk of it. Thank you 🥰 Subscribed

[@AnaMaria-wn6jn]

You feel the execution of 2 murderers is sad ? I understand that the Christian penalty for adultery was harsh, that didn’t give them the right to murder their wives. He was in LUST with these women, casting aside his wife like trash… and that’s OK because it’s native tradition? I bet native tradition didn’t allow WOMEN to have lovers. Adultery was OK, was murder also?

[@MysteriesofHawaii]

All murder is sad, including the death penalty. Revenge is a human feeling and when someone kills a person, a lot of people feel that, yes, the killer should also be killed. But it's killing just the same, and yes, it is sad. Nowhere in this video do we condone what Kamanawa and Lonopuakau did. What is sad about the situation is that Kamanawa seemed to have felt that he suddenly had no choice but to murder his innocent wife. And yes, she was innocent. Kamanawa lived his entire life as a high-ranking ali'i, having as many wives as he wanted. Then suddenly when he was already a grandfather, and because of Christian influence, he was only allowed to have one wife. Since the court granted her divorce, Kamanawa was told that he could never marry again, meaning he could never be with another woman, because that was considered adultery. The crime of "lust" is a Christian concept and had nothing to do with the Hawaiian life that Kamanawa lived up to that point. Hawaiians loved who they loved. But the new rule of law said one could only have one spouse. The penalty for adultery in those days was to be banished to the island of Kaho'olawe. Nothing about murder is okay and nowhere in this video do we state that. But to severely punish a man by using your religion and your rules to banish him to a barren island because he practiced his own native traditions of free love is also not okay. And yes, women also had many lovers. Hawaiians were not always beholden to only one person. Our great King Kamehameha literally had 30 wives and 35 children. But you know what's also sad? Over 800 natives were forced at gunpoint to watch the hanging of Kamanawa and Lonopuakau. Even sadder than that? Kamanawa's own grandsons were brought by their missionary teachers and were forced to watch the hanging of their grandfather. Aside from all that, what's also interesting is that as a result of this Christian/colonial-influenced new constitution that created these penal codes, including capital punishment for the crime of murder, ONLY non-whites were put to death, with the exception of one very deserving Irish man who killed a little boy. From 1840 to 1944, 75 men were put to death and only one of them was white. Of course, there were numerous cases of white men killing people in Hawaii, but the powers that were saw fit to let them off with a short prison sentence, or coffee in the governor's office. Learning to read the tone of a video in order to understand the context of what it's about is a good skill to master. Never stop learning!

[@8675-__]

Awesome history! What a talented story teller you are! Thank you ❣️🙏❣️

[@jimsilva4915]

As far as I know Kamanawa is buried in Koloa on Kauai, in the county cemetery.

[@MysteriesofHawaii]

Mahalo for this information. Yes, I should have included this overlooked fact in the video. I left off with the statement quoted from the October 12, 1894 article in the Hawaiian Gazette, which stated the post-execution burial and Kalakaua moving the body of Kamanawa. My apologies for the oversight, and many thanks for the correction.

[@jimsilva4915]

@@MysteriesofHawaii I just thought you didn't know where he was. I have a lot of family buried in that cemetery and would pass his tomb because his grave is the first on the japanese side, so I thought it was a famous japanese person in the tomb. One day I stopped and took a look and saw high chief kamanawa's name on the tomb. I enjoy your story's very much. Aloha

[@dulakamanawa6113]

Thank you for sharing this... kamanawa is my ancestor by bloodline... mahalo again

[@konaboyz1690]

Very proud of the pagan wicker man Druid background of my ancestors....

[@ginonacionales6347]

Great job! I love how you incorporate the locations. Keep up the good work.🙂

[@traceydanielle8463]

Love ❤️ 😍 your stories so much just love your channel could listen to it all day

[@Oilstories]

EXCUSE ME, but Kame'eiamoku was the SPEAR BEARER, and Kamanawa was the KAHILI BEARER. I am a lineal descendant of John Green Ulumaheihei Hoapili Kanehoa (1833-1896). My direct forbears repeatedly represented the kahili-bearing twin KAMANAWA at state funerals and other royal events. I don't know why this gaslighting is occurring all over the internet when all the primary source materials I can find prove that the twin who bore the kahili was Kamanawa.

[@MysteriesofHawaii]

No need to be excused. This is a different Kamanawa, his father was high chief Kepo'okalani, and this Kamanawa is the grandson of Kame'eiamoku. He was named after his uncle who was the twin of his grandfather. This Kamanawa was sometimes known as Kamanawa 'ōpio or Kamanawa 'elua. Thus, this Kamanawa was the grandfather of King David Kalākaua. This video mentions nothing about the sacred twins and uncles of our makua lani, Kamehameha 'ekahi. It's good to see 'ōpio who have a firm knowledge of their mo'okuauhau. Keep learning.

[@Oilstories]

Mahalo for your answer. So I am confused that the video makes a close up at 1:02 is on Kamanawa with his kahili when at the same time speaking the name of Kame'eiamoku. I agree with you that the royal Hawaiian lineage all descend from the royal twin Kame'eiamoku. He is the spear-bearer.

[@MysteriesofHawaii]

@@Oilstories The intent was to show that Kamanawa 'ōpio was the grandson of Kame'eiamoku and named after his great uncle, Kamanawa.

[@konaboyz1690]

I've never had Christian ways And I'm a white boy proud of my pagan ancient ancestors. I have many Jewish friends but they all know I do not believe in their God. Kb Honolulu Hawaii

[@billysgarden-u9s]

what are your thoughts on the bottom floor of iolani palace being buried in the mud. MUD FLOODED . Phoenician?

[@hidinginsight1879]

I know of a place I call "the Whispering Walk". How do I contact you folks who do these videos to ask questions or offer directions to it?

[@pakababy3710]

No burial stone for Kamanawa at Mauna Ala though? I wonder where he is buried there.

[@MysteriesofHawaii]

Actually, while the newspapers stated that Kalakaua had his remains moved to Mauna Ala, we neglected to state in our video that there is a headstone for Kamanawa in the Koloa Cemetery on Kauai. Assumptions are that the remains are there.